The through-thickness thermal conductivity and heat transport mechanism of carbon fiber three-dimensional orthogonal woven fabric composite

This paper successfully constructed a high through-thickness thermal conductivity carbon fiber composite with three-dimensional orthogonal woven fabric (3DOWF) by taking advantage of the high conductivity of carbon fiber. The effect of structural parameters and Z-direction bundling yarn (Z-yarn) on thermal conductivity (TC) was investigated, and thermal transport mechanism was analyzed. The results show that the TC in the through-thickness direction of 3DOWFs increase dramatically after adding Z-yarn structure, reaching up to 4.12 W/m/K, which is 116% higher than the laminated sample. A plane heat source was established to record the temperature-time curves of the composites, and results show that the composites with higher TC have faster equilibrium time and higher equilibrium temperature. Infrared thermography demonstrates the difference of thermal response process between 3DOWF and laminated material. To sum up, a large amount of heat energy can be transferred rapidly from hot surface to cold one through these Z-yarn paths in the thermal conductive network of 3DOWF, which has potential application in composite with high thermal conductivity.