Woignier Thierry auteur aut IRD Primera J. auteur aut IRD Alaoui A. H. auteur aut IRD Calas-Etienne S. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access In order to improve the mechanical properties of silica aerogels, we propose the synthesis of nano composite aerogels. Silica particles (20-100 nm) are added in the monomer solution, just before gelling and supercritical drying. The silica particles addition increases the mechanical properties, but also affects the aggregation process, the aerogel structure and the pore sizes. We discuss the different parameters which infer in the mechanical behaviour of silica aerogel such as: brittle behaviour, load bearing fraction of solid (pore volume), internal stresses (shrinkage), size and distribution of flaws, subcritical flaws propagation (chemical susceptibility). With silica particles addition, the mechanical properties rapidly increase, stiffening and strengthening the structure by a factor 4-8. Moreover, the mechanical strength distribution and the Weibull modulus characterizing the statistical nature of flaws size in brittle materials show a more homogeneous strength distribution. The composite structure is made of two imbricate networks, the polymeric silica and the particles silica networks. Ultra Small Angle X-ray Scattering experiments show that besides the fractal network usually built up by the organosiloxane, the silica particles is forming another fractal structure at a higher scale. The fractal structure could be related to the low Weibull parameter characteristic of a large flaws size distribution, pores being the critical flaws. specialized Aerogels Composites Mechanical properties Weibull modulus Fractal 068 020 58 2 385-393 2011 0928-0707 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010053516 10.1007/s10971-011-2404-0 0928-0707 [F B010053516] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010053516 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2011/05/010053516.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2011-05-31 2017-08-23 fdi:010053516 fre