Effective Thermal Conductivity of a Composite Material: A Numerical Approach

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to characterize conductive heat transfer through composite, granular, or fibrous materials. A numerical approach was used to determine the effective thermal conductivity of the diphasic media. The media are composed of a solid continuous matrix containing similar particles. The configuration studied was a cubic lattice array with cylindrical inclusions. Behavior laws were established according to particle geometry, concentration, and the type of contact between particles. The effective thermal conductivity of the material was determined using the Laplace equation, as were the temperature and flux fields within the cell. A finite-element formulation was therefore used in this study. Calculation is carried out on two and three-dimensional geometric spaces. The results obtained from this calculation were compared to theoretical results found in prior literature.