Modeling of Thermal Conductivity of Graphite/Polystyrene Composites
Nilay Küçükdoğan Savaş Öztürk Levent Aydın
AbstractPolymer composites with high thermal conductivity have been developed to use in various industries such as energy and electronic systems, and are being developed as lighter, more economical, chemically resistant and especially heat-dissipation polymer composites. In order to increase the thermal conductivity of polymer composites, metals, ceramics, semiconductors (carbon black, graphite, etc.) are used as additive materials. For this purpose, mixture rates of 30-40% for matrix and 40-70% for filler are used in composites produced [1]. Graphite is an ideal filler material that can be used in the production of thermally conductive polymer composites. Graphite is a unique layered nano-material with low cost, light weight, high thermal conductivity (110–130 W/mK at room temperature) which makes it the ideal additive material. The morphological structures of the additive materials directly affect the mechanical and physical properties of the composite. This information has also been noted in the study of Tu and Ye [2], where platelet-shaped fillers have advantages over other spherical or cylindrical morphologies. Many theoretical and empirical mathematical models are used to determine the influence of additive materials on the thermal properties of two phases composites [3]. In this study, thermal conductivity behaviors of graphite-polystyrene composites are shown by Effective Medium Theory (EMT) model. It has been observed that this model estimates fit well with experimental data.