4th WCSET-2015 at Japan
Mechanical Engineering:
Title:
Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Rubber Added with
Carbon Nanofibers using Plate Comparative method
Authors:
Masaaki Okuyama, Toshio Tomimura
Abstract:
Thermal and electrical conductive composite materials
added with fine metal particles are widely used as a
thermal interface material (TIM). Reflecting such
circumstances, more and more studies have been done
recently on carbon nanotube and/or nanofiber composites,
since they have high thermal and electrical
conductivities. A series of experimental studies have
been carried out on the effect of carbon nanofiber
addition on the thermal conductivity of ethylene
propylene rubber (EPDM) using the plate comparative
method. In the experiments, however, reliable results
could not be obtained due to failing in improving the
accuracy of the measurement system. Therefore, in this
study, we re-examined the thermal conductivity
measurement system thoroughly. That is, we reselected
the reference rod, and reconsidered the thermal
insulation method, the evaluation method of heat
transfer rate by the heater and so on. Furthermore, a
series of numerical simulations were conducted under the
same conditions as the present measurement system. As a
result, following findings have been obtained: (1) when
the thermal conductivities of the reference rod and the
sample to be measured are almost the same, the
temperature field in each rod deviates considerably from
the 1-D distribution. On the other hand, (2) when the
thermal conductivity of the reference rod is larger one
order of magnitude than that of the sample, the almost
ideal 1-D temperature distribution is formed in each
rod. Taking those results of reexamination and the
investigation into account, the thermal characteristics
of the EPDM added with 14 wt.% CNF (CNF14), the EPDM
added with 33 wt.% CNF (CNF33), and the EPDM added with
14 wt.% carbon black (CB14) were measured. Here, the
bulk density of CNF used in the present study was 0.04
g/cm3. As a result, it has been found that the thermal
conductivity of CNF33 is the highest among the tested
four samples. That is, with increase in the amount of
carbon nanofiber, the thermal conductivity of the sample
becomes high under the present experimental conditions.
Keywords: Thermal
Conductivity, Plate Comparative Method, Rubber, Carbon
Nanofibers, Thermal Interface materials
Pages:
091-094