Simulation of the anisotropic thermal conductivity generated by graphene integration in aluminium matrices

The growing power density of electronic devices and components requires the development of new cooling methods and systems by which large heat fluxes can be dissipated. Nowadays, because of their good thermal conductivity for electronic components, Aluminium and Copper are mostly used as heat sink material. Recent developments on carbon-based materials such as Graphene could further expand the application and foster the realisation of significantly improved high-tech parts. Graphene has a 9-times higher thermal conductivity than Aluminium, but behaves anisotropic. The heat conduction occurs almost exclusively in the plane. Perpendicular to the plane the thermal conductivity is very low. This physical phenomenon is to be used technically, e.g. by introducing Graphene layers into Aluminium composites. Thus, simulations of the anisotropic heat flux in Al-MMC are conducted within this study.