A network theory for the thermal conductivity of an amorphous polymeric material

A model to relate the thermal conductivity tensor to the deformation of an amorphous polymeric material above the glass transition temperature is presented. The basis of the model is formed by the transient network theory for polymer melts. With this theory it is possible to calculate the average orientation of the macromolecular segments as a function of the history of the deformation. Combined with an expression which relates the thermal conductivity to the orientation of the molecules, this provides us with the information needed to calculate the heat conduction tensor. Despite the fact that the simplest possible network model is chosen, there is good agreement with the sparse, experimental results.