Thermal conductivity of polymer composite pigmented with titanium dioxide

The aim of this work is to provide a numerical modeling of thermal conductivity of a polymer matrix polystyrene composite filled with titanium dioxide spheres, and to compare the obtained results with theoretical prediction models and the experimental data as a function of the quenching temperature. For this purpose, a numerical study was conducted using the finite element method to predict the effective thermal conductivity of the composite. In addition, a comparison with the results from the analytical models showed that the proposed numerical model is in good agreement with the analytical models of Hatta–Taya and Hashin–Shtrikman. Finally, the comparison of the numerical model to experimental results based on the quenching temperature shows that the best quenching temperature that agrees well with the theoretical model Hashin–Shtrikman is 20 °C.