Location
Havener Center, Miner Lounge / Wiese Atrium, 1:30pm-3:30pm
Start Date
4-2-2026 1:30 PM
End Date
4-2-2026 3:30 PM
Presentation Date
April 2, 2026; 1:30pm-3:30pm
Description
Thermal energy transport in materials can be effectively modeled using finite element software such as COMSOL. Experimentally measured or NIST–JANAF thermal conductivity data can be used to represent material behavior within these simulations. For heterogeneous or composite materials, effective properties are often approximated using rule-of-mixtures calculations. However, this overlooks the nuanced effects caused by complex microstructural geometry. To address this limitation, imaging and coding tools such as MATLAB can be used to process scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. By thresholding the images to distinguish constituent materials, a representative mesh can be generated and imported into an FEM program. This approach enables a more realistic simulation of thermal transport through complex microstructures. The addition of temperature dependent properties from CALPHAD increases the fidelity in simulating these high temperature materials. Comparing the results of the simulation to thermal diffusivity measurements of the partitioned CMC verifies the integrity of the COMSOL model.
Biography
Matik is currently in his third year of his PhD studying Mechanical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he previously completed his BS is Aerospace Engineering. In his undergrad, Matik spent time working for Spirit Aerosystems as both a researcher in oxide based composites and a design engineer. Under the guidance of Dr. K. Chandrashekhara, Matik continued his undergrad research in composite manufacturing and has explored a variety of applications materials and applications from 3D printed polymers to infiltrated ultra high temperature ceramics.
Meeting Name
2026 - Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Document Type
Poster
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
event
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 The Authors, All rights reserved
Simulating Thermal Diffusion Through Image-Derived Microstructures of Ceramic Matrix Composites
Havener Center, Miner Lounge / Wiese Atrium, 1:30pm-3:30pm
Thermal energy transport in materials can be effectively modeled using finite element software such as COMSOL. Experimentally measured or NIST–JANAF thermal conductivity data can be used to represent material behavior within these simulations. For heterogeneous or composite materials, effective properties are often approximated using rule-of-mixtures calculations. However, this overlooks the nuanced effects caused by complex microstructural geometry. To address this limitation, imaging and coding tools such as MATLAB can be used to process scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. By thresholding the images to distinguish constituent materials, a representative mesh can be generated and imported into an FEM program. This approach enables a more realistic simulation of thermal transport through complex microstructures. The addition of temperature dependent properties from CALPHAD increases the fidelity in simulating these high temperature materials. Comparing the results of the simulation to thermal diffusivity measurements of the partitioned CMC verifies the integrity of the COMSOL model.
Comments
Advisor: K. Chandrashekhara, chandra@mst.edu