EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT PARTICLE-SIZE ON THE THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY OF A PARTICULATE-SILICON CARBIDE-REINFORCED ALUMINUM MATRIX COMPOSITE

The thermal conductivity of a 40 vol% silicon carbide-particulate-reinforced aluminum matrix composite was determined as a function of silicon carbide mean particle size ranging from 0.7 to 28 mum. A size dependence was found consisting of a decrease in thermal conductivity with decreasing SiC particle size. This effect is in accordance with theoretical expectations for composites with an interfacial thermal barrier at the dispersion-matrix interface. At the finest particle size of the silicon carbide, the composite thermal conductivity approached the value for the matrix with pores, as expected from theory. Only at the largest SiC particle size did the composite thermal conductivity exceed the value for the matrix. These results suggest that in maximizing the thermal conductivity of composites with an interfacial thermal barrier, the reinforcement particle size should be as large as practically possible.