Thermosetting syntactic foams and their preparation

摘要

A low-density, syntactic foam material is provided according to the invention. The syntactic foam material is prepared by mixing together a plurality of microballoons and a finely divided solid thermosetting resin. Fibers are also preferably incorporated into the material during processing to impart specific properties. The mixture is heated to allow the thermosetting resin to flow and wet the microballoons in the mixture. The mixture is then cured to set and crosslink the thermosetting resin to form the syntactic foam of the invention. The syntactic foam material has highly uniform properties and can be used in aerospace applications.