Thermal properties of natural graphite flake composites

Abstract

Graphite flake composites are important thermal management materials with strong potential in applications such as electronic cooling devices and aerospace materials. Here we present thermal properties of some model composites with various graphite flake sizes following carbonization and graphitization. The thermal diffusivity is measured by standard laser flash and an in-build line heat-source method and a ratio of graphitic peak to disorder peak from Raman spectrum is used to calculate a-direction coherent length using empirical equation. Thermal conductivities significantly higher than that of copper have been calculated for certain compositions.