Experimental Evaluation of Thermal Resistance of Composites
G.V.Krishna Reddy1, Chikkanna2, B.Uma Maheswar Gowd3

1Mr. G.V. Krishna Reddy, Department of Mechanical Engineering of Govt Polytechnic, Channasandra  Bangalore (Karnataka), India.
2Dr.N.Chikkanna, Government Engineering College, Hoovina hadagali, Bellary (Karnataka), India.
3Dr. B. Uma Maheshwar Gowd, Rector (I/c) Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), India.

Manuscript received on 18 June 2012 | Revised Manuscript received on 25 June 2012 | Manuscript published on 30 June 2012 | PP: 16-21 | Volume-1 Issue-2, June 2012 | Retrieval Number: B0162041212/2012©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: In this paper thermal contact resistance is measured for different kinds of composite materials. The gaps at contact surface between two highly conducting materials are filled with the interstitial material. The interfacial gap is maintained by applying pressure on the surface by using shim, until certain thickness has been obtained. Shims of multiple sizes are used obtain different sizes of the gaps. Samples of the interface materials like Silicone grease, Eupec grease, Unial grease, graphite foil, silicone foil, aluminum foils, etc were tested. Also these samples with different material compositions were experimented. The measured thermal resistance values are compared with the theoretical values of thermal resistance for all the materials tested. In other words, the thermal conductivities published by their respective manufacturers are validated. It is found that thermal resistance is least for foils compared to grease or grease filled with powder. Also of all the foils tested, aluminum yielded the best results as far as the thermal resistance is concerned.
Keywords: Thermal Interfacial Materials, Grease, Aluminum Foils, Thermal Contact Resistance, Thermal Conductivity, Electronics Cooling.

Scope of the Article: Thermal Engineering