Abstract
The electrical properties of polymer-metal composites are strongly affected by the quantity, distribution, and arrangement of the metal particles in the polymer matrix. The effect of these factors was investigated in a polyvinylchloride-nickel composite by adopting a multiscale finite-element modelling approach. Modelling in the macroscale was used to determine the electrical conductivity of agglomerated particles with varying volume fractions of Ni. The calculated electrical conductivities were then incorporated into calculations on the microscale, using a composite unit cell. The electrical conductivity of the composite unit cell was in good agreement with experimental data.