Increasing Interlayer Thickness Research Articles

Effect of Nb interlayer thickness on interfacial products and mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V/EH690 steel clad plate by vacuum hot rolling

The high content of alloying elements in Ti alloys and high-strength steels, combined with the requirement for quenching and tempering heat treatment during the fabrication process of the clad plate, leads to complex interfacial products and poor bonding properties. An Nb interlayer was introduced to enhance the mechanical properties of Ti alloy/steel clad plates. This work investigated the effect of Nb interlayers with initial thicknesses of 10, 25, and 50 μm on the evolution of interfacial products and bonding properties. The results indicated that when the interlayer was thin (10 μm thick), the diffusion of Ti, Fe, and C in the matrix and clad materials could not be completely inhibited due to the uneven distribution of the Nb interlayer at the interface. TiC, NbC, Nb2C, and Fe2Nb were detected at the Nb/steel interface. With the thickness of the interlayer increased (reaching 25 μm or 50 μm), the influence of uneven deformation on the interlayer was weakened, and the Nb/steel interface was composed of Nb2C and Fe2Nb. The tensile shear test indicated that the fracture occurred at the Nb/steel interface and the Nb interlayer. The plasticity of the micrometer Nb interlayer decreased with the increase in interlayer thickness. Therefore, more cracks and brittle fracture characteristics were observed in the fracture surface of the 50 μm thick Nb interlayer sample. The clad interface with a 25 μm thick Nb interlayer exhibited the highest interfacial shear strength of 295 MPa due to the few intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the Nb/Steel interface and the excellent plasticity of the Nb interlayer.

The effects of interlayer size and crystallinity on fatigue behavior of Cu/X (X= cr, amorphous CuZr) bilayers

In this work, interlayer (Cr vs amorphous CuZr) with various thicknesses ranging from 5 nm to 40 nm were utilized for 1000 nm-thick nanostructured Cu films on polyimide substrates. The effects of heterogeneous interface and interlayer thickness on the fatigue behavior of Cu/interlayer bilayers were investigated by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electrical resistance measurement, in combination with microstructural examinations. The results demonstrated that the fatigue tolerance highly depends on the thickness and constituent of interlayer. The fatigue lifetime monotonically increases as CuZr interlayer thickness increases, coupled to the yield stress. In contrast, the fatigue lifetime first increases and then decreases with increasing Cr interlayer thickness, reaching its maximum value at a thickness of 5 nm. The underlying mechanisms for this discrepancy can be elucidated in terms of heterogeneous constraint and interface voiding, both of which depend on the interlayer thickness.

Performance of LG window systems with different materials under extreme static loading

Laminated glass (LG) is created by bonding two or more glass layers together with one or more polymer interlayer(s). LG may significantly lower the risk of injury from broken glass because the polymeric interlayer retains the glass pieces, especially when subjected to explosive threats. Many interlayer materials have recently been used in LG panels, but the effects on the performance of glass thickness and type, interlayer thickness and type, and hybrid interlayers are not well known. In this work, we report on new implicit and explicit nonlinear finite element models for simulating pressurized water-chamber-like quasi-static tests. The numerical models were validated using 18 by 18 in. LG tests. This study shows that the resistance function of LG can be well predicted numerically and can be used as a tool to study the effects of various glass and interlayer types and configurations. Explicit solutions had a slightly greater resolution in predicting the fracture behavior and post-peak response and captured the distinct failure points of the inner and outer glass panes. Implicit calculations maintained high levels of accuracy and were orders of magnitude faster than the explicit simulations. Using the implicit method, a parametric study was conducted on 38 by 66 in. LG to determine the effects of glass and interlayer thickness, size, and layup configuration. The LG resistance function was improved within the pre-cracked stage by increasing interlayer thickness. Ionoplast SentryGlas® interlayers were shown to be the strongest of the three types considered. Additionally, unique hybrid interlayers were simulated and indicated that strength and bonding can be maximized using various hybrid configurations.

