A micromechanical and numerical model for effective thermal conductivity of areca fiber and coconut shell particulate-reinforced hybrid composites

Abstract

The present investigation reports on the thermal conductivity of areca fiber and coconut shell particulate (CSP)-reinforced polymer composites. The fiber and particulate reinforcement percentages were 10–40wt.% with various weight ratios as 1:1, 1:3, and 3:1. The main focus has been given to the development of a micromechanical model to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of areca fiber and CSP-reinforced hybrid composites. In the numerical study, steady-state one-dimensional heat conduction analysis is performed with a periodic arrangement of cylinders and spherical reinforcement using ANSYS software. Unitherm [Formula: see text]Model 2022 equipment was used to measure the experimental thermal conductivity values of the hybrid composite materials and validated with the micromechanical and numerical values. The experimental results attained for thermal conductivity are supported by the proposed micromechanical model. The measured values of the composites were found to be in very close agreement with the micromechanical model and the numerical analysis. It is concluded from this study that the addition of areca fiber and CSP improves the thermal insulation capability of neat epoxy.