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

We will take a closer look at how the unique morphology of Glass Bubbles translates to benefits in modern composite systems. We will also explore the latest in Glass Bubbles technology for composites systems.

What are Glass Bubbles?
Glass Bubbles are tiny, hollow glass microspheres. They appear as a white free-flowing powder and are made from a water-resistant and chemically stabile soda-lime-borosilicate glass. Originally developed by 3M in the 1960s, they can nowadays be found almost everywhere: from the deep seas to the stratosphere, from specialist industrial applications to consumer goods. Cars, airplanes, bowling balls, fishing line, snowboards, deck chairs, and so on, all make use of the unique properties of Glass Bubbles.

The composites sector recognised early on that Glass Bubbles have an exceptional ability to reduce the weight of composite parts. Compared to conventional fillers such as talc or calcium carbonate, the density of Glass Bubbles can be 20 times lower (depending on the grade). Glass Bubbles have since become ubiquitous in resin systems including polyesters, polyurethanes, and epoxies.

Glass Bubbles are hollow glass microspheres that behave like free-flowing powders. The automotive industry has embraced these materials for their unique ability to lightweight parts as well as add other benefits.
The automotive industry in particular embraced Glass Bubble technology as lighter parts translate to improved fuel economy. In cars and trucks, Glass Bubbles can be found in composite parts such as exterior body panels, roofs, headlight reflectors, wind deflectors, fenders, floorboards, access doors, and internal panels such as engine housings and spare tire wells.

While Glass Bubbles are best known for their ability to reduce the weight of parts, this is far from their only feature. Modern applications in composites rely on the ability of Glass Bubbles to improve processing and to enhance the properties of the final composite parts. Processing improvements generally refer to the ability to produce parts at increased production speed and with greater ease. Property enhancements refer to complementary functionalities brought on by the Glass Bubbles. These can be extremely diverse, ranging from mechanical properties (stiffening) to fire-retardant properties, acoustics & dampening, and thermal insulative properties.

Glass Bubbles are lightweight
The density of Glass Bubbles ranges from 0.15 g/cc to 0.60 g/cc. In contrast to other mineral fillers such as chopped glass fibre, calcium carbonate and talc, the volume per unit of weight is therefore much greater. Replacing inorganic fillers with Glass Bubbles therefore results in composite parts with reduced density. For example, 1 kg of typical Glass Bubble material (K20) has a volume of 5000 cm3, while the equivalent weight of CaCO3 displaces only 370.4 cm3. Due to the extremely low densities of Glass Bubbles, formulation, therefore, needs to be on a volume basis rather than a weight basis. If one were simply to substitute an equal weight of Glass Bubbles for the calcium carbonate in a formulation, the volume ratio of all other ingredients would be reduced substantially. Formulating by volume instead of weight allows the proper balance of resin, filler, and reinforcement, so components can be made lighter while still maintaining a good balance of physical properties.

An older but useful example of the use of Glass Bubbles to precisely control the weight of the final part can be found in the manufacturing of bowling balls. Here, the inner cores of bowling balls are prepared using a cast polyester resin. The more Glass Bubbles used in the resin, the lower the density of the bowling ball. Therefore, the final weight of the bowling ball can be adjusted precisely and easily by adjusting the volume concentration of Glass Bubbles in the resin. Importantly, the addition of Glass Bubbles does not affect the stability of the resin, and the resin mixture remains free-flowing. As this simple example highlights, Glass Bubbles have more to offer advanced composite materials besides the obvious density reduction. In the next section, we will explore the secondary benefits and how they relate to the unique physical characteristics of Glass Bubbles.

When incorporating Glass Bubbles into a composite, one is essentially replacing a fraction of resin and/or solid fillers with uniform and microscopic pockets of air. The replacement of resin by air results in some unique side effects.

For example, the reduction of mass in turn reduces the heat capacity of the resin, which in turn results in shorter cooling times allowing parts to be produced faster. Moreover, the composite’s coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) decreases. The low CLTE means that larger composite parts can be manufactured, and these are less prone to deformation during cooling, also known as warpage.