Mechanical characterization of intermittent weak interlayer based on DIC and acoustic emission technique

Current research on intermittent structural surfaces tends to concentrate on intermittent joints, often neglecting the abundance of intermittent weak interlayers present in rock structures. To analyze the effect of intermittent weak interlayer on the mechanical properties of rock mass, specimens with varied interlayer thickness and dip angles were prepared and subjected to uniaxial compression tests using an acoustic emission system and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. The results revealed an inverse relationship between the interlayer thickness (t) and dip angle (θ), and the uniaxial compressive strength. Through a nonlinear fitting method, an empirical strength equation for these interlayers was established. Acoustic emission (AE) counts and cumulative acoustic emission counts increased with loading, and the RA-AF values indicated that the specimens were dominated by shear damage, and the larger the thickness and dip angle of the interlayer, the higher the proportion of shear damage. In terms of failure mode, the greater the thickness of the interlayer, the lower the level of development of cracks other than the main crack, and the greater the dip angle of the interlayer, the fewer the number of wing cracks required for specimen failure and the lower the degree of wing crack development. The increase in interlayer thickness and dip angle resulted in a specimen structure that was more susceptible to damage. The actual crack initiation angles agree with the theoretically calculated angles based on the maximum tensile stress theory. These findings emphasize the critical role of these parameters in influencing the failure mode of rocks.

Influence of interlayer types and thicknesses on the blast performance of laminated glass panels

Several new laminated glass (LG) polymer interlayer materials are now available in the market such as Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA), and SentryGlas (SG). In this paper, quasi-static testing was conducted using a full-scale static water chamber to investigate the influence of interlayer type and thickness on the extreme static response of the LG panels. However, due to the high danger and cost of explosion tests, numerical modeling was used to study the effect of these parameters on the dynamic response of the LG systems. The dynamic numerical model was verified using previously published experimental data. Results demonstrate varying pressure resistance capabilities with changes in interlayer type. EVA interlayer panels exhibit the highest deformation in dynamic behavior, while SG interlayer panels demonstrate the least deformation. Consequently, LG panels with SG interlayers exhibit the highest strength among the three types. Furthermore, the resistance of LG panels improves in the pre-cracked stage by increasing interlayer thickness.

Bias-voltage photoconductance and photoluminescence for the determination of silicon-dielectric interface properties in SiO2/Al2O3 stacks

This paper presents an advanced measurement method for controlling the surface charge carrier density of passivated silicon wafers during photoconductance and photoluminescence measurements, by employing semitransparent poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) electrodes with an applied bias voltage. This is employed to study and analyze charge carrier dynamics in dielectric layers by measuring their direct influence on effective lifetime. With this method, the carrier population at the surface and the effective carrier lifetimes of n- and p-type samples can be investigated, from which the fixed charge carrier density Qf of the passivation can be extracted. Additionally, the defect density Dit can also be derived from the minimum lifetime values at flatband voltage. In SiO2/Al2O3 stacks with varying SiO2 interlayer thickness, it was shown that by changing the SiO2 thickness, the carrier density Qf can be tuned to a wide range of values, which corresponds to the results obtained in other studies. An increase in interlayer thickness resulted in a decrease in Qf. Varying the SiO2 thickness, the behavior of the respective effective lifetime under bias voltage also changes, exhibiting hysteresis-like effects, which are attributed to additional charges getting trapped at the surface during bias-voltage application. This effect is much more pronounced for samples with a thinner SiO2 layer as well as for the n-type samples. Additionally, the doping type also influences the magnitude of Qf, with p-type samples generally reaching lower absolute values. It was also shown that aging of the samples had a significant effect on the measured Qf, which was increased compared to the initial Qf of the passivation. This effect was more pronounced for the n-type samples. The measurements were realized by a cost-effective and easy-to-use microcontroller-based potentiostat, which can be used as a simple add-on to existing photoconductance or photoluminescence measurement setups.

Influence of Interlayer Soil on the Water Infiltration Characteristics of Heavy Saline–Alkali Soil in Southern Xinjiang

