Identification of the interface properties of hollow spheres filled syntactic foams: An inverse strategy combining microstructural modeling with Kriging metamodel

Abstract For multi-phase composites, it is increasingly being recognized that the interface region between the filler and the matrix plays a critical role in defining the bulk mechanical properties. However, compared with the constituent components, the interface effect is not easy to measure by experiment, especially for the composites reinforced by spherical fillers. This paper deals with the problem of parameter identification of the interface properties by means of numerical techniques. Hollow spheres filled syntactic foams are taken as research materials. The elastic properties of syntactic foams in terms of Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio were first experimentally investigated by uniaxial tensile test. A microstructure based three-phase FE model with interface simulated by cohesive elements was then developed to predict the elastic mechanical behaviors of syntactic foams. Combining the macroscopic experimental data with the microscopic numerical simulations, an inverse strategy based on Kriging metamodel was proposed to identify the interface elastic properties associated to the studied syntactic foams. Benefiting from the identification procedure, more reliable input parameters can be extracted for the interface modeling, and thus yielding more accurate predictions of the bulk properties of syntactic foams through finite element simulations.