Transient Characteristics of Thermal Conduction in Dispersed Composites

The effective thermal conductivity of dispersed composites with a hot-melt-adhesive matrix, measured using the steady-state method, is compared with the apparent thermal conductivity calculated from the average heat capacity and from the thermal diffusivity measured by the laser-flash method. The transient effect has been observed obviously at higher volume percentages for various dispersed particle sizes and ratios of the thermal conductivity values of dispersed and continuous phases. All of the experimental results are compared with those calculated by existing models and by the finite element method (FEM). An attempt has been made to show how the criterion for the homogeneity of dispersed composites under transient conditions is affected by the percentages of dispersed phase, dispersed particle size, and ratio of the thermal conductivity values of dispersed and continuous phases.