Interlayer soil is common in southern Xinjiang, because interlayer can reduce the infiltration rate of soil water. To simulate the interlayer soil in heavy saline–alkali cotton fields, this paper adopted a vertical one-dimensional infiltration test. T1 (315 mm), T2 (270 mm), and T3 (225 mm) and different interlayer positions (T5, 315 mm) and thicknesses of the interlayer (T6, 315 mm) with the same irrigation volume, as well as one perforation and sand filling treatment (T4, 315 mm), were set. The influence of different irrigation amounts, locations, and thicknesses of the interlayer and sand injection on water infiltration was analyzed. The analysis results showed that with the increase in irrigation amount, the water infiltration rate and the migration distance of the wet front increased, but did not penetrate to the bottom soil (90 cm). Under the same irrigation volume, the increase in interlayer thickness (T6) compared with the increase in interlayer position (T5), the change in soil moisture content in the upper and lower layers of the interlayer was greater, and the advance time of wetting front migration and cumulative infiltration were slightly higher. After tunneling and sand filling (T4), the infiltration rate of water was increased, the migration time of the wet front was reduced, and the profile water content of each soil layer was improved. The Kostiakov model could better simulate the water infiltration characteristics of interlayer soil with different profile configurations in heavily saline–alkali land. The results showed that in all of the treatments, only the wet front of the soil moisture reached 100 cm in the T4 treatment, and the maximum was only 87.8 cm in the other treatments, indicating that too little irrigation water or the upward movement and thickening of the interlayer were not conducive to water infiltration. For the interlayer soil area in the heavy saline–alkali land in southern Xinjiang, the appropriate irrigation water should be more than 315 mm. The treatment of drilling first and then filling sand can be used as a simple but effective measure to increase the water infiltration rate of the interlayer soil, and can thus be applied to the layered soil structure in the interlayer position of 60–80 cm.

Bioinspired fracture toughness enhancement of a fully bio-based epoxy resin

In this work, the concept of fracture toughness improvement via spatial variation of mechanical properties is applied to a composite with 100% bio-based carbon content based on epoxidized linseed oil. By proper selection of the hardener, either citric acid or sebacic acid, the mechanical properties were adjusted in a way that a bio-composite exhibits a stiff-soft-stiff layer architecture. Samples with two different thicknesses of soft interlayer (approx. 0.1 mm and 1.3 mm) were subsequently analyzed regarding their final performance. Specimen characteristics, owing to the curing and manufacturing process, were analyzed by means of local Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Fracture mechanics tests were performed to verify if the soft interlayer acts as a crack arrester. The results propose a high chemical compatibility between the used epoxy resins. Embedding a soft thin interlayer into a stiff resin matrix led to an increase in fracture toughness of 13 times, compared to the pure stiff resin. An increase in interlayer thickness led to a further increase in fracture toughness of 24 times. However, the stiffness decreased by 44% and 67%, respectively.

Investigation on the Long-Term Stability of Multiple Salt Caverns Underground Gas Storage With Interlayers

Abstract Salt cavern underground gas storage (UGS) has attracted more and more attention worldwide for high peak shaving efficiency and high short-term throughput. To ensure the safe operation of this type of UGS, it is necessary to evaluate and analyze its stability. This paper investigates the influences of interlayers and cavern interactions on salt cavern UGS's stability. A 3D geomechanical model of double-salt cavern UGS with interlayers is established based on the geological data and creep constitutive relation of salt rock. Based on the long-term creep numerical simulation, the influences of interlayer number, interlayer thickness, interlayer dip angle, interlayer stiffness, cavern spacing, and cavern pressure difference on the deformation of caverns and stability performance of UGS are studied. The results show that the UGS with greater interlayer numbers has larger cavern deformation. The increase in interlayer thickness will improve the deformation resistance of caverns, but the effect is not obvious. The UGS with an interlayer dip angle of 12.5 deg has the best stability. Soft interlayer will decrease the deformation resistance of caverns, while hard interlayer has the opposite effect. In addition, the UGS stability can be enhanced by reducing the pressure difference between adjacent caverns. It is reasonable that the cavern spacing is twice the cavern diameter, which is beneficial to the UGS stability and will not cause a waste of salt rock resources. Finally, the corresponding production and construction control measures are discussed according to each factor's influence degree.

