Thermal diffusivity measurements of selected fiber reinforced polymer composites using heat pulse method

Purpose: The objective of this paper was to examine the effect of fiber content on the thermal diffusivity in selected fiber reinforced polymer composites. The influence of fiber type on the thermal diffusivity was also considered and discussed. Design/methodology/approach: The experiments have been performed using a heat pulse method for the thermal diffusivity measurements of engineering materials. For the purpose of the present study, two different types of composite materials with glass or aramid fiber and with different fiber content were prepared. Findings: For the GFRP composites, the obtained results indicate that the higher is glass fiber content the higher is the thermal diffusivity value. These results shows a linear relationship between fiber content and thermal diffusivity. In the case of KFRP composites, the thermal diffusivity decreases marginally with an increase of fiber content. Research limitations/implications: Due to the relatively high thickness of investigated specimens, in comparison with standard specimens for thermal diffusivity measurements, the obtained values of thermal diffusivity are affected by several factors, e.g. heat losses or temperature-dependent thermo-physical properties. This indicates that the real quantity determined in the present study, was, so-called, apparent thermal diffusivity. Practical implications: The method applied in this work allows to obtain quantitative results, which would be satisfactory to industrial or laboratory applications in the field of non-destructive testing of composite materials. Originality/value: The method initially proposed by Parker et al. in 1961 for the thermal diffusivity measurements of homogeneous solids was successfully applied to determine the thermal diffusivity of non-homogeneous glass and aramid fiber reinforced polymer composites.