Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling

Polymer composites containing magnetic fillers show great potential for various applications, including energy storage and medical devices. To aid in the engineering and design of these components, a thorough understanding of the thermal behavior of these inhomogeneous and often highly anisotropic m...

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Main Authors: Yingnan Wang, Hamidreza Ahmadi Moghaddam, Jorge Palacios Moreno, Pierre Mertiny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Results in Physics
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379725002049
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author Yingnan Wang
Hamidreza Ahmadi Moghaddam
Jorge Palacios Moreno
Pierre Mertiny
author_facet Yingnan Wang
Hamidreza Ahmadi Moghaddam
Jorge Palacios Moreno
Pierre Mertiny
author_sort Yingnan Wang
collection DOAJ
description Polymer composites containing magnetic fillers show great potential for various applications, including energy storage and medical devices. To aid in the engineering and design of these components, a thorough understanding of the thermal behavior of these inhomogeneous and often highly anisotropic materials is essential, particularly in terms of their coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). To explore this, the authors produced magnetic composites using compression molding and casting techniques. The epoxy polymer matrix was modified with a commercial thickening agent, and isotropic magnetic particles were added as functional fillers. The microstructural morphology of the composites, including the distribution, dispersion, and alignment of the magnetic fillers, was analyzed through microscopy techniques like scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature of both the polymer matrix and the composites was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The CTEs of both the polymer matrix and the composites were experimentally determined using a custom-designed setup and analyzed through stochastic finite element analysis (SFEA). Five modeling scenarios were considered to predict the CTEs of the composite systems: fully random distribution, randomly aligned distribution, a ‘bonded’ interface contact, and a ‘no-separation’ interface contact for the in-plane directions of particles. For the out-of-plane direction, the randomly aligned distribution with ‘no-separation’ contact was also explored. Among the in-plane direction scenarios, the case with ‘bonded’ interface contact and randomly aligned distribution yielded the lowest CTE, while the case with fully random distribution and ‘no-separation’ interface contact resulted in the highest CTE. Finally, the experimental and SFEA modeling results were compared and discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-cc0463ca583c4b3d9f9783dce014d08f2025-08-20T03:21:51ZengElsevierResults in Physics2211-37972025-07-017410831010.1016/j.rinp.2025.108310Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modelingYingnan Wang0Hamidreza Ahmadi Moghaddam1Jorge Palacios Moreno2Pierre Mertiny3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, CanadaCorresponding author.; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, CanadaPolymer composites containing magnetic fillers show great potential for various applications, including energy storage and medical devices. To aid in the engineering and design of these components, a thorough understanding of the thermal behavior of these inhomogeneous and often highly anisotropic materials is essential, particularly in terms of their coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). To explore this, the authors produced magnetic composites using compression molding and casting techniques. The epoxy polymer matrix was modified with a commercial thickening agent, and isotropic magnetic particles were added as functional fillers. The microstructural morphology of the composites, including the distribution, dispersion, and alignment of the magnetic fillers, was analyzed through microscopy techniques like scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature of both the polymer matrix and the composites was measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The CTEs of both the polymer matrix and the composites were experimentally determined using a custom-designed setup and analyzed through stochastic finite element analysis (SFEA). Five modeling scenarios were considered to predict the CTEs of the composite systems: fully random distribution, randomly aligned distribution, a ‘bonded’ interface contact, and a ‘no-separation’ interface contact for the in-plane directions of particles. For the out-of-plane direction, the randomly aligned distribution with ‘no-separation’ contact was also explored. Among the in-plane direction scenarios, the case with ‘bonded’ interface contact and randomly aligned distribution yielded the lowest CTE, while the case with fully random distribution and ‘no-separation’ interface contact resulted in the highest CTE. Finally, the experimental and SFEA modeling results were compared and discussed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379725002049Magnetic filler polymer compositesNdFeB particlesModified epoxy polymerMorphologyCoefficient of thermal expansionNumerical modeling
spellingShingle Yingnan Wang
Hamidreza Ahmadi Moghaddam
Jorge Palacios Moreno
Pierre Mertiny
Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
Results in Physics
Magnetic filler polymer composites
NdFeB particles
Modified epoxy polymer
Morphology
Coefficient of thermal expansion
Numerical modeling
title Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
title_full Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
title_fullStr Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
title_full_unstemmed Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
title_short Coefficient of thermal expansion of Nd-Fe-B magnetic particle polymer composites – experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
title_sort coefficient of thermal expansion of nd fe b magnetic particle polymer composites experiments and stochastic finite element modeling
topic Magnetic filler polymer composites
NdFeB particles
Modified epoxy polymer
Morphology
Coefficient of thermal expansion
Numerical modeling
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379725002049
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AT jorgepalaciosmoreno coefficientofthermalexpansionofndfebmagneticparticlepolymercompositesexperimentsandstochasticfiniteelementmodeling
AT pierremertiny coefficientofthermalexpansionofndfebmagneticparticlepolymercompositesexperimentsandstochasticfiniteelementmodeling