Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730

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Composites: Part A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa

Thermal conductivity of polymer composites with close-packed structure

of nano and micro fillers
K. Sanada a,*, Y. Tada a, Y. Shindo b
a
Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Kurokawa 5180, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
b
Department of Materials Processing, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba-yama 6-6-02, Sendai 980-8579, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Thermal conductivity of polymer composites with nano and micro fillers has been investigated numerically
Received 20 December 2008 and experimentally. The nano fillers used were multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and alumina
Received in revised form 9 February 2009 nanoparticles, and the spherical alumina particles were selected as the micro fillers. A periodic unit cell
Accepted 28 February 2009
with a random close-packed structure was created using a packing algorithm that treat the micro filler
as spheres. Finite element analyses were also performed to predict the potential of nano fillers to enhance
thermal conductivity of the composites and to analyze the effect of microstructure of micro fillers. Addi-
Keywords:
tionally, the polymer composites with nano and micro fillers were made and the thermal conductivity of
A. Polymer–matrix composites (PMCs)
B. Thermal properties
the composites were measured. The results showed that the addition of MWNTs to the matrix lead to a large
C. Finite element analysis (FEA) increase in thermal conductivity of the composites. The proposed thermal model predicted a thermal con-
Thermal measurement ductivity in good agreement with experiment.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction an interconnecting network is formed which provides a pathway

Thermally conductive polymer composites offer new possibili-
ties for replacing metal parts in electric systems. The advantages
of polymer composites as compared to metals include improved
corrosion resistance, lighter weight, and the ability to adapt the
conductivity properties to suit the application needs. Applications
of conductive composites as heat sinks in electric systems require
new composites with a thermal conductivity from approximately 1
to 30 W/mK [1]. For fuel cell applications, conductive composites
have to reach a thermal conductivity around 10 W/mK [2]. The
addition of fillers such as carbon and ceramics (silica, alumina, alu-
minum nitride, etc.) is commonly used to induce thermal conduc-
tivity into conventional polymers. The higher thermal conductivity
can be achieved by the addition of high volume fractions of a filler
and the use of a suitable filler. Fillers have to form a random close-
packed structure to maximize a pathway for heat conduction
through the polymer–matrix [3].
An approach of current interest to improve the thermal conduc-
tivity of polymers is the selective addition of nano fillers with high
thermal conductivity. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have exceptionally
high mechanical properties and thermal conductivity (about
6000 W/mK, for single-walled nanotubes [4] and about 3000 W/
mK, for multi-walled nanotubes [5]). One promising application
of CNTs is as fillers in polymer composites to provide enhanced
thermal properties. When CNTs are dispersed in polymer–matrix,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 766 56 7500; fax: +81 766 56 6131.
E-mail address: sanada@pu-toyama.ac.jp (K. Sanada).
for heat conduction. However, due to their nanoscale dimension
and very high aspect ratio, conductive composites with high vol-
ume fractions of well-dispersed CNTs are not easily obtained.
The effects of type, shape and size of fillers on thermal perfor-
mance of composites has been addressed by many authors. Lee
et al. [3] demonstrated the effectiveness of hybrid filler consisting
of different conductive fillers in type and shape on the fabrication
of thermally conductive composites. Tekce et al. [6] investigated
the effect of different filler shapes of copper powders such as
plates, fibers and spheres on thermal conductivity of polymer com-
posites. King et al. [7] studied three different carbon fillers (carbon
black (2 W/mK), synthetic graphite particles (600 W/mK), and car-
bon fibers (20 W/mK)) and discussed the effects of combinations of
two different carbon fillers on composite thermal conductivity. Xu
et al. [8] explored the thermal properties of single-walled carbon
nanotube/polymer composites. Gojny et al. [9] reported the influ-
ence of the type of carbon nanotube (single-walled carbon nano-
tubes, double-walled carbon nanotubes and multi-walled carbon
nanotubes) on the thermal conductivity of polymer composites.
Numerical techniques such as finite element method are uti-
lized to investigate the composite thermal conductivity due to
the variations in type, shape, size and volume fraction of fillers.
Ramani and Vaidyanathan [10] proposed a finite element model
to predict the macroscopic effective thermal conductivity of
polymer composites, based on its microstructural characteristics
such as aspect ratio, volume fraction of fillers, interfacial thermal
resistance and filler dispersion. Kumlutas and Tavman [11] per-
formed finite element analysis to calculate the effective thermal

1359-835X/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2009.02.024
 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730 725

conductivity of particle and fiber filled composites as a function of

volume fraction of fillers.
The objective of this paper is to develop high thermally conduc-
tive composites containing micro and nano fillers. Packing simula-
tion and finite element analysis were performed to understand the
relationship between the effective thermal conductivity of the
composites and the microstructure. In addition, experimental mea-
surements of the thermal conductivity of the manufactured poly-
mer composites with close-packed structure of nano and micro
fillers were carried out by using a steady-state method. The
numerical findings were then correlated with the experimental re-
sults. The microstructure of polymer composites with nano and
micro fillers was also examined using a scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM). The effect of nano filler dispersion on thermal con-
ductivity of composites was studied with SEM images.

