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A study has been made of the processability, bulk density and uniaxial compression properties of a syntactic foam system with varying volume fractions of
phenolic microballoons. Short-term compression tests showed that the compression yield strength and initial tangent modulus of elasticity were linearly dependent on the bulk density (and the volume fraction of microballoons). The microballoon concentration and resin binder composition was found to be crucial to the
ease of manufacturing syntactic foams.
Key w o r d s : syntactic foams; composition; microballoon volume fraction; bulk
density; uniaxial compression properties
In the aerospace industry structures are often fabricated
using composite sandwich panel constructionL Where
the sandwich panel shape is complex (i.e., a helicopter
rotor blade), the core is often foam (e.g., Rohacell). In
other cases where the structure is flatter the core may be a
honeycomb2. The compressive strength of conventional
stabilized sandwich core is less than l0 MPa 2. The low
value means that there is a design problem in those
regions of an aircraft sandwich panel which experience
high compressive loading (e.g., where door hinges are
mounted). To overcome this problem, the weak conventional honeycomb or foam core may be replaced by a
plug of a much stronger syntactic foam with a compressive yield strength between 30 and 100 MPa. The compressive modulus will be similar to that of conventional
cores (i.e., 1 to 2 GPa). The shear strength of a syntactic
foam plug is also a relevant property of the material as it
determines the size of the plug required to transmit the
applied compressive loading. Although not reported in
this paper, the shear strength of the foams was determined using the short beam method.
The word 'syntactic' simply indicates that the foam is
made by mixing microballoons, ceramic spheres, or
other lighweight aggregate, with a resin system3. Unlike
most other foams, a syntactic material is one whose
density before cure is the same as that after cure. This
property is advantageous in the manufacture of aerospace plugs. Other typical applications34 for syntactic
foams are as automotive tooling compounds, ablative
heat shields for re-entry vehicles, underwater buoyancy
aids, and structural components in submarines and missiles.
Westland Aerospace, Isle of Wight, have used syntactic
foam plugs for a number of years. Their material7 consists of a mixture of small, hollow, phenolic-type spheres
MA TERIAL SPEClFICATION
The phenolic microballoons, UCAR Thermoset Microballoons type BJO-0930, were manufactured by Union
Carbide. They have an average particle diameter of 90
lam and a maximum bulk density of 0.104 g cm-3.
The cold-setting thermoset epoxy binder comprised three
components all manufactured by Ciba-Geigy. Part I was
Araldite AV1218. This is a mineral-filled epoxy resin
paste. The mineral, chalk (density 2.6 g cm-3), is added
T a b l e 1. C o m p o s i t i o n o f s y n t a c t i c f o a m s
Composition number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Volume % of
microballoons*
Part 2, AY103
Part 3, HY951
71
71
71
71
71
71
71
38
38
37
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
58
57
56
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
7
0
14
25
34
41
47
53
52
52
51
566
2)
Load
mixture escaping. For a microballoon volume content of <41% (compositions 3 to 5) the force could
be applied manually, but a pneumatic ram was
necessary to provide sufficient force when the microballoon content was 47% (composition 6).
3) For volume fractions of microballoons above 47%,
the foams (compositions 7 to 10) became too dry to
extrude and high pressure moulding, possibly with
manual compaction, was used to produce the samples.
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20
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15
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20
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567
568
COMPOSITES.
NUMBER
7 . 1993
(1)
.5 t
'
\-.~2
Composition
1.2
I
cl
-r q
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-r 5
u 0.9
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---
Theoretical
- -
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no.
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'
Equation
(2)
i
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'
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o_
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Composition no.
E
~
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(1)
1.3
80
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Volume f r a c t i o n o f microballoons,
i
0 8
J
0.9
55
~0
1.
i
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i
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Bulk
density,
J
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p (g cm -3)
Vmi (~)
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,~Ti '
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~4
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3
2.0
Composition5no.
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LI
~i~ 1.5
c~ m
E
' ~ 1 . 0
0.5
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0t
.9
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1.1
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Bulk density,p
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t
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i
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(2)
C O M P O S I T E S . N U M B E R 7 . 1993
569
(3)
CONCLUSIONS
1) Syntactic foams having the standard Westland
Aerospace binder composition and a phenolic microballoon (UCAR type BJO-0930) concentration up
to 53% have been manufactured. As the volume
fraction of microballoons was increased there was
an accompanying viscosity increase in the uncured
foam mixture. This change in viscosity with volume
fraction of microballoons meant that the method for
filling a sample mould changed from simple casting
(<14%), to extrusion (>14% to _<47%), and
finally to high pressure moulding (>47%). The
latter method requires expensive equipment for component manufacture.
