Compression properties of polymeric syntactic foam composites under cyclic loading

TL;DR

This study investigates the cyclic compression behavior of polymeric syntactic foams, highlighting their high recoverability, energy dissipation, and damage mitigation due to hollow microspheres, relevant for low-density, damage-tolerant applications.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the cyclic loading response of polymeric syntactic foams with various microsphere configurations, emphasizing their damage tolerance and energy dissipation mechanisms.

Findings

High elastic recovery observed under cyclic compression

Polymer microspheres mitigate damage during loading

Materials exhibit significant energy dissipation

Abstract

Syntactic foams are composite materials frequently used in applications requiring the properties of low density and high damage tolerance. In the present work, polymer-based syntactic foams were studied under cyclic compression in order to investigate their compressibility, recoverability, energy dissipation and damage tolerance. These syntactic foams were manufactured by adding hollow polymer microspheres of various sizes and wall thicknesses into a polyurethane matrix. The associated loading and unloading curves during cyclic testing were recorded, revealing the viscoelastic nature of the materials. SEM images of the samples were obtained in order to study potential damage mechanisms during compression. It was observed that these syntactic foams exhibit high elastic recovery and energy dissipation over a wide range of compressional strains and the addition of polymer microspheres mitigate the damage under compressional loading.