Abstract
In the present work, inverse thermal analysis of heat conduction is carried out to estimate the in-plane thermal conductivity of composites. Numerical simulations were performed to determine the optimal configuration of the heating system to ensure a unidirectional heat transfer in the composite sample. Composite plates made of unsaturated polyester resin and unidirectional glass fibers were fabricated by injection to validate the methodology. A heating and cooling cycle is applied at the bottom and top surfaces of the sample. The thermal conductivity can be deduced from transient temperature measurements given by thermocouples positioned at three chosen locations along the fibers direction. The inverse analysis algorithm is initiated by solving the direct problem defined by the one-dimensional transient heat conduction equation using a first estimate of thermal conductivity. The integral in time of the square distance between the measured and predicted values is the criterion minimized in the inverse analysis algorithm. Finally, the evolution of the in-plane composite thermal conductivity can be deduced from the experimental results by the rule of mixture.
Highlights
Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) has become in recent years a more widely adopted process to manufacture automotive and aerospace composite parts
A uniform and unidirectional thermal gradient must be applied along each planar direction of the composite specimens to determine the in-plane thermal conductivity
This paper shows how the same mold devised initially for through-thickness measurements can be successfully used to measure the in-plane thermal conductivity of composites
Summary
Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) has become in recent years a more widely adopted process to manufacture automotive and aerospace composite parts. Temperature during mold filling and cure of the compo-. It is important to analyze the thermal behavior during processing and evaluate the influence of temperature on thermal properties such as specific heat and thermal conductivity. While specific heat can be obtained from DSC measurements, thermal conductivity is more difficult to measure, especially for anisotropic materials like composites. They consist of thermally exciting a sample and measuring its thermal response in order to estimate its heat transport properties. An appropriate model can be used afterwards to describe the dependence of thermal conductivity with the degree of cure
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