Thermal conductivity of silicone elastomer with a porous alumina continuum

In this paper, porous alumina continuum (PAC) was prepared with alumina powders (APs) by the gelcasting method and was applied to obtain silicone elastomer (SR) composites (PAC/SR) by the impregnating process. The structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The influences of PAC on thermal conductivity and dielectric permittivity of PAC/SR composites were studied in comparison with AP/SR composites. When the alumina content was 14 vol%, the thermal conductivity of the PAC/SR composites reached 0.84W center dot(m center dot K)(-1), which was 3.1 times higher than that of the AP/SR composites. The thermal conductivity of PAC/SR and AP/SR was simulated by theoretical models, and the interfacial thermal resistance was calculated by effective medium theory, which indicated the advantages of PAC in enhancing the thermal conductivity of SR-based composites and the reduced interfacial thermal resistance between PAC and SR.

Automated summary

Porous alumina continuum (PAC) prepared with the gelcasting method was applied to obtain silicone elastomer (SR) composites (PAC/SR). The study showed that PAC significantly improved the thermal conductivity of the composites and reduced the interfacial thermal resistance between PAC and SR.