2. Experimental procedure

2.1. Materials and sample preparation

Polymer composites were prepared by mixing Epikote 828

epoxy resin with Epikure YH300 curing agent, Epikure BMI12
accelerator and fillers. All the above chemicals were manufactured
by Japan Epoxy Resins Co., Ltd. The mix ratio of Epikote 828, Epik-
ure YH300 and Epikure BMI12 was 100:80:2 by weight. Nano filler
used was multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) from Micro-
phase Co., Ltd. and alumina nanoparticle from Hosokawa Powder
Technology Research Institute. The mean size of alumina nanopar-
ticle was 36 nm in diameter. Three types of alumina micro filler
used were DAW05 (a mean diameter of 4:5 lm), DAW10 (a mean
diameter of 9:0 lm) and DAW45 (a mean diameter of 45:3 lm)
from Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. The alumina micro fillers had
a perfect spherical shape. All the above fillers were used as re-
ceived. The densities of the MWNT, alumina and epoxy resin were
1:75 g=cm3 [12], 3:98 g=cm3 [13] and 1:2 g=cm3 , respectively. Fig. 1
shows typical SEM micrographs of nano and micro fillers.
In the case of the composites containing nano and micro fillers,
the matrix is a two-phase composite composed of nano fillers and
epoxy resin. Thus, the micro filler volume fraction V M
f in the com-
posites containing micro and nano fillers is given by

VM
VM
f ¼ ð1Þ
V M þ V m

where V M and V m are the volume of the micro fillers and the matrix
containing nano fillers, respectively. The nano filler volume fraction
V Nf is defined as
VN VN
V Nf ¼ ¼ ð2Þ
V m V N þ V m

where V N and V m are the volume of the nano fillers and the epoxy
resin, respectively.
The epoxy mixture was then degassed, poured into a mold and
cured for 2 h at 100 °C, followed by 4 h at 150 °C. Two panels (6
and 12 mm thick) of polymer composites were manufactured
and were cut into squares having dimensions of 30  30 mm.
These machined samples were used for thermal conductivity
measurements.

2.2. Test method

Thermal conductivities of polymer composites were measured
using a steady-state method. The experimental arrangement is
show in Fig. 2 with the sample being sandwiched between the
two heat flux and temperature sensors manufactured by Captec
Enterprise. The heat flow rate was held constant by fixing the elec-
Fig. 1. SEM images of nano and micro fillers: (a) MWNTs; (b) alumina nanopar-
ticles; (c) alumina microparticles (DAW05).
trical power input into the heater. Upon reaching thermal equilib-
rium, output data from the two sensors were read on a digital
display of voltmeters, and the heat flux ðqin ; qout Þ and temperature
726 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730

Weight

Heater
Insulation
Sample
Tin (30 30 h)
Sensors qin
h

Tout
qout
Heat sink

(unit:mm)

Fig. 2. Experimental set up for thermal conductivity measurements.

ðT in ; T out Þ were evaluated from the output data using calibration

factors. The average heat flux q and the temperature drop DT are
calculated according to
qin þ qout
q¼ ð3Þ
2
DT ¼ T in  T out ð4Þ

For the unknown test sample, the thermal conductivity kexp

c is given
by

h1  h2
kexp
c ¼ DT ð5Þ
q1
1
 DqT22

where DT 1 and DT 2 are the temperature drops across the samples

and q1 and q2 are the heat fluxes through the samples. The subscripts
1 and 2 refer to samples of thicknesses h1 and h2 , respectively.
We examined the dispersion quality of the composites with mi-
cro and nano fillers by examining the fracture surface using the
SEM. The composite specimens were fractured in liquid nitrogen
and coated with Au–Pd alloy using a sputter coater.

