Numerical and analytical calculation of the orthotropic heat transfer properties of fibre reinforced materials

This paper is on the investigation of the orthotropic heat transfer properties of unidirectional fibre reinforced materials. The orthotropic effective thermal conductivity of such composite materials is investigated based on two different approaches: the finite element method as a representative for numerical approximation methods and an analytical method for homogenised models based on the solution of the respective boundary value problem. It is found that fibre reinforced composites possess strong orthotropic heat transfer properties, which are getting more distinctive with increasing deviation of the thermal conductivities of matrix and reinforcements. Furthermore, the effect of small perturbations of the periodic configuration of fibres in the matrix on the thermal conductivity is investigated.