Temperature dependence of thermal conductivity in SiC p based metal–matrix composites

Abstract

The authors present a theoretical investigation of the thermal conductivity of SiC_p based metal–matrix composites at various temperatures from a viewpoint of heat conduction mechanism across the SiC_p/matrix interface. The interfacial thermal conductance associated with the electron–phonon (e–ph) coupling and the phonon–phonon (ph–ph) coupling is characterised using a simple calculational procedure. The predictions for the composite thermal conductivity obtained by a Hasselman and Johnson model incorporated into a Majumdar's relation reveal good correspondence with the experimental results and explore that the temperature dependent thermal conductivity is essentially governed by the competitive interaction of e–ph coupling and ph–ph coupling. This work also accounts for the temperature dependent thermal conductivity of SiC_p based composites, which is sensitive to the particle size and volume fraction when these two materials properties lie within certain range.