Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

This work presents a comprehensive analysis of heat transfer and thermal conductivity of porous materials manufactured by spark plasma sintering. Intermetallic nickel aluminide (NiAl) has been selected as the representative material. Due to the complexity of the studied material, the following investigation consists of experimental, theoretical and numerical sections. The samples were manufactured in different combinations of process parameters, namely sintering temperature, time and external pressure, and next tested using the laser flash method to determine the effective thermal conductivity. Microstructural characterisation was extensively examined by use of scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) with a special focus on the structure of cohesive bonds (necks) formed during the sintering process. The experimental results of thermal conductivity were compared with theoretical and numerical ones. Here, a finite element framework based on micro-CT imaging was employed to analyse the macroscopic (effective thermal conductivity, geometrical and thermal tortuosity) and microscopic parameters (magnitude and deviation angle of heat fluxes, local tortuosity). The comparison of different approaches toward effective thermal conductivity evaluation revealed the necessity of consideration of additional thermal resistance related to sintered necks. As micro-CT analysis cannot determine the particle contact boundaries, a special algorithm was implemented to identify the corresponding spots in the volume of finite element samples; these are treated as the resistance phase, marked by lower thermal conductivity. Multiple simulations with varying content of the resistance phase and different values of thermal conductivity of the resistance phase have been performed, to achieve consistency with experimental data. Finally, the Landauer relation has been modified to take into account the thermal resistance of necks and their thermal conductivity, depending on sample densification. Modified theoretical and finite element models have provided updated results covering a wide range of effective thermal conductivities; thus, it was possible to reconstruct experimental results with satisfactory accuracy.

thermal conductivity, porous materials, spark plasma sintering, micro-computed tomography, nickel aluminide, finite element modelling, tortuosity

Tomography allows embedding of one space in another, especially ℛ2→ℛ3, and observation of the nature of the volumetric internal composite structure. Now, not only a simple interpretation is expected of geometry defined via single thresholds of structures. The binary segmentation used for numerical struc-ture analysis requires more detailed presentation. This paper shows an example of image analysis tech-niques applied to study the homogeneity of two-phase material. Using tomography analysis, the results of the homogeneity of the SiC particles with 10vol.%, 20vol.%, 30vol.%, 40vol.% volumetric bulk density of Cu/SiC composites are presented. Finally, for two independent coordinate systems, the distribution of SiC particle masses and their total moments of inertia were determined. The results confirmed that for well-mixed composite powders the homogeneity of the reinforcing phase is expected in samples with a SiC volume near 30vol.%. In this case, segregation by translation and rotation of SiC particles in the matrix, during the sintering process is restricted.

Cu/SiC composite materials, image analysis, isotropy, uniformity

The main current of publication is focused around the issues and problems associated with the formation of composite materials with Cu matrix and reinforcing phases in the various carbon nanoforms. The core of the research has been focused on thermal conductivity of these composites types. This parameter globally reflects the state of the structure, quality of raw materials and the technology used during the formation of composite materials. Vanishingly low affinity of copper for carbon, multilayered forms of graphene, the existence of critical values of graphene volume in the composite are not conducive to the classic procedures of composites designing. As a result, the expected, significant increase in thermal conductivity of composites is not greater than for pure copper matrix. Present paper especially includes: (i) data of obtaining procedure of copper/graphene mixtures, (ii) data of sintering process, (iii) the results of structure investigations and of thermal properties. Structural analysis revealed the homogenous distribution of graphene in copper matrix, the thermal analysis indicate the existence of carbon phase critical concentration, where improvement of thermal diffusivity to pure copper can occur

metal matrix composite, sintering, copper, graphene, thermal diffusivity

In this paper the results of numerical simulations and experimental studies are presented which describe potential and limitation of applications of single-layer (SLG) and multi-layer (MLG) graphene for thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE) of copper. A series of composite structures were studied which are representative of most widely used systems. The influence of structural parameters on the macroscopic thermal conductivity was analyzed, both experimentally and by numerical simulations. Analytical and Finite Element Method modeling were carried out to investigate a wide range of phenomena, including the effect of copper-MLG interface, copper grain size, volume fraction, thickness and orientation of MLG platelets as well as spatial distribution of MLG defined by percolation factor. Both modeling and the experimental results show that the volume fraction of MLG regions, their size, orientation and spatial distribution may significantly affect the thermal conductivity of metal matrix composites. TCE can be obtained for the laminate-like structure or particulate composites with highly aligned MLG regions. The thermal conductivity of such composites is strongly anisotropic and enhanced in the direction perpendicular to the layers. The results obtained in this study predict that SLG will have a negative effect on the thermal conductivity of copper matrix composites.

Thermal conductivity, Composites, Graphene, Finite element method

The unique properties of ceramic foams make them well suited to a range of applications in science and engineering such as heat transfer, reaction catalysis, flow stabilization, and filtration. Consequently, a detailed understanding of the transport properties (i.e. permeability, pressure drop) of these foams is essential. This paper presents the results of both numerical and experimental investigations of the morphology and pressure drop in 10 ppi (pores per inch), 20 ppi and 30 ppi ceramic foam specimens with porosity in the range of 75–79%. The numerical simulations were carried out using a GPU implementation of the three-dimensional, multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method (MRT-LBM) on geometries of up to 360 million nodes in size. The experiments were undertaken using a water channel. Foam morphology (porosity and specific surface area) was studied on post-processed, computed tomography (CT) images, and the sensitivity of these results to CT image thresholding was also investigated. Comparison of the numerical and experimental data for pressure drop exhibited very good agreement. Additionally, the results of this study were verified against other researchers׳ data and correlations, with varying outcomes.

Ceramic foam, Pressure drop, Lattice Boltzmann method, Darcy–Forchheimer equation, Specific surface area, Pore-scale simulation

Our numerical approach to modeling elastic-plastic deformation comes back to the idea of the time-independent plasticity developed here at the molecular-statics level. We use a constitutive atomic model based on the second-moment approximation of the tight-binding potential coupled to a linear theory of elasticity solved simultaneously within the finite element method. Our model is applied to the nanoindentation problem for copper in which the indenter is represented by the equations of a sphere. For convenience the time-dependency of the nanoindentation problem is reduced to a quasi-static adiabatic scheme. A recurring theme in this paper is to determine the response of the proposed model for two differing systems: mono and polycrystalline copper. This paper discusses the force-depth response in terms of atomic bond-lengths, elastic-plastic deformations, and the instantaneous stiffness of the material. We report on an increased instantaneous stiffness of polycrystalline copper compared to that of its monocrystalline counterpart. From both a distinct and a comparative analysis of both systems, based on the relaxed positions of the atoms in the structure during the simulation, we deduce that plastic deformations at grain-boundaries are responsible for this change in the overall instantaneous stiffness of the material.

linear elasticity, material science, molecular statics, nanoindentation, quasicontinuum methods