Effective coefficient of thermal expansion of n-layered composite sphere model: Exact solution and its finite element validation

Using the method of homogeneous solutions, we derive exact self-consistent solution for effective thermal expansion coefficient of n-layered composite sphere model. Assuming representative thermoelastic phase properties and using unstructured morphology-adaptive tetrahedron meshes, we conduct numerical finite element predictions of effective thermal expansion coefficient of periodic random computer microstructures with 27 non-overlapping spherical core–shell alumina, silica and hybrid latex-silica particles dispersed in aluminum and polymer matrices. We compare finite element estimates with corresponding predictions of n-layered composite sphere model and demonstrated that the derived solution is indeed very accurate.