3. Numerical approach

3.1. Random unit cell model

A Monte-Carlo algorithm implemented in the MacroPac pro-

gram from Intelligensys Ltd. was used to generate a unit cell with
randomly distributed micro fillers. Fig. 3 shows random unit cells
of single-particle and two-particle. Micro fillers are randomly
placed into a matrix, with the restriction that they cannot overlap
Fig. 3. Random unit cell models; (a) single-particle; (b) two-particle.
each other. Once the required volume fraction is achieved, the gen-
eration process of the unit cell is terminated. For the unit cell with
close-packed structure, the generation process is repeated until
case of the alumina nanoparticles, a random unit cell of single-par-
insufficient free volume is available for creating a new particle.
ticle was used and the nano filler volume fraction V Nf is given by
For two-particle system, the micro filler volume fraction V M f is ob-
tained as follows:  3
d3
  
4
3
p 2
N3
3  3 V Nf ¼ 3
ð7Þ
d1 d2 L
4
3
p 2
N1 þ 2
N2
VM
f ¼ ð6Þ where d3 is the nanoparticle diameter and N 3 is the number of nano
L3
fillers. In the case of the MWNTs, the MWNTs are modeled as isotro-
where d1 i s the large particle diameter, d2 is the small particle pic square prisms of cross-section B2 and length A, and MWNT as-
diameter, N1 is the number of large particle, N 2 is the number of pect ratio b is defined as b ¼ A=B. A random unit cell of simplified
small particle and L is the unit cell dimension. The particle size ratio MWNTs was used as shown in Fig. 4. The nano filler volume fraction
a is defined as a ¼ d1 =d2 . V Nf can be expressed as
In order to discuss the effect of addition of nano fillers on the
thermal conductivity of polymer composites, a unit cell models AB2 N3
V Nf ¼ ð8Þ
with randomly distributed nano fillers was also generated. In the L3
 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730 727

60
Single-particle
55 Two-particle

50

VfL (vol%)
45

40

35

30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Fig. 4. A unit cell model with randomly distributed MWNTs.
α
Fig. 6. Theoretical maximum volume fraction of micro fillers vs. particle size ratio.

3.2. Finite element analysis

The individual phase materials are modeled as homogeneous
Fig. 5 shows heat conduction boundary conditions on a unit cell and isotropic solids, and perfect bonding between the phases is as-
with respect to its conduction axis. A rectangular Cartesian coordi- sumed. The thermal conductivities of the MWNT and alumina are
nate system ðx1 ; x2 ; x3 Þ is adopted. Heat flux boundary conditions 3000 W/mK [5] and 36 W/mK [13], respectively. For the epoxy re-
are applied on the faces orthogonal to the conduction axis. The four sin, the specimens were prepared and its thermal conductivity was
lateral faces to the conduction axis are insulated to realize period- measured using the steady-state method. The measured thermal
icity boundary conditions. The steady-state thermal problem is conductivity of the epoxy resin is 0.208 W/mK.
solved using ANSYS. The volumes comprising the particles and
matrix are meshed using 10-node tetrahedral elements (SOLID70). 4. Results and discussion
The effective thermal conductivity ki along the conduction axis xi is
defined from the Fourier’s law for steady-state heat conduction as 4.1. Composites with close-packed structure of micro fillers
dT i
qi ¼ ki ði ¼ 1; 2; 3Þ ð9Þ In order to obtain the random close-packed structure of micro
dxi
fillers, we determined the composition of two-particle system
where qi is the heat flux and dT i =dxi is the temperature gradient. For using MacroPac simulation. Fig. 6 shows the theoretical maximum
the unit cell with the dimension of L, the effective thermal conduc- volume fraction of micro fillers V Lf as a function of particle size ratio
tivity is computed as follows: a. V Lf increases with increasing a. For larger a, V Lf converges to a
qi L constant value and two-particle model is considered as a random
ki ¼ ði ¼ 1; 2; 3Þ ð10Þ close-packed structure. When the composites have a random
DT i
close-packed structure, particles show a good interconnectivity
where DT i is the temperature drop across the unit cell. Computa- causing a large increase in thermal conductivity of the composites.
tions of the thermal conductivity were done for the unit cells in Milewski [14] reported that in order to have good packing efficien-
x1 -;x2 - and x3 -directions. Hence, the average effective thermal con- cies for randomly packed particles, the smaller particle should be
ductivity kFEM
c is given by equal to or less than one-eighth the diameter of the larger particle
k1 þ k2 þ k3 (i.e., a P 8). Table 1 shows the theoretical maximum packing con-
kFEM
c ¼ ð11Þ ditions of two-particle system at various values for a. Using these
3
results, the samples of DAW05/DAW10 ða ¼ 2Þ and DAW10/
At each condition, three random unit cells were simulated and the DAW45 ða ¼ 5Þ composites were prepared and the thermal con-
average value used. ductivity measurements were conducted.
The random unit cell is generally regarded as a volume of a het-
erogeneous material that is sufficiently large to be statistically rep-
resentative of the composite. Thus, we used the random unit cell
x3 with above 50 inclusions to obtain a comparable effective thermal
Adiabatic
surface
Table 1
Theoretical maximum packing conditions for two-particle system.

