Enhancing the Ignition, Hardness and Compressive Response of Magnesium by Reinforcing with Hollow Glass Microballoons

Magnesium (Mg)/glass microballoons (GMB) metal matrix syntactic foams (1.47–1.67 g/cc) were synthesized using a disintegrated melt deposition (DMD) processing route. Such syntactic foams are of great interest to the scientific community as potential candidate materials for the ever-changing demands in automotive, aerospace, and marine sectors. The synthesized composites were evaluated for their microstructural, thermal, and compressive properties. Results showed that microhardness and the dimensional stability of pure Mg increased with increasing GMB content. The ignition response of these foams was enhanced by ~22 °C with a 25 wt % GMB addition to the Mg matrix. The authors of this work propose a new parameter, ignition factor, to quantify the superior ignition performance that the developed Mg foams exhibit. The room temperature compressive strengths of pure Mg increased with the addition of GMB particles, with Mg-25 wt % GMB exhibiting the maximum compressive yield strength (CYS) of 161 MPa and an ultimate compressive strength (UCS) of 232 MPa for a GMB addition of 5 wt % in Mg. A maximum failure strain of 37.7% was realized in Mg-25 wt % GMB foam. The addition of GMB particles significantly enhanced the energy absorption by ~200% prior to compressive failure for highest filler loading, as compared to pure Mg. Finally, microstructural changes in Mg owing to the presence of hollow GMB particles were elaborately discussed.