A too often neglected filler with unique properties: solid and hollow glass beadsPart II - Unique applications: Syntactic foams, submarine buoyancy, dielectric uses…

Syntactic foams are primarily used for a unique combination of a lightweight and fair compressive modulus and strength, and secondly for thermal or acoustic insulation and more rarely for optical and special dielectric properties. Their application field looks like that of conventional polymer foams but with an important difference: Their using is always driven by technical motivations and the cost is never the first requirement. Syntactic foams are able to withstand the pressure of very deep water including the deep Antarctic and can be resistant to heat, low temperature, water and seawater, oil, gas, hydrocarbon, petroleum, chemicals... under all the climates. Consequently syntactic foams have a wide range of use in offshore construction, exploration and production; and defence as buoys for flotation, thick coatings for thermal and acoustic insulation or protection. The following figure Syntactic-Foam-Properties-&-Applications displays the main properties and applications of syntactic foams.