Mechanical properties and reinforcement mechanisms evaluation of closed-cell polymer foams reinforced by recycled glass beads

Abstract Particle reinforced (PR) polymer foams are promising materials for lightweight structures. In this research, compression tests were conducted on glass beads (GBs) reinforced linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) foams. The experimental results indicated that embedding GBs could increase the yield strength, elastic modulus and energy absorption capacity of bulk material. Analytical predictions of GBs reinforced foams were also used to compare with experimental results. To investigate the micromechanics of neat foams and glass PR foams under compression, the finite element (FE) simulations were conducted. The analysis of neat foams indicated that the strain localization occurred at right and left sides of hollow cells during the plateau stage. For GBs reinforced foams, the foam matrix around the particle reinforcements was nearly densified while the foam matrix without GBs remained undensified due to the stabilisation of glass particles. The parametric studies reasonably explained why hardening stress of foam increases with the decrease of particle size.