Modelling thermal properties of particulate composites applying FEM

Abstract

To meet the demand for energy savings, lightweight alumina-silicate-based refractory composites were fabricated to achieve low thermal conductivity. Both the chemical composition and the topology of the microstructure of the composite play a significant role in thermomechanical properties, where the presence of air inclusions is an essential factor in the reduction of thermal conductivity. The numerical discrete particle approach combined with the finite method is proposed to evaluate the conductivity, and it is applied for the simulation of the alumina-silicate composite containing hollow microspheres. The preliminary results obtained demonstrated the suitability of the numerical tool for evaluating the correlation between particle packing, binder composition, and thermal conductivity. More research is needed to improve computational efficiency and experimental evidence.