Enhanced thermal conductivity and flexural properties in squeeze casted diamond/aluminum composites by processing control

A practical and feasible approach is demonstrated to dramatically enhance thermal conductivity of the diamond particle reinforced aluminum matrix composites by means of optimized squeeze casting for fabricating metal-matrix composites with good adhesive interface as well as minimum thermal boundary resistance. By controlling the processing route, the architecture of diamond-aluminum interface was tuned, and therefore the thermal conductivity was amazingly found to be enhanced by 89% (from 321 to 606 W/(m.K)), which was the highest value reported in the scientific literature to date for diamond/aluminum composites using squeeze-casting method. Meanwhile, the bending strength was increased by 124% (from 98 to 220 MPa). This study offers an easily scalable and low-cost route to construct a wide range of particle reinforced metal matrix composites with significant enhancement of thermal performance. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.