Abstract
The "Sirasu Balloon(SB)" has micro glassy spherical shell body which manufactured from volcanic pumice tuff by heating it rapidly at about 1300K. The mechanical and thermal properties of polymer composites reinforced with glassy micro balloons are investigated in temperature conditions. The matrix is epoxy resin and its dispersion is micro size of glassy spherical hollow shells of SB. Developed composites are a kind of micro porous materials with low density. From the experimental results, mechanical behaviors of the composites were clarified, and the effects of material properties and configurations on the mechanical properties of composites were discussed from the viewpoint of micromechanical study. Using a model of micro porous materials and setting property of each material, numerical calculations were performed by FEM analysis. Analytical results for the mechanical behavior made a good agreement with experimental results of heat transfer of the composites and thermal conductivity of the composites was estimated by using the model.
