Conference Dates

June 22-27, 2014

Abstract

As a novel porous multi-functional carbon material, carbon foams have high bulk thermal conductivity and low density, making them as excellent materials for thermal management systems applications, such as heat exchangers, space radiators, and thermal protection systems. In this paper, the carbon foams with high thermal conductivity, derived from three kinds of mesophase pitches, were fabricated by the process of foaming, carbonization and graphitization. The microstructures of the foams were examined by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the pores were uniformly distributed, and the pore wall thickened with increasing foams’ density. The properties of the foams were studied, including compressive strength and thermal conductivity. The results showed that lower density and higher thermal conductivity were achieved for the foams using the two kinds of pitches with higher volatile components. The bulk thermal conductivity of carbon foams were up to 179 W/(m·K) and 201 W/(m·K), for the densities of 0.66 g/cm3 and 0.83 g/cm3, respectively. The foams’ compressive strength was in the range of 1.6 MPa to 3.4 MPa.

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