Particle size ratio a Volume fraction (vol%) Maximum volume

L fraction V Lf ðvol%Þ
q2 q2 Large particle Small particle
x2 2 33.0 12.4 45.4
Unit cell 3 16.1 49.1
L 4 17.6 50.6
5 18.7 51.7
x1 L 6 19.3 52.3
7 19.8 52.8
8 20.1 53.1
Fig. 5. Boundary conditions for the finite element models.
728 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730

3 0.7
Analytical MWNT
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

2.5
Two-particle (α =2) VfN=3vol%
Two-particle (α =3) 0.6

2 Experimental

λ*m (W/mK)
DAW05/DAW10 ( α =2) 0.5
1.5 DAW10/DAW45 ( α =5)
0.4
1

0.3
0.5

0 0.2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1 10 100
VfM (vol%) β
Fig. 7. Experimental and numerical results for thermal conductivity of the Fig. 9. Predicted thermal conductivity of the matrix containing MWNTs vs. MWNT
composites with micro fillers as a function of micro filler volume fraction. aspect ratio.

conductivity. All numerical results were obtained from the finite
element analyses of the random unit cell models for various types
of composites. Fig. 7 presents the experimental data for the ther-
mal conductivities of DAW05/DAW10 and DAW10/DAW45 com-
posites as a function of V M f , together with the predictions for
two-particle models with a ¼ 2 and 3. The measured thermal con-
ductivities of DAW05/DAW10 and DAW10/DAW45 composites in-
creased with increasing V M M
f . For V f > 40 vol%, the micro fillers
chains lead to a sudden increase in the thermal conductivity. The
maximum volume fractions of micro fillers that could be molded
into test specimens were 55 vol% for DAW05/DAW10 ða ¼ 2Þ com-
posites and 65 vol% for DAW10/DAW45 (a = 5) composites. This
indicated that DAW10/DAW45 composites had a nearly ideal
close-packed structure, compared to DAW05/DAW10 composites.
However, the theoretical maximum volume fractions of micro fill-
ers were 45.4 vol% for a ¼ 2 and 51.7 vol% for a ¼ 5. The difference
between the model and the experiments is most likely caused by
the fact that while the model assumes that the micro fillers have
a bimodal particle size distribution, the real particle size distribu-
tion is much more scattered than the bimodal particle size distri-
bution. Moreover, the numerical results for two-particle model
with a ¼ 2 were consistent with the experimental results for
DAW05/DAW10 composites.
4.2. Composites with close-packed structure of nano and micro fillers
The effect of addition of nano fillers to the matrix on the ther-
mal conductivity of the composites was studied. Fig. 8 shows the
predicted thermal conductivity of the matrix containing nano filler
km as a function of V Nf . The MWNT aspect ratio b is assumed to be
20. Improving the thermal conductivity of the matrix is through
the addition of nano fillers. The MWNTs had a significant effect
on thermal conductivity as compared to the alumina nanoparticles.
The MWNTs form ideal thermally conducting pathways at low vol-
ume fraction. The predicted thermal conductivity km is plotted in
Fig. 9 as a function of MWNT aspect ratio b. With increase in
b; km increased. Above b ¼ 5, the thermal conductivity increased
very rapidly due to the ease of chain formation. The predicted ther-
mal conductivity of two-particle model with a ¼ 3 for various V M f
are plotted in Fig. 10 as a function of km . The thermal conductivity
of the composites increases with increasing km . In addition, the
effect of addition of nano fillers to the matrix on the thermal con-
ductivity of the composites is increased with increasing V M f .
The effect of addition of MWNTs ðV Nf ¼ 3 vol%Þ to the matrix on
the measured thermal conductivity of DAW05/DAW10 composites
at V M
f ¼ 42 and 50 vol% is shown in Fig. 11. The results demonstrate
that the improvement in the thermal conductivity of the composite

0.5
2.5
MWNT (β = 20)
Two-particle (α =3)
Nanoparticle

2 VfM (vol%)
0.4
λ*m (W/mK)

λCFEM (W/mK)

20
30
46
1.5

0.3

0.2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0.5
0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
N
V (vol%)
f
λ m∗ (W/mK)

