Possibility of Unusually High Thermal Conductivity Along Metal Ceramic Interfaces in the Aluminum-Spinel System

9610167 Raj这个SGER项目的重点是测量金属-陶瓷复合材料界面的导热性。该研究集中于由分散在铝酸镁尖晶石颗粒中的纯铝基体组成的颗粒复合材料的详细研究。这是因为初步证据表明，铝尖晶石复合材料中的界面增强了复合材料的整体导热性，与传统的复合材料界面降低导热性的发现形成鲜明对比。该工作包括制备几种具有不同体积分数和不同粒度尖晶石的样品。对这些试样的热扩散系数进行了测量，并对其微观结构进行了仔细的表征，以证实或反驳沿铝尖晶石界面存在异常热传导。这项研究是由科罗拉多大学博尔德分校和弗吉尼亚州布莱克斯堡的弗吉尼亚理工学院合作进行的。如果这项探索性研究产生了积极的结果，那么将向基金会提交一份在原子水平上研究这一现象的定期提案。这种增强的热传导效应可以应用于许多商业上重要的材料系统，如电子封装和多层器件。＊＊＊

9610167 Raj The focus of this SGER project is the measurement of thermal conductivity of interfaces in metal-ceramic composites. The research concentrates on a detailed study of particulate composites consisting of a pure aluminum matrix dispersed with particles of magnesium aluminate spinel. This is motivated by preliminary evidence that interfaces in aluminum-spinel composites enhance the overall thermal conductivity of the composite, in stark contrast to the conventional finding that composite interfaces reduce thermal conductivity. The effort includes preparation of several specimens with different volume fractions and different particle sizes of spinel. The thermal diffusivities of these specimens are measured and the microstructure carefully characterized to confirm or refute the existence of an anomalous thermal conduction along the aluminum-spinel interface. The research is a collaboration between the University of Colorado at Boulder and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, VA. If this exploratory research produces a positive result then a regular proposal to investigate the phenomenon at an atomistic level will be submitted to the Foundation. %%% This enhanced thermal conduction effect could be applied to many commercially important materials systems, such as electronic packaging and multilayer devices. ***