The real role of Cu metallic interlayer on the dielectric dispersion and conduction mechanism of TiO2/Cu/TiO2 nanolaminates

In the present work, the effect of interference of highly transparent and conducting TiO2/Cu/TiO2 nanolaminated films with various Cu metallic interlayer thickness grown on Si (100) substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and magnetron sputtering techniques on the dielectric properties and the AC conductivity of the as-prepared thin films, in the frequency range of 0.1–1000 kHz and in the temperature range of 300–393 K was investigated. The main goal of the studies performed was to compare the dielectric properties and the AC conductivity in two different Cu interlayer thicknesses (20 and 40 nm) and also to assess and relate the resulting properties with several experimental parameters. The AC conductivity measurements showed semiconducting behavior. The variation of the frequency exponent r has been explained in terms of different conduction mechanisms, the correlated barrier hopping (CBH), beside the quantum mechanical tunneling (QMT) models, depending on the Cu metallic interlayer thickness. It is found that the value of the maximum barrier height (Wm) decreases with increasing the Cu interlayer thickness and agree with that proposed by the theory of hopping of charge carriers. The study of the dielectric dispersion reveals that the Debye-type relaxation process was observed at the lower Cu interlayer thickness and fades as the Cu interlayer thickness increases. An observed decrease of dielectric loss with frequency downto low values indicates the suitability of the present samples for several energy storage applications. A new parameter related to the AC conductivity and dielectric constant ratio was studied and analyzed. The present outcome suggests that the thickness of the Cu metallic interlayer plays a vital role in the electric and dielectric properties of the films under investigation.

Microstructure, properties, and formation mechanisms of tungsten/steel hot isostatic pressing diffusion bonding joint utilizing a Ni-Si-B interlayer

In this study, tungsten and steel were successfully bonded utilizing hot isostatic pressing diffusion bonding with a Ni-Si-B interlayer. The interfacial structures and formation mechanisms of joints with interlayers of various thicknesses were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the interfacial structure of a joint with a thin (0.8 μm) Ni-Si-B interlayer is a W/Fe-W inter-metallic compound (IMC) reaction layer/(Fe,Ni) ss diffusion layer/steel structure, where through cracks appear at the interface of the W/reaction layer, leading to poor shear strength. As the interlayer thickness increases (3.2–22.9 μm), the brittle Fe-W IMC no longer appears and the interfacial structure is a W/Ni-W IMCs reaction layer/(Ni,Fe) ss diffusion layer/steel structure. When the interlayer thickness is 3.2 μm, there are many large voids in the diffusion layer. When the interlayer thickness increases to 5.3 μm, the most compact interfacial structure can be obtained with the maximum bonding strength of 363.5 MPa. However, when the interlayer thickness increases further to 12.6 and 22.9 μm, many voids appear in the reaction layer, leading to a decrease in bonding strength. The formation mechanism of a joint with a thin (0.8 μm) interlayer is a purely solid-solid reaction without the generation of a liquid phase. When the interlayer thickness is large (3.2–22.9 μm), the formation process of joints includes three stages: solid-solid reaction, remaining interlayer liquefaction, and solid-liquid reaction. Electron probe microanalysis results reveal that the melting-point depressant element Si is segregated in the reaction layer or diffusion layer depending on the interlayer thickness, which is precisely controlled by the staged formation mechanism of the joints.

Effect of various interlayers on the performance of cesium formamidinium lead mixed halide (CsFAPbX3) – Formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI3) two-terminal tandem solar cell

In this work, 2D-Sentaurus TCAD has been used to investigate two terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs) having the structure Glass | ITO | PEDOT:PSS | CsFAPbX3| PCBM | Interlayer | PEDOT:PSS | FASnI3| PCBM | Ag. The thicknesses of active perovskite layers for both the bottom (FASnI3) and top (CsFAPbX3) sub-cells have been optimized for maximizing the device efficiency. Various metals (Ag, Au, Ti, Al, etc.), transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) such as ITO, FTO, and ZnO, and a polymer (PFN-Br) have been investigated for the interlayer. The dependence of solar cell performance on the thicknesses and optical constants of these interlayers, and on the angle of light incidence (θ) have been analyzed using the integrated optical generation rates. The metal-interlayer TSCs show a monotonic decrease in efficiency with increasing interlayer thickness. A 1 nm Ti-interlayer, for example, gave an efficiency of 12.9% at normal incidence. On the other hand, ITO-interlayer TSC gave its highest efficiency at an optimum interlayer thickness of 5 nm. While some of the metal-interlayer TSCs have been found to generate power for θ values up to 80°, those with more commonly used interlayers such as Ag and Au showed poor angle dependence. TSCs with all the TCO- as well as the PFN-Br- interlayers gave their highest efficiencies at oblique angles of incidence rather than at normal incidence. A peak efficiency of 12.55% was obtained at an angle of 50° for the TSC with this interlayer. To estimate the maximum amount of energy that these TSCs can generate in an year, the energy densities generated per day (Eday) were integrated and compared using the solar irradiation and temperature data from Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS-SARAH, European Commission) database. Among all the interlayers studied here, Ti and ITO have been found to be the best metal and TCO respectively. For example, despite generating the highest short circuit current density at normal incidence, the Ag-interlayer TSC generates 79% and 82% lower energy density than these TSCs on the longest day of the year.

