Thermal conductivity of calcium carbonate filled with unsaturated polyester composites with different filler sizes

Abstract

The effect of filler size to the thermal conductivity of the calcium carbonatefilled with unsaturated polyester composites has been experimentally investigated. The filler was derived from the shell of local clam known as Polymesoda bengalensis. Neat unsaturated polyester samples and calcium carbonate filler with eight different mean diameter sizes were embedded in the unsaturated polyester with 8 wt-% filler loading. Thermal conductivity was measured by applying the guarded heat flow meter method according to ASTM E1225-99 using P.A Hilton Heat Conduction Unit H-940. The result shows that at constant filler content, the thermal conductivity of calcium carbonate/unsaturated polyester composites were increased gradually as the filler size was decreased.

Keywords:

• Polymesoda bengalensis
• CaCO₃
• Thermal conductivity
• Unsaturated polyester
• Aragonite

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their utmost gratitude to University of Malaya for providing financial support and research facilities. This research was financially supported by the Postgraduate Research Grant (PV096/2012A) of University of Malaya, Malaysia.