Fabrication and characterization of carbon-aluminum thermal management composites

Abstract

A carbon-based, aluminum composite material with low mass, high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) has been developed and characterized in this study. The carbon-aluminum composite is fabricated by injecting molten aluminum into a porous graphitic carbon matrix using a high-pressure impregnation process. The CTE of the carbon-aluminum composite is 7 ppm/K, and the thermal conductivity is as high as 425 W/mK. The composite offers excellent thermal diffusivity, 2.5 - 3 times higher than that of Cu and Al, and a specific gravity less than that of Al.