Determination of the effective coefficients of thermal conductivity of rib-reinforced polyfoams on the basis of the energy criterion of equivalence

We propose models of thermal conductivity of rib-reinforced polyfoams that are based on the condition of equality of dissipations in the equivalent material and the composite under study. The comparison of the calculated effective coefficients of thermal conductivity for unidirectionally and spatially reinforced polyfoams is performed. It is shown that the proposed models give lower and upper bounds for calculated effective coefficients of thermal conductivity for the composites under study. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.