Thermal properties of wood-derived copper–silicon carbide composites fabricated via electrodeposition

Copper–silicon carbide composites were fabricated by electrodeposition of copper into pores of wood-derived silicon carbide, a ceramic with a microstructure that can be tailored via the use of different wood precursors. Thermal conductivity values were determined using flash diffusivity at temperatures from 0 to 900 °C. Thermal conductivities of up to 202W/mK at 0 °C and 148W/mK at 900 °C were achieved. Object-oriented finite-element analysis (OOF) modeling was used to understand the heat flux distributions throughout the microstructures. OOF was also used to calculate the effective thermal conductivity, which correlated well with experimentally-determined values for axially-oriented composites. In addition, OOF was used to predict effective conductivity values and heat flux distributions for transversely-oriented composites.