Due to the increasing demand for copper and aluminum, particularly as a result of the rise of electromobility, many experts are warning of a shortage of raw materials in the coming years, which will lead to supply bottlenecks and thus to significant price increases. In the search for alternatives, thermally conductive, highly filled plastics are becoming increasingly important and are already being considered and used as a substitute for copper and aluminum in thermally conductive products. This increasing demand is also reflected in the market analysis by MarketsandMarkets INC. (2019). While the market value of thermally conductive plastics amounted to an estimated USD 120 million in 2015, the analysts forecast a progressive increase in market value to around USD 255 million by 2021. The use of new biopolymers in particular can contribute to a sustainable supply of raw materials in the future.

The ITFD is therefore researching thermally conductive plastics with environmentally friendly fillers. The focus is on the development of material models, the coupling of injection molding simulation and thermal component model as well as the development of new measurement methods for determining the inhomogeneous and anisotropic thermal conductivity in the materials and resulting components.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Jochen Gaiser

• Gaiser, J, and Stripf, M (2020): lambdaMax - Mess- und Simulationsverfahren für das thermische Verhalten spritzgegossener, wärmeleitfähiger Kunststoffe und Ableitung von Optimierungsstrategien für eine nachhaltige Werkstoff- und Bauteilentwicklung. Abschlussbericht zum FHProfUnt-Projekt, https://doi.org/10.2314/KXP:1759329061
• Gaiser, J (2020): Mess- und Simulationsverfahren für das thermische Verhalten spritzgegossener wärmeleitfähiger Kunststoffe. Dissertation, Logos Verlag Berlin, ISBN 978-3-8325-5116-2
• Gaiser, J, Stripf, M, and Henning, F (2019): Enhanced Transient Hot Bridge Method Using a Finite Element Analysis. In: International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 40, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-018-2476-y
• Gaiser, J, Stripf, M, and Henning, F (2018): Finite Element Material Model for the Prediction of the Thermal Conductivity of Highly Filled Polymers. 4th Edition of International Conference on Polymer Science and Technology, 04.-05.06.2018, London, UK, https://doi.org/10.4172/2471-9935-C2-011