The research will contribute to our knowledge and understanding of heat transfer in a decomposing material in several ways: First, an analytical model will be formulated and applied to study the effects of certain key properties such as thermochemical expansion, porosity, permeability, etc. The experimental portion of the work will lead to empirical relations for the expansion, porosity, pore surface area, and permeability as a function of the stage of thermal decomposition. The materials used in the study include some that are currently employed in engineering practice, so that the benefits of the research should be immediate.