The low CLTE can also provide benefits in the finished parts. For example, solid parts engineered using Glass Bubbles (e.g. roofing trims) will be less prone to cracking when exposed to hot/cold cycles.

In a similar vein, the thermal conductivity is lowered by the presence of Glass Bubbles. The resulting thermally insulative parts find extensive use in energy-saving applications (e.g. bathtubs which keep water warm for longer) and also add value to various consumer goods (e.g. steering wheels or shower trays which are warm to the touch).

Replacing resin and solid fillers with hollow Glass Bubbles also lowers the calorific content of the composite part. A useful side effect of this property is that fire retardant performance is improved by the introduction of hollow Glass Bubbles – simply put there is less material to burn – resulting in better fire ratings. Recently researchers also discovered secondary mechanisms by which the hollow nature of Glass Bubbles leads to a fire hazard reduction, for example in rigid foams.
The hollow nature of the Glass Bubbles further impacts the composite’s interaction with light and sound waves. This property finds its use in specialised applications such as acoustic damping.

Glass Bubbles, as the name implies, are perfectly spherical. Glass Bubbles therefore have the lowest possible surface to volume ratio of any filler. As a result, Glass Bubbles require less resin to be wetted out compared to non-spherical fillers. In many cases this means that the resin content can be lowered, resulting in cost savings and reduction of VOC emissions.

Another side effect of the spherical nature of Glass Bubbles is that the effect on the viscosity of the resin is minimised. This property is often described as a ‘ball-bearing’ effect. A better flowing resin not only allows parts to be produced more quickly, but it also results in a more isotropic filling of the mould. This in turn leads to composite parts in which stresses are more uniformly distributed. In contrast, angular fillers such as talc or glass fibres tend to interlock at higher loadings resulting in stress concentrations and fracture points in the cured part.

A great example of a technology that has successfully exploited the low viscosity impact of Glass Bubbles is Reaction Injection Moulding (RIM). RIM is a manufacturing process in which liquid polyurethane or polyurea precursors are combined, injected into a mould, and subsequently polymerised to produce the part. Since the resin is introduced into the mould as a liquid, flowability of the resin is key to ensure the precise reproduction of components with thin walls and complex geometries. Glass Bubbles work in this application to maintain flowability and to reduce the density of the parts, typically alongside heavier reinforcing fillers such as acicular Wollastonites.

Glass Bubbles are closed spheres consisting of a chemically stable soda-lime-borosilicate ‘shell’, so they are intrinsically stable toward heat damage and chemical degradation. Glass Bubbles can therefore be added into most resin systems including polyester, epoxy, and polyurethane. Their size, shape, and chemistry will not be affected by processing conditions such as temperature, humidity, nor will their properties change over time, such as during storage. The dimensional and chemical stability of Glass Bubbles is a unique advantage over other lightweight fillers such as plastic microspheres.

The stability of Glass Bubbles is particularly useful in applications in which there is some delay between mixing and curing of the resin formulation, which includes epoxy or polyester marine putties, adhesives, sealants, and polyurethane structural foams.

Glass Bubbles can withstand high external pressures due to their spherical shape and chemical make-up. The strength of Glass Bubbles quantified as the isostatic crush strength, which is dependent on the grade and varies between 100 to 30 000 PSI. Since the crush strength of a specific grade depends greatly on the wall thickness, the crush strength and density of the grade are inversely related. As a result, the selection of a grade of Glass Bubble for a specific application is usually determined by the crush strength required to survive the processing during manufacturing of the part.
Sheet moulding compound (SMC), the most prominent mass manufacturing technique to produce large composites structures, is a great example of a process in which the high strength of Glass Bubbles is of benefit. SMC is produced in sheets that consist of a thermosetting resin combined with glass fibres and other fillers. The SMC is moulded by part manufacturers under high pressure and subsequently cured. As described in the introduction, the automotive industry relies on SMC to fabricate both external surfaces (body panels, roofs), as well as internal panels (engine housing, spare tire wells, floorboards). SMC is also widely used in structural applications ranging from trench covers to lightweight roofing panels.

