Material Based Structure Design: Numerical Analysis Thermodynamic Response of Thermal Pyrolytic Graphite /Al Sandwich Composites

Abstract

Amine-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) based thermally conductive adhesive (TCA) was studied in the previous paper and applied here in thermal pyrolytic graphite (TPG)/Al radiator due to its high thermal conductivity, toughness and cohesiveness. In this paper, in an attempt to confirm the application of TCA to TPG/Al sandwich radiator, the thermodynamic response in TPG/Al sandwich composites associated with key material properties and structural design was investigated using finite element simulation with commercial available ANSYS software. The induced thermal stress in TCA layer is substantial due to the thermal expansion mismatch between Al plate and TPG. The maximum thermal stress is located near the edge of TCA layer with the von Mises stress value of 4.02 MPa and the shear stress value of 1.66 MPa. The reasonable adjustment of physical-mechanical properties including thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, Young(,)s modulus and the thickness of TCA layer, Al plate and TPG are beneficial for reducing the temperature of the top surface of the upper skin and their effects on the reduction of thermal structural response in some ways. These findings will highlight the structural optimization of TPG/Al radiator for future application