Modeling of structure for a polymeric composite material reinforcedwith hollow glass microspheres
Object and purpose of research. This study investigates a heterogeneous polymeric composite material (syntactic foam) consisting of a binder (polymeric matrix) and inclusions (microspheres) filling it. The purpose of this work is to obtain a numerical method that could develop structural models of material taking into account arbitrary arrangement of the inclusions and their high volume fraction for given brand of microspheres. Materials and methods. This study was based on the specifications for microspheres of various brands. It analysed existing numerical methods for developing dense inclusion packs in finite volume. Main results. The study implemented various numerical solution methods for polydispersion problems, reflecting the specifics of their practical application to various microsphere brands. Numerical methods yield actual volume contents of inclusions in microsphere foam. Qualitative comparison of obtained structures confirms their similarity to real ones. Conclusion. Numerical algorithms developed in this study made it possible to obtain a model of material structure with arbitrary arrangement of microspheres in finite volume taking into account the specifications and volume content of various microsphere brands. The model of material structure and solution of elasticity theory problems on stress concentration in the medium with inclusions enables the transition to developing a structure-based model of material. Implementation of this model will enable the investigation of damage accumulation in microsphere foam (up to its failure), thus pointing out the ways to improving performance parameters of these materials.