Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-05367-3

RESEARCH ARTICLE-MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

A Micromechanics‑Based Hierarchical Analysis of Thermal

Conductivity of Metallic Nanocomposites with Agglomerated Ceramic
Nanoparticles
M. K. Hassanzadeh‑Aghdam1 · R. Ansari2

Received: 27 July 2020 / Accepted: 13 January 2021

© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2021

Abstract
The influence of agglomeration of SiC nanoparticles on the bulk thermal conducting behavior of aluminum (Al)-based
nanocomposites is examined using a micromechanics-based hierarchical technique. The interfacial thermal resistance (ITR)
between the ceramic nano-scale particles and the metallic matrix is included in the analysis. The predictions of the microme-
chanical model considering the agglomeration and ITR are in very good agreement with the available experimental results.
The agglomeration of ceramic nanoparticles greatly reduces the thermal conducting coefficient of the Al-based nanocom-
posites. When the nanoparticle volume fraction is 10%, the thermal conductivity decreases from 132 to 115 W/mK with the
formation of nanoparticle agglomeration. The uniform distribution of nanoparticles and the elimination of ITR can lead to a
substantial enhancement in the nanocomposite thermal conductivity. When the volume fraction is 10%, the thermal conduc-
tivity increases from 115 to 188 W/mK by uniform dispersing the nanoparticles and removing the SiC/Al ITR. Moreover,
the effects of amount, and diameter of nano-scale particles as well as the constituent material properties on the bulk thermal
conductivity of the SiC nanoparticle-filled Al nanocomposites are examined. When the SiC diameter increases from 35 nm
to 3.5 µm, the thermal conductivity of the Al-based composite increases from 132 to 173 W/mK.

Keywords Aluminum-based nanocomposite · Thermal conductivity · Agglomeration · Ceramic nanoparticle · Hierarchical

modeling

1 Introduction superior high-temperature mechanical properties and low

Aluminum (Al) and its alloys have attracted much attention
for the production of the structural materials in the aero-
space, automotive and electronic industries because of good
mechanical, physical and chemical properties [1–3]. In order
to improve the mechanical properties such as the stiffness
and strength, ceramic particles are added in the Al-based
materials forming the Al-based composites [4–6]. The SiC
particles are commonly offered as the reinforcement phase
for the metallic composites due to the high wear resistance,
* M. K. Hassanzadeh‑Aghdam
mk.hassanzadeh@gmail.com
1 ment [13–15].
Department of Engineering Science, Faculty of Technology
and Engineering, East of Guilan, University of Guilan,
Rudsar‑Vajargah, Iran
2
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guilan,
Rasht, Iran
cost [7–9].
It has been confirmed that the nanoscale ceramic particles
are more favorable than the microscale ceramic particles to
increase the mechanical characteristics of the metallic com-
posite materials [10, 11]. For example, Keneshloo et al. [11]
explored that the Al-4% Cu matrix nanocomposites filled
with SiC nanoparticles (30 nm) indicate higher compres-
sive strength, higher hardness, and better wear properties
as compared to the Al-4% Cu matrix composites filled with
SiC microparticles (15 µm). The ceramic nanoparticle-rein-
forced metallic nanocomposites can be considered as the
cutting-edge materials for advanced structural applications
[12]. Besides, they have potential applications in the thermal
protection system, especially for the thermal shock environ-
Many research works were conducted to evaluate the
mechanical properties of the ceramic nanoparticle-filled
metallic nanocomposites. Kollo et al. [16] observed that
increasing the amount of nanoscale SiC particles from 1 to

