Modeling of Heat-Activated Coupled Composite Pipes in a Cryogenic Thermal Environment

Modeling of heat-activated coupled graphite fiber reinforced composite piping in a cryogenic environment was investigated in this study. A 2-dimensional heat diffusion model was used to capture the essentials of thermal transport through the thickness of a heat-activated coupled (HAC) graphite epoxy composite-to-composite pipe joint. The resulting boundary value problem was solved using an Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) finite difference model (FDM). Simulated numerical transient temperature distributions are predicted for comparison with experimental results.