Effects of nanotube content on thermal and mechanical properties of NT@Cu/Ag@GF/Al composites

NT@Cu and Ag@GF supported the aluminum (Al) composites had been synthesized by vacuum gas pressure infiltration and their microstructure, Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), thermal and mechanical properties were investigated. Cu particles encapsulated with NT had been designed to improve the dispersion of NT and form a carbon conductive network. The chemical plating process was used to enhance the wettability between graphite flakes (GF) and Al matrix and eliminate the harmful interfacial reactions. The composites of NT3 had displayed excellent in-plane thermal conductivity (TC) of 378.48 W/mK and stable CTE in high temperature application environment. What's more, the bending strength had been enhanced to approximately 85.15 Mpa. In this study, the innovative way can be applied to fabricate NT@Cu/Ag@GF/Al composites.