Enhancement of Thermal Conductivities in Polymeric Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials

Abstract

In this study it is demonstrated that thermal conductivities of polymeric fiber-reinforced composite materials can be enhanced by using coated fibers and by adding thermally conductive microspheres to the resin. Two and three-dimensional finite element unit cell models are developed to predict the directional thermal conductivities. The analyses are based on the flash pulse method. It is found that the thermal conductivities in the longitudinal and the transverse directions are highly dependent on the fiber and microsphere volume fractions as well as on the thermal conductivities of fiber, microsphere, and coatings. It is shown that the 2-D analysis is a good approximation for the 3-D model. Close agreements among analytical, finite element and experimental results are obtained.