Measurement of effective thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity for assessing the integrity of fiber to matrix bond in natural fiber composite

Abstract

Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of pineapple leaf reinforced phenol formaldehyde composite have been studied with special reference to chemically treated fibers using the transient plane source (TPS) technique, at roam temperal.ure and normal pressure. All the composites were made of 40% fiber by weight. The fibers were treated with alkali, silane and toluene diisocyanate. It was found that, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the composites increase after chemical treatment. The thermal conductivity of alkali treated fiber was found to be maximum in the present study. The thermal conductivity of treated and untreated fibers was calculated theoretically by Bruggman's model. The results of model calculation showed an increase of thermal conductivity of treated fiber over the thermal conductivity of untreated fiber.