Improved mechanical property of foam glass composites toughened by glass fiber

Abstract The mechanically improved foam glass composite toughened by glass fiber was prepared by sintering technique, using waste sodium-calcium silicon flat glass powder as main raw materials. In this study, the preparation and properties of the samples were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and mechanical property test. The specific strength of the composite was defined for the first time, and applied into the investigation of mechanical property. The results show that the specific improved bending strength of 10.45–22.26 MPa/(g cm − 3 ), and the specific compressive strength of 30.45–34.34 MPa/(g cm − 3 ) can be displayed when sintered at 790–815 °C with the addition of 5–25 wt.% glass fiber. Good correlations between the microstructure (in particular the fiber distribution), the high specific strength and the high modulus of elasticity of glass fibers.