Microscale Morphology Driven Thermal Transport in Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

Fiber-reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) materials are used extensively in various industries, such as aerospace, automobiles, and electronics packaging, due to their remarkable specific strength and desirable properties, such as enhanced durability and corrosion resistance. The evolution of thermal properties in FRPCs is crucial for advancing thermal management systems, optimizing material performance, and enhancing energy efficiency across these diverse sectors. Despite significant research efforts to develop new materials with improved thermal properties and reduced thermal degradation, there is a lack of understanding of the thermal transport phenomena considering the influence of microscale reinforcement morphology in these composites. In the current study, we performed experimental investigations complemented by computations to determine the thermal transport properties and associated phenomena in epoxy and carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. The experimental findings were utilized as input data for numerical analysis to examine the impact of fiber morphology and volume fraction in thermal transport phenomena. Our results revealed that composites incorporating non-circular fibers manifested higher thermal conductivity than traditional circular fibers in the transverse direction. This can be attributed to increased interconnected heat flow pathways facilitated by the increased surface area of non-circular fibers with the same cross-sectional areas, resulting in efficient heat transfer.