Enhancement of through-thickness thermal conductivity of sandwich construction using carbon foam

As a thermal management system, a sandwich construction was developed to have both superior thermal conductivity and structural integrity. The sandwich construction consists of a carbon foam core and unidirectional graphite/epoxy composite facesheets. An emphasis was put on enhancing the thermal conductivity of each phase of sandwich construction as well as interface between the phases. A commercially-available carbon foam was characterized mechanically and thermally. Property variation and anisotropy were observed with the highly conductive graphitic carbon foam. Co-curing of the composite facesheets with the carbon foam core was demonstrated to minimize the thickness of the adhesive layer between the facesheets and the core to produce the best construction of those tested. Comparison made with an adhesively bonded specimen shows that the co-curing is a more efficient method to enhance the through-thickness conductivity. Parametric studies with an analytic model indicate that degree of enhancement in the overall through-thickness conductivity of the sandwich construction from the enhancement of each component including the foam core, facesheet and the bonding methods.