Glass bubble,Hollow glass microspheres , Glass sphere beads, Manufacturer & suppliers

Syntactic foams are complex compounds produced by the incorporation of hollow spherical particles into a polymeric or ceramic matrix. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) states that synthetic foams have a resin matrix.

The properties of synthetic foam can be largely determined by changing some parameters during their production such as the material of the matrix and fillers, the size of the microspheres, the thickness of their wall and their number – meaning mostly the ratio of their volume with the total volume of foam. The easiness of production is another important advantage of synthetic foams.

TYPES OF SYNTACTIC FOAMS
Epoxy synthetic foams are preferred as a matrix material due to their good mechanical properties such as durability and stiffness, small creep and moisture resistance.
Structural polyamide foams have very good mechanical and electrical properties and their use is great in electronic devices. They are usually combined with silicon spheres.
Structural polyurethane foams have good compressive strength and high water resistance. They can be soaked in a humid environment for over 10 years and at a water temperature of up to 40oC without significantly degrading their properties.
Polyester synthetic foams in combination with hollow glass microspheres have found great application in the construction of marine vessels and underwater structures due to their buoyancy, non-adsorption of moisture and their low cost.
Polypropylene is used with hollow glass spheres to have low density, good mechanical and thermal insulation properties.

SYNTACTIC FOAMS PROPERTIES
The main properties of synthetic foams that gave impetus to their production and growth include among others their reduced weight, increased rigidity, buoyancy and reduced cost. If we take into account their resistance to compression and hydrostatic loads, their relatively good response to impact and fatigue and their resistance to abrasion and chemicals, we understand why they have been widely applied in various types of constructions.

FROM:NANOVISION

Glass bubble, made of Soda Lime Borosilicate Glass, are hollow spheres which grain size is 10-250microns, wall-thickness 1-2 microns, filled with inert air or gas.
glass bubble are produced at the high temperature of 700-800 degrees Celsius through complicated chemical and physical transformation. glass bubbles are white and the specific gravity of them is about 0.25-0.60g/cc.
Hollow glass microshpere have much merit, such as lightweight, great buoyancy, hard, rigid, waterproof, innoxious, insulative, low heat conductivity, higher mechanical strength and excellent chemical stability,etc. glass bubble surface was treated by the special way and the products are dispersed very easily in organic materials such as resin.

glass bubble are widely used in composite materials such as FRP, man made marble and man made agate. glass bubble can decrease the weight of the composite materials and the composite materials have excellent performance of sound insulation and heat preservation, and they can improve the mechanical performance of the composite materials such as strengthened rigidity, enhanced anti-impact property, excellent anti-breaking property and re-processing function.

Features of Lightweight Hollow Glass Microspheres for Paint Additives
– Light specific gravity and large volume
– High disperion and good fluidity
– Heat insulation, sound insulation
– Low rate of absorbing oil

Application of Lightweight Hollow Glass Microspheres for Paint Additives
PLASTICS: BMC, SMC, Injection Molding, Extruding, PVC flooring, Film, Nylon, High Density Polyethylene, Low Density Polyethylene, Polypropylene
CERAMICS: Refractory, Tile, Firebricks, Aluminum Cement, Insulating Materials, Coatings.
ROCK OIL: Oil well construction, Heat preservation of oil pies, Materials used again erosion
SPACE: Aerospace coatings, Aerospace composites
AUTOMOTIVE: Composites, Undercoating, Engine parts, Brake pads, Trim molding, Body fillers, Plastics, Sound proofing materials
CONSTRUCTION: Specialty cements, Mortars, Grouts, Stucco, Roofing materials, Acoustical panels.

FROM:chnchemical

What are Glass Bubbles?

Additives, especially inorganic solid particulates, have greatly contributed to the growth of the polymer industry. They render polymers with improved mechanical, physical, electrical, thermal and dimensional properties, depending on their geometry and chemistry. Glass bubbles are finely dispersed, free-flowing powders consisting of thin-walled (0.5-1.5µm) spherical glass particles with an average diameter of 15-65µm.

