Characterization of mechanical and electrical properties of epoxy-glass microballoon syntactic composites

The density of hollow particle (microballoon) filled composites called syntactic foams can be varied by two methods. The first method is the variation in microballoon volume fraction and the second method is the variation in the microballoon wall thickness, while keeping their volume fraction the same. A comparison of compressive properties of syntactic foams having microballoons of four different wall thicknesses in five volume fraction each is presented here. It is found that the compressive strength and modulus vary linearly with respect to the foam density. Dielectric constant, dielectric loss and electrical impedance are measured for four syntactic foam compositions with respect to temperature and frequency. Dielectric constant and loss are found to decrease with increase in frequency and with decrease in temperature in the range of 40-140 degrees C.