Steady state thermal conductivity measuring device was designed to measure the effective thermal conductivity of composites. Computer simulations of thermal conduction revealed that the designed device over estimates the effective thermal conductivity, and the correction coefficient was suggested. With this designed device, the effective thermal conductivities of Al/SiC particle-dispersed composites were measured by changing the size of SiC particles from 0.3 μm to 3 μm. The critical element size which could determine the optimal size of reinforcements have been suggested, and validity of the critical element size for Al/SiC composites was confirmed. The thermal conductivity of the composites including small SiC particles was degraded by the interfacial thermal resistance between the matrix and the reinforcement. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the composites including large SiC particles was not affected by the interfacial thermal resistance. These results suggest that consideration of the critical element size is valid.
Effect of Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity of Graphite Flakes and Interfacial Thermal Resistance on the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Graphite Flakes/Aluminum Composites