New method sees fibers in 3-D, uses it to estimate conductivity

As a vehicle travels through space at hypersonic speeds, the gases surrounding it generate heat at dangerous temperatures for the pilot and instrumentation inside. Designing a vehicle that can drive the heat away requires an understanding of the thermal properties of the materials used to construct it. A recent two-part study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a method to create 3-D models of the fibers within composite materials then used that information to predict the thermal conductivity of the material.