Developments in Ceramic Materials Research

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M. A. Sheik
together, as shown in Figure 27, through X- and Z-directions to form a single lamina and then
stacking these in Y-direction to form the full laminate prototype.
Figure 31. Boundary Conditions for steady-state FE thermal analysis for HITCO RVE Unit Cell.
Figure 32. Formation of the Composite test specimen sample using multiple HITCO RVE Unit Cells.
Using the chosen set of constituent material properties, a steady-state analysis has been
conducted. The local coordinate system assignment has insured that the heat flux must
conform to the vectors dictated by fibre tow’s orthotropic orientation system, as seen in a
vector plot in Figure 30. Arrows in the enlarged section of Figure 31 clearly show the desired
heat flow direction following the curves of the fibre tows. The flow has been enforced by the
material property orientation enforced during assignment of local coordinate system for fibre
tow sections bending along the tow interlacement points. A profile of in-plane heat flux for
the HITCO RVE Unit Cell has been shown in Figure 32 ‘without the matrix region’ so that
heat flux in the warp fibre tows is clearly visible. Amongst the expected flux contours, there
are certain flux hot spots present in the plot that can also be explained. These are typically