Enhancement of Through-Thickness Thermal Transport in Unidirectional Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Laminates due to the Synergetic Role of Carbon Nanofiber Z-Threads.

This study experimentally and analytically examined the influence of carbon nanofiber (CNF) z-threads on the through-thickness (i.e., z-direction) thermal conductivity of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs). It was hypothesized that a network of CNF z-threads within CFRPs would provide a thermally conductive microstructure throughout the sample thickness that would increase the through-thickness thermal conductivity. The experiments showed that the through-thickness thermal conductivity of the CNF z-threaded CFRPs (9.85 W/m-K) was approximately 7.53 times greater than that of the control CFRPs (1.31 W/m-K) and 2.73 times greater than that of the unaligned CNF-modified CFRPs (3.61 W/m-K). Accordingly, the CNF z-threads were found to play a substantial role in increasing the through-thickness thermal conductivity of CFRPs. To better understand the role of the CNF z-threads in through-thickness thermal transport, simple logical models of the CFRPs were constructed and then compared with the experimental results. Through these analyses, it was determined that CNF z-threads substantially enhance the through-thickness thermal conductivity by creating carbon fiber-CNF linkages throughout the CFRP laminate; these linkages allow the heat flow to largely bypass the resistive resin that envelops the carbon fibers. In addition, thermal infrared tests illustrated that the increased through-thickness thermal conductivity of the CNF z-threaded CFRP enabled the location and visualization of defects within the laminate, which was not possible with the control CFRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]