Investigation of the atomistic mechanisms governing heat conduction in polymers
Abstract
Abstract The objective of this research is to identify the atomistic mechanisms governing heat conduction in polymers, and to use this understanding to experimentally realize bulk polymers with high thermal conductivity. The availability of thermally conductive polymers would enable numerous Naval applications such as higher fuel-efficiency vehicles and flexible electronics, but most bulk polymers have low thermal conductivity. Thermal conduction in polymers has been studied for many years, and it is well known that some polymers such as polyethylene can possess high thermal conductivity when ultradrawn into fibers. However, due to experimental challenges in measuring the thermal conductivity of polymer fibers, as well as the use of semi-empirical potentials in molecular simulations, a fundamental understanding of the atomistic mechanisms of heat conduction in polymers lags far behind that of crystalline materials like silicon. In this work, we propose to overcome these long-standing limitations using innovations in experimental characterization, ab-initio molecular simulations, and synthesis methods that will collectively provide a microscopic perspective into polymer heat conduction that has not been previously available. Our vision is that this work will advance our knowledge of polymer thermal conductivity to the same level of scientific understanding that we currently possess for crystalline materials. In addition to these scientific contributions, the insights from this work could enable the widespread availability of high thermal conductivity polymers for Naval applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512688
Entities
People
- Austin Minnich
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy