Development of a polymer based syntactic foam for high temperature applications

Abstract

Syntactic foams are one of the most widely used close cell structured foams. They are used in applications for naval, aeronautical, aerospace, civil, industrial, and automotive engineering due to good acoustical attenuation, excellent strength to weight ratio, vibration isolation, and dielectric properties. These foams are fabricated by incorporation of hollow particles in a matrix material. The most preferred matrix materials are polymers. In this study silicone resin (useful temperature range -53 degrees C to 232 degrees C) was selected as a binder material. Glass bubbles were incorporated into the silicone resin at three different mass percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%). The density of the silicone was reduced more than 50% by 30% glass bubble contribution. The foam mechanical properties were investigated in a room temperature and after heat treatment at 500 C by quasi-static compression experiments. Microstructural transitions by the temperature raises were examined by using scanning electron microscopy pictures. It was observed that the increase of glass bubble percentage in silicone rubber enhanced the energy absorption properties in the heat treated and room temperature specimens. Plateau stress and densification amount were improved under quasi-static compression load by the glass bubble percentage increase. It can be said that developed syntactic foams can be used in heat resistant, low weight and high compression strength exigencies.