Influence of imperfect interface on the elastic moduli of syntactic foams

Syntactic foams are manufactured by dispersing microspheres in a polymeric matrix, and the macroscale material properties of these foams are estimated by analyzing a periodic distribution of the inclusions. The analysis in the simplest form, further assume that the inclusions are perfectly bonded to the matrix material. It has been shown in a previous study [P.R. Marur, Mater. Lett. 59 (2005) 1954–1957.] that analytical model overestimated the experimentally determined elastic moduli, and that the morphology of particle distribution has negligible influence on the elastic moduli. In this paper, the assumption of perfect adhesion between the inclusion and the matrix is relaxed to allow for possible localized slip and separation at the particle interface. The analytical results obtained considering imperfect interface well agree with the measured elastic modulus reported in the literature.