Dissimilar friction stir lap welding of AA7075 to AZ31B in the presence of Sn interlayer

The present study aims to investigate the effect of Sn interlayer on the quality, microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075 T6-AZ31H24 dissimilar joints fabricated by friction stir lap welding. In this regard, various joints were fabricated by changing the interlayer thickness and the number of FSW passes. The microstructure of the joints was studied by optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopes linked to EDS and EBSD detectors. Shear-tensile test was utilized for evaluation of the mechanical properties of the joints. The results showed that the use of 40 μm-thick Sn interlayer was very effective on the improvement of joint quality and joint strength. In this case, the tunneling defect was eliminated and the lap shear fracture load improved by 10% with respect to conventional friction stir lap welding. This was attributed to the facilitated displacement and more proper mixing of dissimilar materials in the nugget due to the lubricating effect of molten tin. Although increase of interlayer thickness showed positive effects on dissimilar material mixing, width of nugget and thickness of mixed region, however, joint strength decreased due to the formation of Mg2Sn intermetallic compound at the out part of the mixed region. Increasing the FSW passes from one to three led to spreading of Mg-Al mixed regions throughout the nugget, thereby the joint strength was deteriorated significantly by formation of various brittle intermetallic compounds (Mg17Al12, Mg2Al3 and Mg2Sn) within the nugget.

Coupling resonance mechanism of interfacial fatigue stratification of adhesive and/or welding butt joint structures excited by horizontal shear waves

Coupling resonance mechanism of interfacial fatigue stratification of adhesive and/or welding butt joint symmetric and/or antisymmetric structures excited by horizontal shear waves are investigated by forced propagation analytical solutions derived by plane wave perturbation methods, integral transformation methods and global matrix methods. The influence of materials on the coupled resonance frequency is analyzed and discussed by the analytical methods. Coupling resonance of interface shear stress is a structure inherent property. Even a very small excitation amplitude at the coupling resonance frequency can result in interface shear delamination. The coupling resonance frequency decreases with the increase of interlayer thickness or shear wave velocity difference between substrate and interlayer. The results could be applied to layered and/or anti-layered structural design.

Nanoparticle-enabled strengthening of aluminum and magnesium resistance spot welds

Joining of aluminum and magnesium alloys holds significant potential for the automotive industry focused on light-weighting. This paper evaluates the impact of nanoparticle inclusion and interlayer thickness on the properties of welded joints produced by Resistance Spot Welding (RSW). The interlayer was a Ni-coating, containing Al2O3 nanoparticles. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) assessed the weld microstructure, the diameter of the weld nugget, and the variation of composition across the weld nugget. The results indicated that both the diameter of the weld nugget and the penetration depth increased with increasing interlayer thickness. The most significant microstructural changes were observed at the fusion interfaces with the nanoparticle causing grain size reduction and dispersion strengthening. In cases where thick interlayers were used the weld nugget was comprised of large sections of un-melted coating and severe cracking. The results also show that the strength of the weld nugget increased with increasing interlayer thickness to a maximum value of 690 N at 10 µm. The microhardness values recorded across the weld zone confirmed the presence of intermetallic compounds.