Glass bubbles were developed in the 1960s as an outgrowth from the manufacture of solid glass beads. They are commercially manufactured by melting a unique glass formula that contains a latent blowing agent causing the molten glass particles to expand into a hollow bubble. The resultant glass bubbles are chemically stable, water resistant and compatible with many materials used for indirect food contact applications. The material technology has evolved in recent years to produce bubbles with a high strength to density ratio which enables their use in demanding polymer processing operations.

Density Reduction in Polymer Composites

Glass bubbles can provide new and unique material and design solutions for innovative users. They render polymers with lower density which is directly related to thermal conductivity and insulation properties. Polyurethane foam for appliance insulation is usually made with a chemical blowing agent and can achieve a very low density (0.20 – 0.40 g/cc). Typical polyurethane composite density with glass bubbles is in the 0.76 – 0.95 g/cc range so they are not competitive with urethane for achieving the highest insulation properties. But the unique property of the glass bubble foam is that it is rigid and structural and can be applied to the walls and housings themselves for additional insulation value.

Weight or mass reduction can be helpful in other ways such as helping to reduce shipping costs and ease installation issues. Glass bubbles can provide weight reduction for thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomeric polymer substrates.

The addition of glass bubbles to a polymer will result in physical property changes (density being the obvious one). Typically glass bubble addition will cause the composite to become stiffer than the original unfilled base resin. This can be useful for making stronger yet lighter housings and parts but impact strength is usually inversely related to stiffness. Impact usually becomes the property of focus for material specifiers trying to balance the benefits of mass reduction with other physical properties.

The choice of a specific bubble for a given application is important to maximize density reduction and to minimize cost-in-use. Not all glass bubbles can survive all polymer processing methods. As shown in Figure 2, the relationship of strength to density is important in selecting the lowest density glass bubble that will survive the process. With thermoset materials like polyurethanes and epoxies the predictive step in the process is the type of mixing system used. For high shear thermoset mixers such as Cowles mixers, a 3000 PSI bubble or higher strength material is generally required. For thermoplastics and rubber where there is only an extrusion process involved (e.g. sheet extrusion for thermoforming), then typically at least a 5000 PSI bubble is required. Injection molded thermoplastics require the highest compressive strength bubble – generally 16,000 PSI or greater. Finding the lowest density bubble that survives the process will insure the lowest cost in use since the least amount by weight will be required to achieve the targeted composite density.

This article comes from appliancedesign edit released

Additives, especially inorganic solid particulates, have greatly contributed to the growth of the polymer industry. They render polymers with improved mechanical, physical, electrical, thermal and dimensional properties, depending on their geometry and chemistry. Glass bubbles are finely dispersed, free-flowing powders consisting of thin-walled (0.5-1.5µm) spherical glass particles with an average diameter of 15-65µm.

Glass bubbles were developed in the 1960s as an outgrowth from the manufacture of solid glass beads. They are commercially manufactured by melting a unique glass formula that contains a latent blowing agent causing the molten glass particles to expand into a hollow bubble. The resultant glass bubbles are chemically stable, water resistant and compatible with many materials used for indirect food contact applications. The material technology has evolved in recent years to produce bubbles with a high strength to density ratio which enables their use in demanding polymer processing operations.

This article comes from appliancedesign edit released

• Reduces thermal expansion and may contribute to cost savings
• Reduces noise and vibration for improved acoustics
• Improved dimensional stability through improved mold filling
• Broad applications in diverse markets for versatile use
• Improves processing throughput for increased, and more, efficient production
• Reduces final part weight without compromising mechanical integrity of the finished product

Glass bubble flotation method commonly used flame, release agent production method and the injection method. Where the blowing method is a molding method, generally using mineral raw materials for production. Flame floating method and release agent law is secondary molding method, usually recycled glass as raw materials to produce, more common in domestic applications.
The basic principle of flame float method is that the recycled glass is crushed into particles of a certain size, and in such a way the glass particles into a flame, under the action of the flame, glass particles softened, melted, beads oriented, cooled and solidified i.e. become a glass bubble.

