Model for thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube-based composites

Considering the carbon nanotubes' (CNTs) orientation distribution a new model of effective thermal conductivity of CNTs-based composites is presented. Based on Maxwell theory, the formulae of calculating effective thermal conductivity of CNTs-based composites are given. The theoretical results on the effective thermal conductivity of CNTs/oil and CNTs/decene suspensions are in good agreement with the experimental data. The model is valid for the transport properties of the CNTs-based composites.