AbstractA simple circular pultruded rod was used to evaluate the mechanical and economic performance of four commercially available hollow spherical fillers (microbubbes). The incorporation of such glass or silicate microbubbes in a pultruded rod produced a decrease in density, strength and modulus. However, the loss of strength and modulus was more than compensated for by the decrease in density so that a 50 percent material cost saving was possible without any sacrifice in flexural or torsional properties. Thus for simple profile (rods, bars. Panels) the use of hollow spherical fillers can be economically advantageous in reducing material costs. The syntactic pultrusions posses many of the desirable properties of wood such as toughess, low density, high strength and stiffness plus the ability to accommodate nails and screws. The operating conditions of the pultruder wee normal with the exception that half as much force was needed on the puller and the pultruder would only operate satisfactorily when the resin/glass fiber/microbubble concertrations were within specified boundaries. Pyrex type glass bubbles were found to be less prone to damage during processing and performed better than silicate type microbubbles.
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