Comparison of two finite element homogenization prediction approaches for through thickness thermal conductivity of particle embedded textile composites

A detailed three dimensional finite element model was developed to predict the through-thickness thermal conductivity of a textile composite structure consisting of a woven fabric and matrix in our previous work [1] in which conductive particles are randomly distributed in the matrix in the unit cell already containing the woven fabric and the effective thermal conductivity of this three-phase system is numerically evaluated. In this paper, results of this three-component system are compared with a two-component system in which the thermal conductivity of the matrix and particles is homogenized by a finite element approximation under the same thermal conditions. A parametric study of this comparison is conducted over different volume fractions and thermal conductivities of both textile fabric and loaded particles and its efficacy is discussed. Typically such composites could be coated with a conductive skin on the surface. Thus, the role of the skin and fiber conductivities in enhancing heat transfer is compared for this structure. The proposed approach of finite element homogenization of particle-matrix medium can be used to conduct a preliminary assessment of through-thickness thermal conductivity of such three-component composite systems with fabrics, particles and matrices with and without the presence of a skin layer.