Experimental Study on Heat Dissipative Ability in Recycled Thermoplastic Vulcanizate and Reclaimed Rubber Composites

Abstract

In our time with the growing cooling demand in electronics and energy industries, new thermally conductive materials are in high demand. Thermal gasket and thermal interface materials (TIM) are applications acquiring the characteristics of the thermally conductive materials. They are used to offer bonding strength and efficient heat dissipation for heat dissipating device applications. These materials are inserted between two components in order to increase the thermal coupling between them. Elastomeric materials are promising as the thermal gasket and TIM. They are, however, limited for thermal conductivity causing a thermal insulator behaviour. In this framework, the major challenge is to create suitable elastomeric composites for enhancing thermal conductivity, whereas remaining a good elastic behavior. This article presents the effects of thermally conductive fillers (aluminum nitrile and zinc oxide) on thermal properties and flexibility of recycled thermoplastic elastomer vulcanizate composites and reclaimed rubber composites, while the analysis of composite morphology is scrutinized. The objective of this research is to perceive the characteristics of recycled elastomeric composites in order to deduce a fundamental notion to develop the gaskets or TIMs from recycled materials. New flexible composites are capable to provide approximately 0.4 W/m-K of thermal conductivity. The result indicates that the composites are conceivable to be applied for thermally conductive tape or adhesive applications which required the thermal conductivity in the range of 0.4-0.5 W/m-K.