Abstract
The thermal conductivity of sintered hollow sphere structures (HSS) is investigated within the scope of this paper. For this purpose, finite element analyses based on micro-computed tomography images are performed on HSS structures. The complex geometry of the real sintered HSS sample is accurately captured with this new hybrid method. The numerical computations are investigated in three perpendicular directions (i.e., x, y and z) in order to examine the anisotropic material behaviour. The results indicate that sintered HSS reveals quasi-isotropic behaviour in terms of effective thermal conductivity. For the first time, the influence of the sphere wall thickness of real HSS is investigated. To this end, the computed tomography data is carefully manipulated by changing the thickness of the hollow sphere wall. The variation of the wall thickness alters the relative density and has a significant influence on the thermal conductivity. The influence of the relative density on the thermal conductivity reveals a linear dependency.
Highlights
IntroductionCellular materials are frequently represented in nature e.g., wood, cork, coral, trabecular bone [1,2], etc
Cellular materials are frequently represented in nature e.g., wood, cork, coral, trabecular bone [1,2], etc.Due to their superior specific properties such as lightweight, energy absorption, damping behaviour, large surface area, sound absorption and low thermal conductivity compared to the properties of the solid material [3,4], cellular structures are mimicked in industrial applications
Calculations were performed with the finite element method based on micro-computed tomography images
Summary
Cellular materials are frequently represented in nature e.g., wood, cork, coral, trabecular bone [1,2], etc. Due to their superior specific properties such as lightweight, energy absorption, damping behaviour, large surface area, sound absorption and low thermal conductivity compared to the properties of the solid material [3,4], cellular structures are mimicked in industrial applications. Hollow spheres are commercially manufactured by the company hollomet GmbH, Dresden, Germany. The produced green bodies can either be sintered as single spheres or sintered in bulk in order to form an interdependent structure with randomly distributed hollow spheres. In the case of single spheres, an ordered structure can be generated with the help of a robot and the so-called “High Precision Pick and Place System” [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
