ESTIMATION OF THERMAL-PROPERTIES IN EPOXY MATRIX CARBON-FIBER COMPOSITE-MATERIALS

Accurate knowledge of the thermal characteristics of composites is important in any nonisothermal environment, and these characteristics are related to the thermal properties of the niaterial. The focus of this study is on the estimation of the thermal properties, namely thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity, of AS4 surface treated carbon fiber (Hercules, Inc.)/BADGE-mPDA composites. The thermal properties perpendicular to the fiber axis were estimated using the Gauss minimization method at different temperatures for two different stacking orientations. The magnitude of the thermal properties increased with temperature over the temperature range studied, arid a significant difference was found between the estimated thermal conductivities of samples with different stacking orientations.