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Year 2001, Volume 8 / Issue 2

Pages: 74

Article price - $35.00

Measuring Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Polymer Composites: Application to Embedded Electronics Thermal Design

Eric Egan
National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRCj, National University of Ireland, Lee Makings, Prospect Row, Cork, Ireland

Cristina H. Amon
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The effect of volume fraction and type of conductive filler on the thermal conductivity enhancement of polymer composites is determined from a simplified experimental technique using both specimen measurements and numerical simulations. Two conductive fillers, boron nitride powder and fine-mesh aluminum fibers, are blended with two different polymers in volume percentages of up to 30 percent. The volume fraction and the particle distribution of the filler are found to be more critical than polymer selection for thermal conductivity enhancement. Inferences into the filler dispersion of the polymer composites is made by using analogies from thermal resistance networks. Using numerical simulations of an embedded electronic artifact, it is also shown that embedding heat-generating electronics within a thermally conductive polymer composite can significantly enhance its transient and steady-state thermal performance.

pages 119-135

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