Finite Element Analysis of the Thermal Conductivity and the Specific Heat of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) Composites

The thermal conductivities of CFRP composites in the direction parallel to the fiber and vertical to the fiber and the specific heat of it were investigated by the methods of theoretical models and finite element analysis (FEA). The thermal conductivities, the specific heats and the volumes of both the carbon fiber and the epoxy resin, as constitute materials, were comprehensively considered in adopting the methods of theoretical models and FEA. In this paper, theoretical model and finite element analysis method are used to study the thermal conductivity and specific heat of CFRP composite, which shows that they have good consistency, and also shows the accuracy and rationality of the finite element analysis results.