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

10 vol.% caused the tensile strength of the Al-based nano-
composites to improve from 205 to 420 MPa. Murthy et al.
[17] fabricated some specimens of the Al-based nanocom-
posites reinforced with 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 wt% SiC particles
with a mean size of 50 nm and 150 nm. The results revealed
that the ultimate tensile strength and hardness of the Al-
based nanocomposites enhance with increasing the SiC
weight fraction [17]. Mazaheri and Shabani [18] evaluated
the mechanical properties of the Al-Si alloys reinforced with
SiC nanoparticles. It was shown that adding the SiC nano-
particles enhances the hardness, stiffness, yield strength and
tensile strength of the metallic nanocomposites. The maxi-
mum values of the yield strength and tensile strength were
observed by adding 3.5 vol% SiC nanoparticles [18]. El-
Daly et al. [19] obtained the quantitative information about
the influence of nanoscale SiC particles on the elastic prop-
erties such as the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s
modulus and Poisson’s ratio of Al-based nanocomposites
using the pulse echo overlap method. The results revealed
that Young’s modulus of 10 vol% SiC nanoparticle-filled
Al nanocomposites is 97.1 GPa, which is much higher than
that of the pure Al material (72.6 GPa) [19]. Abdullahi and
Al-Aqeeli [20] investigated the effect of SiC addition on
the final morphology and microstructure of the Al-based
nanocomposite. Boostani et al. [21] produced the Al-based
nanocomposites reinforced with nano-SiC particles. Based
on the results, 45% and 84% improvement have been found
for the yield strength and tensile ductility. The bulk proper-
ties of metallic nanocomposites are controlled by the size
and volume fraction of the nanoparticle reinforcement as
well as the constituent material properties [18–20]. The high
mechanical properties can be achieved when the ceramic
nanoparticles are dispersed uniformly in the metallic nano-
composites. Although a number of research works exist in
developing the fabrication techniques, the homogeneous dis-
tribution of nano-scale particles is still a problem. Several
reasons such as the great surface-to-volume ratio, attractive
van der Waals (vdW) interactions, and poor wettability of
fine ceramic fillers by the molten Al lead to the formation
of an agglomerated state and inhomogeneous distribution of
the nanoparticles [21–24].
The thermal properties of the metallic composites have
a significant effect on the structure durability. Miniaturiza-
tion of the electronic constituents has led to a growth of
power density in electronic devices which need to a great
thermal conducting coefficient of the thermal management
materials to guarantee the heat dissipation [25–28]. The
primary concern in the thermal management applications
is identified to be the high thermal conductivity. Xu et al.
[8] measured the thermal conductivity of 10, 20, 30 and 40
vol% SiC/Al composites. It was found that the interfacial
thermal resistance (ITR) between the SiC and Al matrix
may decrease the thermal conductivity of the metallic
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
composites. Hasselman et al. [26] tested the thermal con-
ductivity of a 40 vol% SiC/Al composite as a function of
mean particle size ranging from 700 nm to 28 µm. The
reduction in thermal conductance property was observed
by the decrease in SiC size. This behavior was attributed
to the interfacial thermal barrier at the SiC/Al interface.
Molina et al. [28] produced the Al-based composites rein-
forced with mixtures of diamond and SiC particles. It was
confirmed that replacing the SiC gradually by the diamond
filler leads to a steady enhancement of the thermal con-
ductivity from 220 to 580 W/mK. El-Kady and Fathy [29]
investigated the effects of size and weight fraction of SiC
particles on the thermal conductivities of the Al-based
composite materials. Composite specimens with 5 and
10 wt% SiC nanoparticles were produced by the powder
metallurgy technique followed by the hot extrusion. It was
observed that the thermal conductivity of the Al-based
nanocomposites reduced with increasing the amount of
SiC nanoparticles and improved with increasing SiC par-
ticle size [29]. Generally, the thermal conductivity of par-
ticulate metal matrix nanocomposites (PMMNCs) is as a
function of volume fraction, size and dispersion type of
nanoparticles, constituent properties, and especially ITR
between the nanoparticle and metal matrix [30–33]. It is
difficult to completely evaluate the thermal properties of
PMMNCs by the experimental methods due to their com-
plexity and time-consuming. In this frame, the theoreti-
cal techniques such as the micromechanical models are
required for predicting the thermal conductivities of the
ceramic nanoparticle-reinforced metallic nanocomposites.
A literature survey shows that the relation between
the microstructural features and the macroscopic ther-
mal conductivity of the SiC nanoparticle-reinforced Al-
based nanocomposites has not been suitably presented.
Thus, it is needed to develop a micromechanical method
for the quantitative characterization of the content, size
and agglomeration of ceramic nanoparticles as well as the
ITR. In this work, the thermal conducting response of the
SiC nanoparticle-reinforced Al-based nanocomposites is
studied using a multi-step micromechanical approach with
high accuracy and efficiency. One of the main advantages
of the proposed method is that the micromechanics model
is totally analytical. This micromechanical model can
include the critical microstructural features such as the
amount, size and agglomeration of nanoparticles and the
nanoparticle/metal ITR. It is shown that the uniform dis-
persion of nanoparticles and the elimination of ITR may
lead to a significant improvement in the thermal conduc-
tivity. Moreover, increasing the size of SiC nanoparticles
improves the thermal conducting performance of the Al-
based nanocomposites. The model predictions are in good
agreement with the experimental results.
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

