Infrared thermography for void mapping of a graphene/epoxy composite and its full-field thermal simulation

Important challenges are faced during the manufacturing of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)/polymer composites, associated with material quality and how to eliminate or reduce fabrication-induced defects in the effort to improve performance. In the present work, infrared thermography (IRT) is used to measure void content and map void distribution, formed during fabrication of GNP/epoxy nanocomposites. Taking into consideration the size of each pixel (~100 μm), this method enables the non-destructive detection of flaws with a size of approximately 200 μm. Their effect on thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite is studied by a 3D multiscale finite element analysis. Generic and full-field comparisons demonstrate a good agreement between measurements and numerical predictions, validating assumptions and simplifications made in the proposed model.