Analytical and modeling investigations of volume fraction of interfacial layers around ellipsoidal aggregate particles in multiphase materials

The determination of the volume fraction of interfacial layers is very significant for assessing the quantitative relationship between the microstructure and macroscopic physical properties of complex multiphase materials. In this work, based on a three-phase composite structure, an approximate analytical model for the volume fraction of interfacial layers around ellipsoidal aggregate particles is presented in detail. To verify the accuracy and reliability of the derived analytical model, a numerical model is introduced by means of random packing of polydispersed ellipsoidal aggregate particles, in which the relative spatial position between an arbitrary point and an ellipsoidal particle is precisely and conveniently determined. With the analytical and numerical models applied, the dependence of the volume fraction of interfacial layers on various factors, such as the particle shape, the volume fraction and the maximum particle size of aggregates, and the thickness of the interfacial layers, is evaluated. Furthermore, the results from the analytical model and the numerical model with these factors are compared. It is found that the theoretical results are favorably consistent with the simulated results.