Role of the electron–phonon coupling in tuning the thermal boundary conductance at metal-dielectric interfaces by inserting ultrathin metal interlayers

Varying the thermal boundary conductance at metal-dielectric interfaces is of great importance for highly integrated electronic structures such as electronic, thermoelectric and plasmonic devices where heat dissipation is dominated by interfacial effects. In this paper we study the modification of the thermal boundary conductance at metal-dielectric interfaces by inserting metal interlayers of varying thickness below 10 nm. We show that the insertion of a tantalum interlayer at the Al/Si and Al/sapphire interfaces strongly hinders the phonon transmission across these boundaries, with a sharp transition and plateau within ∼1 nm. We show that the electron–phonon coupling has a major influence on the sharpness of the transition as the interlayer thickness is varied, and if the coupling is strong, the variation in thermal boundary conductance typically saturates within 2 nm. In contrast, the addition of a nickel interlayer at the Al/Si and the Al/sapphire interfaces produces a local minimum as the interlayer thickness increases, due to the similar phonon dispersion in Ni and Al. The weaker electron–phonon coupling in Ni causes the boundary conductance to saturate more slowly. Thermal property measurements were performed using time domain thermo-reflectance and are in good agreement with a formulation of the diffuse mismatch model based on real phonon dispersions that accounts for inelastic phonon scattering and phonon confinement within the interlayer. The analysis of the different assumptions included in the model reveals when inelastic processes should be considered. A hybrid model that introduces inelastic scattering only when the materials are more acoustically matched is found to better predict the thickness dependence of the thermal boundary conductance without any fitting parameters.

Antiferromagnetic domain switching modulated by an ultrathin Co interlayer in the Fe/Co/CoO/MgO(001) system

Using a combination of hysteresis loop, Kerr microscope, and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we investigated the antiferromagnetic (AFM) domain switching process modulated by the sub-nm thick Co inserting layer in a single crystalline Fe/Co/CoO/MgO(001). The CoO AFM domain switching occurs at lower temperature for the thicker Co interlayer, and the activation energy barrier of CoO AFM domain switching decreases as the Co interlayer thickness increases. The exchange coupling strength between the AFM spins in CoO layer and the ferromagnetic spins in the Fe/Co bilayer is found to be independent of the Co layer thickness. Our results suggest an approach to modulate the dynamic properties of AFM domains with an interfacial modification.

Effect of Ti interlayer thickness on mechanical properties and wear resistance of TiZrN coatings on AISI D2 steel

In the tool industry, adding a soft metallic interlayer to enhance the adhesion of hard coatings is a common practice. This study investigated the effect of Ti interlayer thickness on the residual stress, adhesion strength and wear resistance of TiZrN coatings. The feasibility of using stored elastic energy as an index of wear resistance of the coatings was also studied. The effect of Ti interlayer thickness was evaluated by comparing the mechanical properties of TiZrN films with different Ti interlayer thickness, ranging from 50 to 250 nm. The results showed that the increase of interlayer thickness from 50 to 250 nm reduced the stress of the TiZrN coatings from −5.67 to −3.75 GPa. The optimal Ti interlayer thickness to enhance the adhesion strength of the TiZrN coatings with about 2 μm thickness on D2 steel was 150 nm; however, the adhesion was insignificantly improved compared with the specimen without interlayer. Introducing 250 nm Ti interlayer could slightly increase the wear resistance of the TiZrN coating about 16%, but the adhesion strength of the coating decreased about 6%. The insignificant improvement on mechanical properties and wear resistance of the TiZrN coatings by the Ti interlayer were mainly attributed to the high residual stress of TiZrN top layer. For the coatings with high residual stress (>−4.0 GPa), the stress relief by adding a metal interlayer is limited and insufficient to enhance adhesion strength or wear resistance. Other approaches that can directly lower the intrinsic growth stress in hard coatings may be more effective.

Theoretical and predictive modeling of interfacial thermal conductance and thermal conductivity in graphite flake/Al composites

ABSTRACT Graphite flake/Al composites are promising thermal management materials due to their lightweight and excellent thermal properties. The interface structure is a key factor that impacts the thermophysical properties. In this work, a prediction model based on the Hatta-Taya model and an extended diffusion mismatch model was developed to evaluate the effect of the interface structure on the interfacial thermal conductance (ITC) and thermal conductivity (TC) of graphite flake/Al composites. Although the model only approximates the ITC rather than precisely calculates it, the model can effectively predict the TC. The theoretical ITC between graphite and various materials can reach 108 W/m2K. The TCs of graphite/Al composites with different interlayers decrease with increasing interlayer thickness but at different rates. Interface layers with high TCs, such as Cu, W, SiC, Si and WC, have good TC performance, regardless of their thickness. Among them, W layers are considered to be the most promising candidate to improve the TC of graphite/Al composites.

The effect of MoW interlayer thickness on diamond growth on steel substrates

Abstract