CALCULATIONS OF EXPANSION COEFFICIENT OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS BY NUMERICAL METHOD BASED ON EFFECTIVE MEDIUM THEORY

The thermal expansivity of particle-filled as well as unidirectional fibre reinforced composite materials is calculated by a numerical method based on Effective Medium Theory (EMT).Thermal expansion coefficients so obtained show good conformity with experimental data.A comparison with the results calculated from Schapery and Kerner equations is also made,indicating the good applicability of EMT to thermal expansivity of composites.