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Syntactic foam composites containing 0, 0.9, 1.76, 2.54, 3.54, and 4.5 vol % of E-glass fibers in the form of chopped strands were fabricated and subjected to compression testing. It was found that the compressive strength values generally increased with fiber content except for the 3.54% fiber-bearing cast slab, which recorded lower values. This lone exception was due to the difference in processing route adopted in fabricating this particular fiber-bearing foam. Also noticed was the fact that the compressive strength of the 0.9 vol % fiber-bearing system was lower compared to the fiber-free system. This was correlated to the higher level of void content noticed with this fiber-bearing foam compared to that seen in the unreinforced foam.

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Polymer composite foams or syntactic foams containing 0.9, 1.76, 2.54, 3.54 and 4.5 vol% of E‐glass short fibers were processed and subjected to a three‐point bending test. The results show that the flexural modulus increased with fiber content, with the exception of 1.76% and 3.5% of fibers. This deviation was due to a higher void content for 1.76% and a non‐uniform distribution of fibers in the polymer composite foam system for 3.5%. However, in general, the incorporation of chopped strand fibers improved the flexural behavior of the syntactic foam system without much variation in density, thus making the reinforced syntactic foams act as improved core materials for sandwich and other structural applications. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.