Abstract: A method for determining the elongation before rupture of a syntactic material. The syntactic material consists of hollow microspheres in a polymer matrix material and may be used as insulation for deep water sub-sea flowlines, an application which requires that the material must be able to withstand a large tensile elongation without rupture. Elongation tests are performed in which various factors such as type of matrix and kind, size and bonding of microspheres are varied in order to determine the syntactic material providing maximum elongation without breaking.

Abstract: A spincasting technique for forming a syntactic insulation layer around a pipeline includes rotating a drum while or after injecting components for forming syntactic insulation material into said drum. In this manner a syntactic material is formed in which larger, low density, microspheres are biased towards the inner surface of the insulation layer.