Flexural Properties of Nanoclay Syntactic Foam Sandwich Structures

Flexural properties of syntactic foam sandwich structures under three-point and four-point bending, and short beam shear tests are studied. Four different types of plain and nanoclay syntactic foam sandwich structures are fabricated and tested for flexural properties. The volume fraction of microballoons in the foam core is maintained at 60%, while 1% volume fraction of nanoclay is included in the nanoclay syntactic foam. The flexural properties of the nanoclay syntactic foam sandwich structures are compared with those of plain syntactic foam sandwich structures. Nanoclay incorporation has improved the flexural load bearing capacity of syntactic foam sandwich structures in three-point and four-point bending tests. However, the short beam shear test shows that nanoclay incorporation degrades the property of the sandwich structure. It is also found that the microballoons radius ratio effect on the strength of the sandwich structures is affected by the nanoclay.