2 Micromechanical Modeling of PMMNCs Vinclusion V inclusion

𝜉= ,𝜁 = r 0 ≤ 𝜉, 𝜁 ≤ 1 (2)
V Vr
The agglomeration of ceramic nanoparticles is formed
during the fabrication of the metallic nanocomposites where Vrinclusion denotes the volume of inclusions in the
[21–24, 34]. An image of the Al-based nanocomposite composite RVE. The volume fraction of spherical inclu-
which contains the agglomeration of aluminum oxide sions regarding the whole volume of composite RVE (V )
nanoparticles has been shown in Ref. [34]. In order to is signified by 𝜉 , and the volume ratio of the nanoparticles
investigate the influence of nanoparticle agglomeration into the spherical inclusions over the whole nanoparticles;
on the thermal conductivity of PMMNCs, a multi-step i.e., Vr , is indicated by 𝜁 . The ceramic nanoparticles are
homogenization technique is developed. This process uniformly dispersed in the composite material when 𝜉 = 1.
was formerly employed to obtain the elastic modulus of However, the degree of nanoparticle agglomeration becomes
the polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotube more severe by the decrease of 𝜉 . Also, 𝜁 = 1 indicates that
agglomeration [35, 36]. The spatial dispersion of ceramic all the ceramic nanoparticles agglomerate in the spherical
nanoparticles in the metal matrix is non-uniform such that inclusions. A uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in the
some local areas have a greater concentration of nanopar- composite materials exists when 𝜉 = 𝜁 . The volume frac-
ticles than the average volume fraction in the material, as tion of the ceramic nanoparticles in the composite material
shown in Fig. 1. is expressed as
A number of nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed in
Vr
the metallic matrix formed the effective matrix phase, and vr = (3)
the remaining nanoparticles are observed in agglomerated V
state in spherical inclusions. In the effective matrix phase On the basis of Eqs. (1–3), it can be expressed [35, 36]
and inclusion, the nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed
in the metal matrix. The thermal properties of the spheri- Vrinclusion 𝜁 Vrm (1 − 𝜁)
vinclusion = = vr , vm = = v
cal inclusions containing agglomerated nanoparticles are r Vinclusion 𝜉 r V − Vinclusion (1 − 𝜉) r
different from the surrounding material. In the proposed (4)
method, the total volume of ceramic nanoparticles Vr in where Vrinclusion and vm
r are the volume fractions of ceramic
the representative volume element (RVE) of the composite nanoparticles in the inclusion and in the metallic matrix
system is divided into two parts, as follows [35, 36] outer the inclusions, respectively.
The PMMNC is considered as a composite system con-
Vr = Vrinclusion + Vrm (1)
sisting of spherical inclusions embedded in the effective
where Vrinclusion and Vrm specify the volumes of nanoparti- matrix phase. Both effective matrix and inclusion phases
cles dispersed in the spherical inclusions and in the metallic contain ceramic nanoparticles with a uniform dispersion.
matrix outside the spherical inclusions (i.e., effective matrix The effective thermal conducting coefficients of the spheri-
phase), respectively. Two parameters 𝜉 and 𝜁 are introduced cal inclusion, the equivalent matrix, and then the PMMNCs
to reflect the degree of nanoparticle agglomeration, as must be computed.
follows
2.1 Mori–Tanaka Model

To predict the thermal conductivities of the composite

materials, the Mori–Tanaka (M-T) micromechanics model
Spherical inclusion
is employed [37–39]. In the case of steady-state heat conduc-
tion issues, the M-T method considers a single ellipsoidal
Nanoparticle
heterogeneity inserted into an infinite homogeneous matrix
domain under a constant far-field heat flux [40]. The heat
flow in the composite system is expressed as follows
Nanoparticle

