Thermal conductivity of polymer composites with close-packed structure of nano and micro fillers

Thermal conductivity of polymer composites with nano and micro fillers has been investigated numerically and experimentally. The nano fillers used were multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and alumina nanoparticles, and the spherical alumina particles were selected as the micro fillers. A periodic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing Applied science and manufacturing, 2009-07, Vol.40 (6), p.724-730
Main Authors: Sanada, K., Tada, Y., Shindo, Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A. Polymer–matrix composites (PMCs)
Applied sciences
B. Thermal properties
C. Finite element analysis (FEA)
Composites
Exact sciences and technology
Forms of application and semi-finished materials
Polymer industry, paints, wood
Technology of polymers
Thermal measurement
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Thermal conductivity of polymer composites with nano and micro fillers has been investigated numerically and experimentally. The nano fillers used were multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and alumina nanoparticles, and the spherical alumina particles were selected as the micro fillers. A periodic unit cell with a random close-packed structure was created using a packing algorithm that treat the micro filler as spheres. Finite element analyses were also performed to predict the potential of nano fillers to enhance thermal conductivity of the composites and to analyze the effect of microstructure of micro fillers. Additionally, the polymer composites with nano and micro fillers were made and the thermal conductivity of the composites were measured. The results showed that the addition of MWNTs to the matrix lead to a large increase in thermal conductivity of the composites. The proposed thermal model predicted a thermal conductivity in good agreement with experiment.
ISSN:1359-835X
1878-5840
DOI:10.1016/j.compositesa.2009.02.024