Anisotropic Thermal Diffusivity Measurements in High-Thermal-Conductive Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Composites

Masaya Kuribara, Hosei Nagano^*

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/jectc.2015.51002                

Abstract

This paper presents the temperature dependence of in-plane thermal diffusivity and anisotropy distribution for pitch-based carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs). The measurement was performed using the laser-spot periodic heating method. The samples were unidirectional (UD) and crossply (CP) CFRPs. All carbon fibers of the UD samples ran in one direction, while those of the CP samples ran in two directions. In both UD and CP CFRPs, from -80°;C to +80°;C, temperature dependence of thermal diffusivity values increased as temperature decreased. In this temperature range, the anisotropic ratio between the fiber direction and its perpendicular direction of the UD CFRP was 106 - 124. During the anisotropy distribution measurement, it was found that thermal anisotropy can be visualized by scanning the laser in a circle on the sample. The thermal diffusivity of the UD CFRP in the fiber direction was 17 times larger than that in the 15°; direction, and the thermal diffusivity in the other directions was lower than that in the 15°; direction. The anisotropy distribution for the CP CFRP reflected its inhomogeneous structure.

Keywords

AC Calorimetric Method, Anisotropy, Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymers, High Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Diffusivity

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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