Ismail H. Tavman

Thermal and mechanical properties of aluminum powder‐filled high‐density polyethylene composites

Thermal conductivity and mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elongation at break, and modulus of elasticity of aluminum powder-filled high-density polyethylene composites are investigated experimentally in the range of filler content 0–33% by volume for thermal conductivity and 0–50% by volume for mechanical properties. Experimental results from thermal conductivity measurements show a region of low particle content, 0–12% by volume, where the particles are distributed homogeneously in the polymer matrix and are not interacting with each other; in this region most of the thermal conductivity models for two-phase systems are applicable. At higher particle content, the filler tends to form ag-glomerates and conductive chains resulting in a rapid increase in thermal conductivity. The model developed by Agari and Uno estimates the thermal conductivity in this region. Tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing aluminum particles content, which is attributed to the introduction of discontinuities in the structure. Modulus of elasticity increased up to around 12% volume content of aluminum particles. Einsteins equation, which assumes perfect adhesion between the filler particles and the matrix, explains the experimental results in this region quite well. For particle content higher than 30%, a decrease in the modulus of elasticity is observed which may be attributed to the formation of cavities around filler particles during stretching in tensile tests.

Thermal conductivity of particle filled polyethylene composite materials

In this study, the effective thermal conductivity of aluminum filled high-density polyethylene composites is investigated numerically as a function of filler concentration. The obtained values are compared with experimental results and the existing theoretical and empirical models. The thermal conductivity is measured by a modified hot-wire technique. For numerical study, the effective thermal conductivity of particle-filled composite was calculated numerically using the micro structural images of them. By identifying each pixel with a finite difference equation and accompanying appropriate image processing, the effective thermal conductivity of composite material is determined numerically. As a result of this study, numerical results, experimental values and all the models are close to each other at low particle content. For particle content greater than 10%, the effective thermal conductivity is exponentially formed. All the models fail to predict thermal conductivity in this region. But, numerical results give satisfactory values in the whole range of aluminum particle content.

Effective thermal conductivity of granular porous materials

In this study, various conduction models for two-phase materials are considered and the range of applicability of these models is discussed. Experimental work is carried out on construction sand of various grain size and different porosity in air at atmospheric pressure, and the results are compared with theoretical models. A modified hot-wire method is used in the measurement of effective thermal conductivities.

Effect of Particle Shape on Thermal Conductivity of Copper Reinforced Polymer Composites

Thermal conductivity of copper powder filled polyamide composites are investigated experimentally in the range of filler content 0-30% by volume for particle shape of short fibers and 0-60% by volume for particle shapes of plates and spheres. The thermal conductivity of polymer composites is measured by the Hot-Disk method. It is seen that the experimental values for all the copper particle shapes are close to each other at low particle content, φ<10, as the particles are dispersed in the polyamide matrix and they are not interacting with each other. For particle content greater than 10% by volume, a rapid increase occurs in the thermal conductivity for the copper fibers filled polymer composite. As a result of this study, thermal conductivity of copper filled polyamide composites depends on the thermal conductivity of the filler particles, filler particle shape and size, and the volume fraction and spatial arrangement of the filler particles in the polymer matrix.

A Numerical and Experimental Study on Thermal Conductivity of Particle Filled Polymer Composites

In this study, thermal conductivity of particle filled polymer composites is investigated numerically and experimentally. In the numerical study, the finite-element program ANSYS is used to calculate the thermal conductivity of the composite by using the results of the thermal analysis. Three-dimensional models are used to simulate the microstructure of composite materials for various filler concentrations at various ratios of thermal conductivities of filler to matrix material. The models used to simulate particle filled composite materials are cubes in a cube lattice array and spheres in a cube lattice array. A modified hot wire method is used to measure the thermal conductivity of the composites consisting of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix filled with tin particles up to 16% by volume. The experimentally measured thermal conductivities are compared with numerically calculated ones by using the spheres in cube model and also with the already existing theoretical and empirical models. At low particle content, up to 10% of volume content of tin filler, numerical estimation and all other models except for the Cheng and Vachon model, predict well the thermal conductivity of the composite. For more heavily filled composites there is an exponential increase in thermal conductivity and most of the models fail to predict thermal conductivity in this region.

Effective thermal conductivity of isotropic polymer composites

Abstract The effective thermal conductivity of tin powder filled high density polyethylene composites is investigated experimentally as a function of filler concentration and the measured values are compared with the existing theoretical and empirical models. Samples are prepared by compression molding process, up to 16% volumetric concentration of tin particles. The thermal conductivity is measured by a modified hot wire technique in a temperature range from about 0°C to 70°C. Experimental results show a region of low particle content, up to about 10% volume concentration, where the increase in thermal conductivity is rather slow. The filler particles are dispersed in the matrix material in this region, the thermal conductivity is best predicted by Maxwells model and Nielsens model with A=1.5, φm=0.637. Whereas, at high filler concentrations, the filler particles tend to form agglomerates and conductive chains in the direction of heat flow resulting in a rapid increase in thermal conductivity. A model developed by Agari and Uno estimates the thermal conductivity in this region, using two experimentally determined constants.

Transverse thermal conductivity of fiber reinforced polymer composites

Transverse thermal conductivity of high density polyethylene reinforced with chopped strand glass fiber mat is investigated experimentally for temperatures ranging from 10°C to 85°C. Models predicting the transverse thermal conductivity of composites filled with long fibers are stated and are compared with each other and with experimental results. Samples are prepared by compression molding process, sandwiching layers of glass fibers between layers of polyethylene. A modified hot wire technique is used to measure thermal conductivity.

Measurement of thermal conductivity of dairy products

Thermal conductivity of eleven kinds of cheese, four kinds of yogurt and a butter sample has been measured at about 15°C and 30°C. A modified hot wire method was used for thermal conductivity measurements. The effect of the water, fat and protein content on the thermal conductivity has been investigated, the measured thermal conductivity values were linearly dependent on water content, and inversely dependent on fat and protein contents of the various dairy products. A slight increase in the thermal conductivity with temperature has been noticed for four cheese samples studied over a wider range of temperature, between 4°C and 44°C.

Measurement of effective thermal conductivity of wheat as a function of moisture content

Abstract The effective thermal conductivity of two varieties of Triticum durum wheat and a wheat product, bulgur, is determined at different moisture contents and at ambient temperature by the transient line heat source method. The moisture contents of the samples ranged from 9.17 to 38.65 percent wet basis and the bulk densities ranged from 675 to 827 kg/m3. Under those conditions, the measured effective thermal conductivities ranged from 0.159 to 0.201 W/m.K. The effective thermal conductivity is found to be linearly increasing with moisture content. The results are also in good agreement with literature values.

Measurement of thermal conductivity of edible oils using transient hot wire method.

Thermal conductivities of three different edible oils, namely sunflower oil, corn oil and olive oil, were measured at temperatures 25, 40, 60, and 80°C. The measurements were carried out using a hot wire probe method. The calibration of the probe was performed using 0.3% agar gel with water and glycerin. In general, thermal conductivities of oils used in this study are found to be decreasing with temperature. The values of thermal conductivity measured are quite near to each other, the highest and the lowest being respectively 0.168 W/m K for sunflower oil at 25°C and 0.152 W/m K for corn oil at 80°C.