Fig. 8. Predicted thermal conductivity of the matrix containing nano fillers vs. nano Fig. 10. Predicted thermal conductivity of the composites with nano and micro
filler volume fraction. fillers vs. thermal conductivity of the matrix containing nano fillers.
 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730 729

2 3.5
DAW05/DAW10 DAW10/DAW45 without nano filler
without MWNT 3 M
V =60vol% N
with nano filler (V =3vol%)
N f f
1.5 with MWNT (V =3vol%)
f
λCexp (W/mK)

2.5

λCexp (W/mK)
2
1
1.5

0.5 1

0.5
0
42 50 0
M MWNT Nanoparticle
V (vol%) Nano filler
f

Fig. 11. Effect of addition of MWNTs to the matrix on the measured thermal Fig. 13. Effect of nano filler type on the measured thermal conductivity of the
conductivity of DAW05/DAW10 composites. composites with nano and micro fillers.

is attained through the addition of MWNTs. The effectiveness of

MWNTs is increased at the higher V M f . A similar phenomenon was
found in the finite element analysis. The experimental and numeri-
cal results for thermal conductivity of the composites with micro
fillers ðV M f ¼ 42 vol%Þ and MWNTs are shown in Fig. 12 as a function
of V Nf . The thermal conductivity increased with increase in loading
level of MWNTs. The experimental results for DAW05/DAW10 com-
posites containing MWNTs and numerical results for two-particle
model with a ¼ 2 considering the effect of addition of MWNTs with
b ¼ 20 to the matrix are in reasonable agreement. Note that because
the MWNT aspect ratio has a significant effect on the calculated
thermal conductivity of the composites with micro fillers and
MWNTs, experiments may be needed to indicate which the MWNT
aspect ratio is better. Fig. 13 shows the effect of nano filler type on
the measured thermal conductivity of DAW10/DAW45 composites
containing nano filler ðV Nf ¼ 3 vol% and V M f ¼ 60vol%Þ. Composites
containing MWNTs likely had a higher thermal conductivity, com-
pared to those containing alumina nanoparticles, due to the higher
thermal conductivity of MWNT (3000 W/mK) vs. alumina nanopar-
ticle (36 W/mK). Moreover, it is likely that the high aspect ratio of
the MWNTs facilitated the formation of thermally conducting
pathways through the composite to result in increased thermal
conductivity.

2
Experimental
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

(DAW05/DAW10/ MWNT (α =2))

Analytical
1.5 (Two-particle/MWNT (α =2, β =20))
VfM=42vol%

0.5

0
0 3 5
N
V (vol%)
f

Fig. 12. Experimental and numerical results for thermal conductivity of the
composites with MWNTs and micro fillers as a function of nano filler volume Fig. 14. SEM micrographs of fracture surface of DAW10/DAW45 composite
fraction. containing MWNTs: (a) well-dispersed MWNTs; (b) cluster of MWNTs.
730 K. Sanada et al. / Composites: Part A 40 (2009) 724–730
SEM observations were performed on the fracture surfaces of
the composites with micro and nano fillers. Fig. 14 shows the frac-
ture surface of DAW10/DAW45 composites containing MWNTs
ðV Nf ¼ 3 vol% and V M
f ¼ 60 vol%Þ. It is clear from SEM images that
the micro fillers and MWNTs are reasonably well-dispersed
(Fig. 14(a)), although there are still undispersed MWNTs forming
clusters (Fig. 14(b)). High thermal conductivity of the composites
can be expected by good dispersion of nano fillers. In addition,
the close-packed structure of micro and nano fillers is able to form
thermally conducting pathways more easily than that of only mi-
cro fillers.
5. Conclusions
The composites with the random close-packed structure of mi-
cro and nano fillers were fabricated and the potential of nano fillers
to enhance thermal conductivity of the composites was investi-
gated. Based on the results of the thermal conductivity measure-
ments and the numerical analysis, the following conclusions can
be reached:
1. The addition of nano fillers to the polymer–matrix between the
micro fillers significantly increased the thermal conductivity of
the composites and the effectiveness of nano fillers was
increased at the higher V M
f .
2. The composites containing MWNTs showed a higher thermal
conductivity compared to the composites containing alumina
nanoparticles.Due to high thermal conductivity and high aspect
ratio of MWNTs, the MWNTs form ideal thermally conducting
pathways leading to a rapid increase in thermal conductivity
of the composites.
3. The random unit cell of two-particle considering the effect of
addition of MWNTs to the matrix predicted similar results to
the experiments.
4. In the SEM observations, obvious clusters of the MWNTs were
found on the fracture surface. It is important to note that ther-
mal conductivity of the composites with micro and nano fillers
can be improved by better processing techniques.
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