Evaluation the complex of thermal properties for epoxy-based GFRP used in wing of tourist class reusable space vehicle

Abstract

Abstract In general, the prediction the effective properties of fiber reinforced composites is a complicated task due to its heterogeneous properties. Therefore, new approaches can make possible obtaining of the reliable thermal properties of composites with least time and financial costs. This work presents the approach for determination of thermal properties of epoxy-based glass fiber reinforced composites. Firstly, to evaluate the thermal behavior of considered material the numerical modeling was conducted via finite element analysis in commercial software MSC Digimat. To validate the model, two-stage experimental study was carried out. As the result of the experimental research thermal conductivity through-plane was obtained by laser flash method as well as thermal conductivity in-plane – by specialized heat equipment developed in Bauman University with subsequent solution of the inverse heat conduction problem. Summing up, the analytical and experimental data showed good agreement that demonstrates the feasibility of the approach.