2) The bulk density of seven syntactic foam compositions using the standard resin binder composition
ranged from 0.78 to 1.5 g cm -3, as the volume fraction of microballoons decreased from 53 to 0%.
There was a linear relation between these quantities
as expected from the rule of mixtures.
3) Short-term compression tests to ASTM D695 have
been carried out on five specimens of each of seven
foams with the standard binder. The average compressive yield strength ranged from 28 to 71 MPa,
and the average initial tangent compressive modulus
of elasticity ranged from 0.81 to 2.7 GPa. The lowest
compression properties were for foams having the
highest microballoon concentration (-,~53%). Both
compressive properties gave a fairly linear relation-
570
COMPOSITES
. NUMBER
7 . 1993
ship with bulk density (or volume fraction of microballoons). These rule-of-mixtures relationships were
a surprising result as the particulate composite
microstructure of syntactic foams would suggest
otherwise.
4) The composition of the three-part binder was
changed from the standard mixture in an attempt to
decrease the viscosity of the uncured foam containing maximum microballoon concentration ( ~ 53 %).
It was found that it was still difficult to fill the mould
as the new binder mix did not significantly reduce
the viscosity. After the curing process had been completed it was further found that the quality of this
new syntactic foam composition was poorer than the
standard foam composition if there was insufficient
hardener for complete cold curing.
5) The average compressive properties of the syntactic
foam prepared with the new binder composition
having sufficient hardener were slightly above those
for the equivalent foam manufactured with t h e
standard binder.
Further experimental work is needed to develop additional insight into the compressive properties of syntactic
foams with long-term loading (creep and fatigue resistance), in typical aerospace environments, and with
different compositions of the binder mixture. The objective of these tests would be to provide a comprehensive
property data base for aerospace plug design.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
P. Bunn carried out this study for his final year undergraduate project in the Engineering Department, University
of Warwick. He and J.T. Mottram are grateful for the
provision of materials, laboratory facilities and technical
assistance from R. Spencer and R. Perry, Westland
Aerospace, Isle of Wight. The authors thank the reviewer
for helpful comments during the preparation of the
manuscript.
REFERENCES
1 Structural Sandwich Composites, M1L-HDBK-23 (Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC)
2 Marshall, A.C. 'Core composites and sandwich structures' in
International Encyclopedia o f Composites, Vol 1 edited by S.M. Lee
(VCH Publishers, New York, 1990) pp 488-506
3 Malloy, R.A. and Hudson, J.A. 'Foamed composites' in International Encyclopedia of Composites, Vol 2 edited by S.M. Lee (VCH
Publishers, New York, 1990) pp 257-267
4 Shutov, F.A. 'Syntactic polymer foams' in Handbook of Polymeric
Foams and Foam Technology edited by D. Klemper and K.C.
Frisch (Hanser, Munich, 1991) pp 355-374
5 Ruhno, R.A. and Sands, B.W. 'Hollow spheres' in Handbook oJ
Fillers and Reinforcements for Plastics edited by H.S. Katz and
J.V. Milewski (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1978) pp 301310
6 Lyle, A.R. and Collins, M.H. 'Syntactic foam as a structural material in a marine environment' Proc 2nd lnt Conf Polymers in a
Marine Environment, London, 14-16 October 1987 (Marine Management, 1989) pp 167-170
7 Westland Aerns0ace 'The manufacture of pre-moulded lightweigh!
inserts for honeycomb sandwich panels' Westland Group Proces~
Specification 369 Issue 2 (1987)
8 Ciha-Geigy 'Araldite AV121 with hardener HY951 or HY965!
Instruction Sheet No A.30d (May 1990)
AUTHORS
P. Bunn is now a Graduate Engineer with Westland
Aerospace, East Cowes, Isle of Wight PO32 6RH, UK.
Correspondence should be addressed to J.T. Mottram,
Lecturer in Structural Mechanics, at the Department of
Engineering, University of Warwick, Gibbett Hill Road,
Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
571