Road with reflective glass bubble, mainly used in normal temperature type, hot melt road marking paint, a material as a premixed, marking ensures long lifetime in the reflection; a surface-spreading when marking construction can instant play reflective effect.
Coated glass bubble is divided into two, one as reflective highway, another as a screen with reflections. Coated glass bubble is the use of a high performance organic material on glass bubble were outside treatment, making glass bubble surface adsorption of dust in the air blunts. Since the coated beads containing a specific coupling agent, to improve the adhesion of the coating bead and prevent some small glass bubble deposited coating. Because of its functions can be floating, floating on the surface of the coating when used, it has the largest surface area can be increased by more than 30% utilization. Glass bubble superior performance after coating treatment. Rain is often foggy in a humid environment, with better reflection function.

In experiments with mineral oil and water as the medium conditions, using high-speed cameras on the high-voltage AC electric field of oil droplets in the spray phenomena observed; using high-speed cameras to the reflective screen glass bubble original laser beam is reflected back in parchment paper on-screen image of the laser spot; synchronize shooting under various high-speed camera with dual-wire spacing current signal voltage signal, the arc behavior, droplet transition process and weld surface forming the difference.
Zhao xuefeng, who used mineral oil and water for the experimental media, the use of high-speed camera system for microscopic high-voltage AC electric oil droplet ejection phenomena studied.
Our products are widely used in highway, railway, port and shipping, airports, mining, fire, vehicle licenses, environmental protection, advertising and other production reflective signs, signs. Use of the product, make people see the sign outside at night a few hundred meters, greatly increase the ability to identify people at night to mark, to the role of enhanced security awareness and advocacy. The product is the recent advent of high-tech products, then was widely used, this product is now produced everywhere reflective signage, has been closely related to people’s production and life, the application of the product is the progress of human civilization, but also a sign.

Reflective principle vehicle license is usually said retroreflective, traffic markings on the road, Chi warning signs is the same type of product, it is through the built-in glass bubble (also bare type) to achieve. According to the reflection intensity is generally divided into several categories: high-strength grade, license plate grade, engineering grade and advertising level.

Zhao donge, in order to test a glass bubble retroreflector screen divergent angle, high-speed camera glass bubble retroreflector screen reflected laser beam on the imaging screen vellum laser spot, spot image processing, according to certain geometric ratio between the calculated angle of divergence angle to the original reflective screen, which is in the range of 0.907 ° ~ 0.956 °.

Glass Bubbles for Construction

Potential enhancements include high filler loading, reduced warpage/shrinkage, sandability and more.

Hollow glass bubble material can be applied in many fields in order to enhance or improve the water resistance, compressive strength, shrinkage and the impact strength of the material and the like. Low density, can be prepared to take the lighter components; low porosity and surface area, the beads absorb less resin, even if a high filling capacity, the viscosity is not high; chemically stable and inert; good anti-cracking performance, the final after the article is easy to handle, such as drilling, cutting and polishing, which is relatively easy to destroy the hollow glass bubble another advantage. Because of hollow glass bubble like shock absorbers, as a result, the compressive strength and impact strength of the product is also improved. Since the hollow glass bubble in preference to the resin matrix and damage, reducing the degree of product being impacted. Hollow glass bubble also has good insulation properties, the properties, especially when encountered in the product during use with hot shock, hollow glass bubble and resin will form the thermal conductivity of the insulating layer are not mutually connected. Finally, due to the hollow glass bubble coloring is not good, so that some white products, but sometimes this is the advantage, on the one hand can reduce the amount of white pigment such as titanium dioxide, can be reduced up to 50%, on the other hand it is worth mentioning that softer color of the final product.

Currently, the use of microwave radar, infrared, radar or other electromagnetic radar and acoustic detection system shield absorbing material has been widespread concern in the military field. Near-infrared reflective material can be used in aviation, aerospace, construction materials, vehicles, weapons and other fields. Hollow glass bubble powder density is small, the metal surface after its treatment, can be substituted denser metal powder or electromagnetic wave absorption preparation screen material used.