Abstract: Macroscopic compressive tests of polyurethane syntactic foams with different weight fractions of hollow glass microspheres are conducted. The quasi-static compressive mechanical properties of those materials have been investigated in this paper. The effects of the hollow sphere-matrix interfacial quality and the diameter ratio of hollow sphere are discussed. It is found that the bad bonding induces the decline of material properties. Furthermore, the upper limits and lower limits of Young’s Modulus at different bonding conditions are predicted by Mori-Tanaka method and power law. In addition, the micro-structures of those materials are observed by SEM method, and the deformation and failure process are also observed in situ by a SEM during compression. It help to obtain a comprehensive realization to the failure mechanisms of those materials.

Key words: syntactic foams, compression, mechanical property, failure mechanism