THERMAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMER-METAL COMPOSITES

The objectives in this paper are to investigate the effects of the filler content and size on the effective thermal conductivity of the PE/Al; PE/Cu, PE/Fe and PE/bronze composites. The polymer matrix of the polymer/metal composites was two types of polyethylenes: LDPE and HDPE (from Base 11 Orlen). The following polymer/metal composites obtained by extrusion process containing: 10% by weight of Al, Cu, Fe and bronze powder in LDPE matrix and composites containing 5, 10, 15 and 20% by weight of Al flakes in HDPE polymer were prepared and tested. Adding in the extrusion process 10% by weight of bronze powder into the polyethylene, increased more than five times the thermal diffusivity of produced composite. Use as a filler 20% wt. of aluminum flake increases it by more than twice. The study showed the ability to produce polyethylene matrix composites with the addition of metal powder fillers (Al, Cu, Fe, and bronze). Analyzing the measuring results of thermal diffusivity coefficient by Angstrom method, it can be concluded that with the appropriate filler content, the particles are located close enough to each other to form a continuous conductive path, then the thermal diffusivity of the composite increases significantly.