Fiber-reinforced syntactic foams

UnrestrictedLong fibers are generally preferred for reinforcing foams for performance reasons. However, uniform dispersion is difficult to achieve because they must be mixed with liquid resin prior to foam expansion. New approaches aiming to overcome such problem have been developed at USC's Composites Center. Fiber-reinforced syntactic foams with long fibers (over 6 mm in length) manufactured at USC's Composites Center have achieved promising mechanical properties and demonstrated lower density relative to conventional composite foams.; Fiber-reinforced syntactic foams were synthesized from thermosetting polymeric microspheres (amino and phenolic microspheres), as well as thermoplastic PVC heat expandable microspheres (HEMs). Carbon and/or aramid fibers were used to reinforce the syntactic foams. Basic mechanical properties, including shear, tensile, and compression, were measured in syntactic foams and fiber-reinforced syntactic foams. Microstructure and crack propagation behavior were investigated by scanning electron microscope and light microscopy. Failure mechanisms and reinforcing mechanisms of fiber-reinforced syntactic foams were also analyzed.; As expected, additions of fiber reinforcements to foams enhanced both tensile and shear properties. However, only limited enhancement in compression properties was observed, and fiber reinforcement was of limited benefit in this regard. Therefore, a hybrid foam design was explored and evaluated in an attempt to enhance compression properties. HEMs were blended with glass microspheres to produce hybrid foams, and hybrid foams were subsequently reinforced with continuous aramid fibers to produce fiber-reinforced hybrid foams. Mechanical properties of these foams were evaluated. Findings indicated that the production of hybrid foams was an effective way to enhance the compressive properties of syntactic foams, while the addition of fiber reinforcements enhanced the shear and tensile performance of syntactic foams.; Another approach to produce ultralight sandwich core materials was explored in which towpreg (fiber bundles impregnated with resin) were configured to produce 3D pyramidal truss structures. The composite truss structures were subsequently filled with foam to improve resistance to buckling. Mechanical properties of the foam-filled truss structures were measured and contrasted with analytical predictions based on simple truss theory. Results indicated that combination of foams and carbon fiber truss structures had synergistic effects that enhanced the capacity to carry compressive and shear loads