Low temperature thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy 1200

The thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy 1200 was determined from 4.2 K to 160 K using a thermal conductivity integral method. This steady state method has been implemented in a cryostat having a cold finger cooled with liquid helium and nitrogen. These materials were considered to create thermal link for the Planck research satellite. Two samples are studied; the “as fabricated” 1200 alloy and the 1200 H19 (cold-drawn). As expected, the evolution of the thermal conductivity with temperature of both alloys follows the electronic thermal conductivity theory with a good accuracy below 60 K. At higher temperature, the thermal conductivity reaches a maximum then decreases as T−n and finally remains constant due to the electron–phonon scattering. As expected, the thermal conductivity of the cold-drawn alloy, 1200 H19, is reduced compared to that of the 1200 alloy due to a higher concentration of defects in the metal.

► We measured the thermal conductivity of 1200 aluminum alloys between 4 K and 150 K.
► The thermal conductivity follows the electronic thermal conductivity theory below 60 K.
► We examine the effect of strain hardening (cold-drawn) on thermal conductivity.
► Strain hardening reduces the thermal conductivity as expected.