Author: Koen Nickmans , Ph.D.

Glass bubbles are finely dissipated, free-streaming fine particles created by dissolving a unique glass equation which comprises of an inert blowing specialist which makes the liquefied glass particles swell into an empty air pocket. The subsequent glass bubbles are water-safe, and viable and synthetically stable with different materials that are utilized for aberrant food contact applications. In the coming years, material innovation has developed to make bubbles with high solidarity to thickness proportion, subsequently empowering its utilization in requesting polymer handling activities.

On the flipside, inflexible and underlying properties of glass bubble froth give an extra protection worth to dividers and lodgings. Moreover, glass bubbles convey weight decrease for thermosets, thermoplastics, and elastomeric polymer substrates. This aides lessening transporting cost and furthermore facilitates establishment issues. The expansion of glass bubbles to polymers changes its actual property. Adding glass to bubble polymers makes the composites stiffer when contrasted with its unique unfilled base gum. This is valuable in the assembling of solid yet light lodgings and parts.

Nevertheless, the quick extension of the auto business, particularly in the U.S., is expected to help the market during the gauge time frame. Besides, severe discharge control guidelines in the U.S. what’s more, different nations in the Europe is expected to fuel the interest for glass bubbles at a huge speed in the years to come.

Additives, particularly inorganic solid minute particles, have significantly contributed to the development of the polymer industry. Depending on their geometry and chemistry, additives provide polymers with better physical, thermal, electrical, mechanical, and dimensional properties. Glass bubbles are finely scattered, free-flowing fine particles with an average diameter of 15-65µm, and consists of thin-walled, sphere-shaped glass particles (0.5-1.5µm). They were first developed in the 1960s, as an extension after the production of solid glass beads. Glass bubbles are produced by melting a special glass formula which consists of a latent blowing agent which causes the melted glass particles to swell into a hollow bubble. The resulting glass bubbles are water-resistant, and compatible and chemically stable with various materials that are used for indirect food contact applications. In the recent years, material technology has evolved to manufacture bubbles with high strength to density ratio, thus enabling its usage in demanding polymer processing operations.

Glass bubbles provide design solutions for innovative users and new and elite materials. Moreover, they provide polymers with low-density that can be related directly to insulation properties and thermal conductivity. The three polymer types, viz., high impact polystyrene (HIPS), polyurethane (PU), and polypropylene are commonly used in applications such as housings, and walls or as foam for insulation, especially in the case of thermoset polyurethane (PU). PU foam for insulation are made with chemical blowing agents and are usually attained at very low density (0.20 – 0.40 g/cc). The PU composite density with glass bubbles is in the range of 0.76 – 0.95 g/cc; therefore, they are not compatible with urethane for attaining maximum insulation properties. However, rigid and structural properties of glass bubble foam gives an additional insulation value to walls and housings. Furthermore, glass bubbles deliver weight reduction for thermosets, thermoplastics, and elastomeric polymer substrates. This helps reducing shipping cost and also eases installation issues. The addition of glass bubbles to polymers changes its physical property. Adding glass to bubble polymers makes the composites stiffer as compared to its original unfilled base resin. This is useful in the manufacturing of strong yet light housings and parts.

The glass bubbles market can be segmented based on application and region. In terms of application, the market can be segmented into automotive and commercial vehicles, aircrafts, and recreational and marine vehicles. In terms of geography, the glass bubbles market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America dominated the global glass bubbles market in 2016, followed by Europe, and this trend is anticipated to continue during the forecast period. Moreover, rapid expansion of the automobile industry, especially in the U.S., is anticipated to boost the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, stringent emission control regulations in the U.S. and various other countries in the Europe is anticipated to fuel the demand for glass bubbles at a significant pace during the forecast period. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a considerable pace during the forecast period owing to the implementation of stringent government norms concerning volatile organic content (VOC) emissions from automobiles in countries such as China and India, while the market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is likely to expand at a moderate pace during the forecast period.

Key players operating in the global glass bubbles market include 3M, Sinosteel Maanshan New Material Technology, and others.

FROM:Transparency Market Research

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 °.