Toray Industries, Japan has developed a thermal conductivity technology to improve the heat dissipation performance of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) to the level of metal. Applying this technology to CFRP can effectively dissipate heat from the source through the heat conduction path inside the material. This helps curb battery degradation in mobile applications while improving the performance of electronic devices.
Common applications for this light, strong, and hard plastic include airplanes, automobiles, infrastructure components, sporting goods, and electronic equipment. When CFRP is used as an advanced fluid structural material, improving its heat dissipation performance is of great significance to prevent the battery from deteriorating due to heat accumulation during the charging process. However, the thermal conductivity of CFRP is not as good as aluminum alloys and other metals, which has prompted efforts to enhance heat dissipation by using external or internal graphite sheets. However, these graphite flakes are easily broken, dispersed and damaged, and affect the performance of CFRP.
For many years, Toray has used proprietary technology to develop and apply rigid and porous CFRP materials, using short carbon fibers to form a three-dimensional network. This time, Toray created a thermally conductive layer with porous CFRP support to protect the graphite sheet. Laminate CFRP prepreg on this thermally conductive layer to make it have higher thermal conductivity than metal. This is impossible with ordinary CFRP without affecting the mechanical properties and quality of the material.
A prepreg is a sheet-like intermediate material that is impregnated with resin to reinforce the fiber. Common applications are aircraft fuselages, main wings and tail wings, and other major structural components. At the same time it is also used for golf clubs, fishing rods, tennis rackets and other sports equipment.
Toray can change the thickness and lamination position of the graphite sheet forming the heat conduction path, thereby realizing a flexible thermal management design, controlling the path of heat release or utilization, and achieving CFRP cooling efficiency and heat diffusion.
Toray’s breakthrough is a technical solution that can effectively dissipate heat from the battery and electronic circuits without affecting the lightness of CFRP. The company expects that CFRP applications using its technology will include advanced mobile devices, mobile electronic devices, and wearable devices that require lightness and heat dissipation.