Thermal expansion coefficient of particulate composites defined by the particle contiguity

Abstract

A theoretical model for the evaluation of the thermal expansion coefficient of particulate composites is presented in this paper. The proposed model takes into account the influence of neighbouring spherical inclusions on the thermal expansion of the composite consisting of the matrix and filler. A microstructural cubic model reproducing its the basic cell at a microscopic scale was transformed to a four–phase representative volume element (RVE) in order to apply the theory of elasticity. Theoretical values derived from this model were compared with other theoretical ones obtained from literature as well as with experimental results with aluminium particulate–filled epoxy resin composites carried out by the authors and also by other scientists. The goal is to study the influence of the particle contiguity (or the particle interaction) in order to show that the volume fraction is not the only parameter determining the thermomechanical constants.