Fire performance & mechanical property characterization of a phenolic matrix syntactic foam core material for composite sandwich structures

This paper details the characterization of a phenolic matrix, quasi-syntactic foam, Alba-Core (R), for use as a Low FST core material for US Navy composite structures. Both mechanical proper-ties and fire performance results, as tested via MIL-S-2031, are presented for the phenolic matrix syntactic foam and a candidate composite sandwich structure fabricated from said core. One area of focus for this paper is the work accomplished in improving peel strength of composite sandwich structures fabricated from Alba-Core (R). These results show the potential for this core material to meet both structural and fire performance requirements for use in composite applications where Low FST is demanded.