The concept of the electromagnetic wave transparency is introduced into the thermal field. The conditions of the thermal transparency for a multilayered sphere with isotropic coatings, a coated spheroid with an isotropic coating, and a coated sphere with a radial anisotropic core or a radial anisotropic coat are deduced with the help of the idea of the neutral inclusion. The thermal transparency can be achieved by making the effective thermal conductivity of the composite inclusion equal to the thermal conductivity of the surrounding matrix. The validity of the theoretical analysis is checked by the corresponding simulated results, which indicate that the designed neutral inclusion can be transparent perfectly. A specific case of interest of the thermal transparency is its application to cancel the thermal stress concentration resulting from the existence of the inclusions in the particle (even the thermal-insulated particle) -reinforced composites.

• Received 25 April 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.88.033201