a ceramic foam reinforced structural material is disclosed as comprising either a hollow - legged or a solid legged ceramic open - celled foam . the foam is saturated with or surrounded by a resilient polymeric or other ductile material such as a plastic , to obtain a structural member with the high compressibility of ceramics while eliminating the edge brittleness inherent therein . the ductile material further provides the material with suitably fastenable and workable surfaces . where an impact barrier is desired to be made of the structural material the ceramic foam is disclosed as being filled at least partially with a flowable material such as a liquid or a gel .