̂
q = −K∇T (5)
Al matrix
where 𝐊̂ is the second-rank thermal conductivity tensor, 𝐪
and ∇T are the average of heat flux vector and temperature
Al matrix gradient, respectively. In the M-T model, it is assumed that
the resultant temperature gradient in each heterogeneity is
Fig. 1  Model of a PMMNC with ceramic nanoparticle agglomeration constant [37–40]. The thermal conductivity tensor of the

13

composite materials is explicitly determined using the fol-
lowing relation
}−1
K = K M . I + cR (S − I).(A − S)−1 . I + cR S.(A − S)−1
{ }{
(6)
in which
)−1
A = K M − K R .K M (7)
(
where 𝐊M and 𝐊R refer to the second-rank thermal con-
ductivity tensors for the metallic matrix and reinforcement,
respectively, cR is the reinforcement volume fraction, and
𝐈 denotes the second-rank identity matrix. Also, 𝐒 denotes
the second-rank Eshelby tensor which its components for
various types of reinforcement can be readily found in Refs.
[40, 41].
2.2 Effective Medium Model
In this section, the thermal conductivity of the nanoparti-
cle-reinforced composites is analyzed. The ITR between
the nanoparticles and matrix significantly affects the heat
transfer performance of the composites containing nano-
scale particles [30–33]. The ITR has been categorized as
a heat flow barrier associated with a weak contact at the
interface, diversities in phonon spectra on the basis of the
atomic arrangements and densities of the phases [42].
The effective medium approach [30] can predict the
thermal conductivities of the particulate composites. The
modified form of this method considering the ITR is used,
as follows
[ ]
NC M
K NP (1 + 2𝛼) + 2K M + 2cNP K NP (1 − 2𝛼) − K M
K =K [
K NP (1 + 2𝛼) + 2K M − cNP K NP (1 − 2𝛼) − K M
] dictions of the thermal conductivity with agglomeration in
(8)
where K NP is the nanoparticle thermal conductivity, and 𝛼 is
a dimensionless parameter defined as
RK K O
𝛼= (9)
(d∕2)
where d refers to the diameter of the nanoparticle, and RK
is the nanoparticle/matrix ITR. The thermal property of
the interfacial region is concentrated on a surface of zero
thickness.
A three-step modeling process is performed to calculate
the thermal conductivity of the ceramic nanoparticle-rein-
forced metallic nanocomposites. In the first step, the thermal
conducting coefficient of the spherical inclusion consisted of
the ceramic nanoparticles and metallic matrix is computed
using the effective medium model. In the second step, a sim-
ilar procedure is made to calculate the thermal conducting
coefficient of the effective matrix phase consisted of the rest
13
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
of metallic material and the ceramic nanoparticles outside
the spherical inclusion. The effect of ITR is considered in
the micromechanical modeling. The bulk thermal conductiv-
ity of the PMMNCs is computed by the M-T method using
the material properties of the effective matrix phase and the
spherical inclusion.
3 Results and Discussion
The validity of the micromechanics-based hierarchical
method is verified. To this end, the thermal conductivities
of the SiC nanoparticle-reinforced Al-based nanocomposites
predicted by the micromechanical model are compared with
the experimental results [29]. Thermal conductivity of this
PMMNC has been evaluated experimentally by El-Kady and
Fathy [29]. In this verification, the thermal conductivities
of the Al matrix and SiC particles are 178 and 300 W/mK,
respectively. In the micromechanical modeling, the value of
ITR is 6.85 × 10–9 ­m2K/W. Figure 2 exhibits the comparison
between two sets of results for the nanoscale SiC particle-
filled Al nanocomposites.
The variation of the effective thermal conductivity with
the weight fraction of nanoparticle is plotted. The nanopar-
ticle weight fraction is converted into the volume fraction in
the micromechanical simulation by the densities of SiC and
Al matrix. The influences of important features, i.e., the SiC
nanoparticle agglomeration and the ITR on the thermal con-
ductivity of the PMMNCs are investigated in Fig. 2. There is
a large difference between the experimental measurements
[29] and the estimations of the micromechanical method
without the ITR and the nanoparticle agglomeration as
shown in Fig. 2a. Furthermore, Fig. 2b reveals that the pre-
the absence of the ITR are greater than the experiments [29].
The dependency of the thermal conductivities of PMMNCs
on the nanoparticle dispersion type is observed from the
comparison of the results displayed in Fig. 2 a, b. The ther-
mal conducting coefficient of the Al-based nanocomposites
reinforced with the uniformly dispersed nanoparticles is
greater than that of Al-based nanocomposites containing
the nanoparticle agglomeration. The uniform dispersion of
ceramic nanoparticles helps to make the better heat dissipa-
tion from the structures made of PMMNCs. Considering
only the ITR is not adequate factor to have a good prediction
of the thermal conductivity of the Al-based nanocomposites
as compared to the experimental data [29] as indicated in
Fig. 2c. The comparison between the results of the microme-
chanical method presented in Fig. 2 a, c clarifies that the ITR
significantly affects the thermal properties of the PMMNCs.
The thermal conductivities of the Al-based nanocomposites
without the ITR are very greater than those of the Al-based
nanocomposites with the ITR. Consequently, eliminating
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

