Abstract
The manufacturing process of GnP/polymer nanocomposites exhibits important challenges regarding the material quality and how to reduce or eliminate fabrication induced defects. In this work, the effect of air cavities (voids) on the thermal response of nanocomposites is studied by means of finite element analysis on a multi-scale scheme. The proposed model is validated with experimental data by performing generic and full-field comparisons.
Highlights
The manufacturing process of any composite material system exhibits important challenges, including the development of time and cost-effective methods, enabling massive production with high repeatability in the products’ specification
The simulated macroscopic and field thermal response were compared with experimental measurements obtained for a 10wt% M25 graphene nanoplatelet (GnP)/epoxy nanocomposite with surface impurities, while the use of the thermal diffusivity mapping to locate air bubble defects was explored
The effect of air bubbles to the thermal response of nanocomposites was studied through a multi-scale scheme including an Representative Volume Element (RVE) and a macro-scale specimen
Summary
The manufacturing process of any composite material system exhibits important challenges, including the development of time and cost-effective methods, enabling massive production with high repeatability in the products’ specification. A 3D multi-scale finite element model, based on previous research [1–4], is presented to simulate the steady-state and transient thermal response of a graphene nanoplatelet (GnP)/epoxy composite in the presence of surface air cavities. It adopts a Representative Volume Element (RVE), modelling the effect of the cavity on the local thermal diffusivity field, and the square specimen for thermal diffusivity measurements. The simulated macroscopic and field thermal response were compared with experimental measurements obtained for a 10wt% M25 GnP/epoxy nanocomposite with surface impurities, while the use of the thermal diffusivity mapping to locate air bubble defects was explored
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