(604e) Continous Extrusion of Microtextured Composite Films

Micro-textured polymeric composite films filled with graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) were produced by continuous melt extrusion with a novel micro-patterned die. GNP dispersed with a significant extent inside the linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) matrix. GNP addition into the polymer resulted a 30-fold increase of the in-plane thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite (8.8 W/m.K vs 0.3 W/m.K for pure LLDPE), and 10-fold increase of through thickness thermal conductivity. The anisotropy of the thermal conductivity was explained by the parallel alignment of the particles to the film machine direction. The electrical percolation threshold of the micro-textured films was found lower than the non-textured films. Micro-textures aided to increase convective heat transfer rate as a consequence of increased surface area like as fins of a heat exchanger.