Thermal properties of graphite flakes/aluminum composites: Anisotropy and isotropy

Abstract Highly aligned graphite flakes were coated on the surface of aluminum foil by the coating process. Graphite flakes/aluminum composites with laminate structure (GF/Al(L)) and rolling structure (GF/Al(R)) were prepared via vacuum hot pressing. The results showed that the in-plane and out-plane thermal conductivity of the GF/Al(L) composite with 60 vol% GF reached 629 W/(m·K) and 46 W/(m·K), while that of the GF/Al(R) composite were 335 W/(m·K) and 341 W/(m·K), respectively. The in-plane and out-plane coefficient of thermal expansion values were 15.1, 8.1 ppm/K of the GF/Al(L) composite and 3.8, 3.2 ppm/K of the GF/Al(R) composite. The thermal properties of the GF/Al(L) composite exhibited high anisotropy, while that of the GF/Al(R) composite was close to isotropy.