Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering Vol. 3(1), pp. 1 - 6
DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030101
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Computational, Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Conduction of Particulate Filled Polymer Composite

Alok Agrawal ^*, Alok Satapathy
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India

ABSTRACT

In this paper, an attempt to determine the effective thermal conductivity (k_eff) of particulate filled polymer composites using finite element method (FEM) a powerful computational technique is made. A commercially available finite element package ANSYS is used for this numerical analysis. Three-dimensional spheres-in-cube lattice array models are constructed to simulate the microstructures of particulate filled polymer composites with filler content ranging from 2.35 to 26.8 vol %. Composites with similar filler contents are then fabricated using compression molding technique by reinforcing micro-sized aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) in polypropylene (PP) resin. Thermal conductivities of these composite samples are measured according to the ASTM standard E-1530 by using the Unitherm^™ Model 2022 tester. The experimentally measured conductivity values are compared with the numerical values and also with those obtained from existing empirical models. This comparison reveals that the FEM simulated values are found to be in reasonable good agreement with the experimental data. Values obtained from the theoretical model are also found to be in alignment with the measured values within percolation limit. Furthermore, this study shows that there is gradual enhancement in the conductivity of PP resin with increase in filler percentage. It is noticed that with addition of 26.8 vol % of filler, the k_eff of composite increases to around 6.3 times that of neat PP. This study validates the proposed model for PP- Al₂O₃ composite system and proves that finite element analysis can be an excellent methodology for such investigations.

KEYWORDS
Polymer Matrix Composite, Polypropylene, Aluminium Oxide, Effective Thermal Conductivity, Finite Element Method

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Alok Agrawal , Alok Satapathy , "Computational, Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Conduction of Particulate Filled Polymer Composite," Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1 - 6, 2015. DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030101.

(b). APA Format:
Alok Agrawal , Alok Satapathy (2015). Computational, Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Conduction of Particulate Filled Polymer Composite. Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 3(1), 1 - 6. DOI: 10.13189/ujme.2015.030101.