Characterization of the thermoelastic behavior of syntactic foams

• Published in: Composites. Part B, Engineering Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 351 - 361
• Main Authors: L'Hostis, Gildas, Devries, François
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Mechanical properties; Physical properties; Physics; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Properties and testing; Solid mechanics; Static elasticity; Static elasticity (thermoelasticity...); Structural and continuum mechanics; Technology of polymers; Lower bound; Upper bound; Compression; Syntactic foam; Analytical method; Foam(plastics); Homogenization; Thermomechanical properties; Thermoelasticity
• ISSN: 1359-8368; 1879-1069
• DOI: 10.1016/S1359-8368(98)00002-X

The objective of this article is to highlight the existence of a specific geometrical configuration of syntactic foams (solid or hollow microballs soaked in a resin), which enables the design of a composite material possessing good thermal insulation properties while ensuring optimal mechanical behavior in compression and a significant weight gain. To carry this out, an economical approximated homogenization technique, adapted to the composites being studied herein, is first of all proposed. The results yielded turn out to be in good agreement with those obtained by the application of classical methods which have already demonstrated their effectiveness. In order to highlight the desired geometrical configuration, a minimization problem is then developed and solved. The value of this approach lies in the fact that all the computations necessary can be performed in a quasi-analytical manner, thereby avoiding reliance upon heavy computing resources. The resultant design tool proves to be most costeffective and simple to use.