Processing and Characterization of Lightweight Syntactic Materials
- Magazine Article
- 17AERP12_08
- English
Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Conventional composite materials, in which a matrix material is reinforced by particulates, whiskers, and/or continuous fibers, have long been of interest as potential materials solutions to engineering needs. Typically, the benefits of these reinforcements are observed for cases of tensile loading, with only minimal improvement for cases of compressive loading. As a result, recent attention has grown in the use of hollow spheres as a potential reinforcement in metallic systems.
Commonly known as syntactic foams, the hollow spheres display a prolonged region under compressive loading in which the spheres deform by crushing, thereby absorbing a large amount of deformation energy. Furthermore, as an added benefit, the inclusion of hollow spheres also serves to lower the weight of the final component, thereby offering the possibility of improved performance with a simultaneous reduction in system weight. Thus, these materials are primarily being considered for applications that require a high capacity for absorbing energy (bumpers, struts, etc.).