Multi-Scale Finite Element Analyses of Thermal Conductivities of Three Dimensional Woven Composites

This paper summarizes an extensive experimental and prediction study of thermal conductivities of three-dimensional woven composites (3DWCs). Three kinds of innovative 3D woven architectures are examined, including 2.5D angle-interlock, 2.5D angle-interlock (with warp reinforcement), and 3D orthogonal woven architectures. The differences of thermal behaviors of 3DWCs in plane and out of plane are assessed by using multi-scale finite element analysis. For the validation of models, the thickness direction thermal conductivity of 3DWCs are measured. It is indicated that the predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The effects of weave density and fabric architecture on the distribution of heat flux and temperature have been discussed in this work, which determined the thermal conductivities of 3DWCs. From this study, it can be expected that the need of thermal performance of 3DWCs can obtained according to optimize the weave parameters based on the high designability of 3DWCs.