Non-Linear Effect of Volume Fraction of Inclusions on The Effective Thermal Conductivity of Composite Materials: A Modified Maxwell Model

Sajjan Kumar, R. S. Bhoopal, P. K. Sharma, R. S. Beniwal, Ramvir Singh
DOI: 10.4236/ojcm.2011.11002                

Abstract

In this paper, non-linear dependence of volume fraction of inclusions on the effective thermal conductivity of composite materials is investigated. Proposed approximation formula is based on the Maxwell’s equation, in that a non-linear term dependent on the volume fraction of the inclusions and the ratio of the thermal conductivities of the polymer continuum and inclusions is introduced in place of the volume fraction of inclusions. The modified Maxwell’s equation is used to calculate effective thermal conductivity of several composite materials and agreed well with the earlier experimental results. A comparison of the proposed relation with different models has also been made.

Keywords

Effective Thermal Conductivity, Empirical Correction Term, Composite Materials

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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