Thermal Conductivity of Polymer-Based Composites: Fundamentals and Applications

The thermal conductivity of a solid or gas filled polymer is used in processing or end use application calculations. Numerous theoretical and empirical correlations are found in the literature. A careful review of these models indictes that no one correlation or technique accurately predicts the thermal conductivity of all types of composites. The investigation indicated that for solid filled composites the Lewis and Nielsen equation fitted the experimental data best for the range of fillers tested. However, for a gas filled polymer, none of the theoretical models proved adequate. The semi-empirical approach of Harding showed considerable merit.

Methods for predicting the thermal conductivity of composite systems: A review

Thermally conducting, but electrically insulating, polymer-matrix composites that exhibit low values of the dielectric constant and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are needed for electronic packaging. For developing such composites, this work used aluminum nitride whiskers (and/or particles) and/or silicon carbide whiskers as fillers(s) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or epoxy as matrix. The highest thermal conductivity of 11.5 W/(m K) was attained by using PVDF, AlN whiskers and AlN particles (7 μm), such that the total filler volume fraction was 60% and the AlN whisker–particle ratio was 1:25.7. When AlN particles were used as the sole filler, the thermal conductivity was highest for the largest AlN particle size (115 μm), but the porosity increased with increasing AlN particle size. The thermal conductivity of AlN particle epoxy-matrix composite was increased by up to 97% by silane surface treatment of the particles prior to composite fabrication. The increase in thermal conductivity is due to decrease in the filler–matrix thermal contact resistance through the improvement of the interface between matrix and particles. At 60 vol.% silane-treated AlN particles only, the thermal conductivity of epoxy-matrix composite reached 11.0 W/(m K). The dielectric constant was quite high (up to 10 at 2 MHz) for the PVDF composites. The change of the filler from AlN to SiC greatly increased the dielectric constant. Combined use of whiskers and particles in an appropriate ratio gave composites with higher thermal conductivity and low CTE than the use of whiskers alone or particles alone. However, AlN addition caused the tensile strength, modulus and ductility to decrease from the values of the neat polymer, and caused degradation after water immersion.

Thermally conducting aluminum nitride polymer-matrix composites

The turbulent wall jet

Thermal transport in polymeric materials and across composite interfaces

The 2006 CHF look-up table

A technique for predicting the thermal conductivity of suspensions, emulsions and porous materials

A look-up table for fully developed film-boiling heat transfer

Two-fluid modelling of inverted annular film boiling

Measurements of boiling curves of subcooled water under forced convective conditions

S.C. Cheng

Papers

The 2006 CHF look-up table

A technique for predicting the thermal conductivity of suspensions, emulsions and porous materials

A look-up table for fully developed film-boiling heat transfer

Two-fluid modelling of inverted annular film boiling

Measurements of boiling curves of subcooled water under forced convective conditions