(a) (b)

Thermal conductivity (W/mK) 180 180

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

Experiment [29] Experiment [29]
155 155
Present method, Without agglomeration, Present method, With agglomeration,
Without ITR Without ITR
130 130

105 105

80 80
0 3 6 9 12 0 3 6 9 12
SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%) SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%)

(c) Experiment [29] (d) Experiment [29]

180 Present method, Without agglomeration, 180

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

With ITR Present method, With agglomeration,
With ITR
155 155

130 130

105 105

80 80
0 3 6 9 12 0 3 6 9 12
SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%) SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%)

Fig. 2  Comparison between the model predictions and experiment without ITR, c without agglomeration, with ITR, and d with agglom-
[29] of Al-based nanocomposites reinforced with nanoscale SiC par- eration, with ITR
ticles; a without agglomeration, without ITR, b with agglomeration,

the ITR can cause a substantial enhancement in the thermal

conductivity. It is observed from Fig. 2d that both agglom-
eration of SiC nanoparticles and the ITR must be included 180
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

in the micromechanical modeling to obtain more accurate

estimations as compared to the experimental measurements 155
[29]. The value of 𝜉 is 0.3, and 𝜁 is assumed to be a volume
fraction-dependent parameter, as follows
130
𝜁 = 0.65 + 2.5cNP (10)
Experiment [29]
The increase in SiC nanoparticle content may improve 105
the PMMNC thermal conductivity by eliminating both the Present method
nanoparticle agglomeration and the SiC/Al ITR.
80
Another comparison is made between the results of the 0 3 6 9 12
micromechanical model and experimental measurements SiC particle amount (wt.%)
[29] to further show the validity of the model. The compari-
son is shown in Fig. 3. The experimental tests were given
Fig. 3  Comparison between the model predictions and experimental
results [29] of Al-based composites reinforced with SiC particles

13
 Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

for two weight fractions of SiC particles, including 5 and 1.35

10%. The variation of the thermal conductivity of the SiC/
Al composites versus the particle weight fraction is plot- FEM [43]

Normalized thermal conductivity

ted. The effects of important microstructural features are
included in the micromechanical modeling. It is found that
the predictions of the model are in good agreement with the
experimental results [29].
Figure 4 indicates the comparison between the model pre-
dictions and experimental data [8] of the thermal conductiv-
ity of the SiC/Al composites. The thermal conductivity of
the Al matrix is 174.57 W/mK. Also, in the micromechani-
cal modeling, the value of ITR is 6.85 × 10–9 ­m2K/W. The
figure shows the variation of the thermal conductivity with
the SiC volume fraction. Significant contribution of the ITR
between the SiC particle and the Al matrix to the thermal
conducting behavior of SiC/Al composites can be seen in
Fig. 4. It is observed that with considering the ITR in the
micromechanical modeling, two sets of results are in good
agreement validating the theoretical method utilized in this
study.
A comparison between the results of the present analyti-
cal micromechanics-based model and finite element method
(FEM) [43] is presented. Figure 5 shows the normalized
thermal conductivity of the particulate nanocomposites
versus the nanoparticle volume fraction. It is noticed that
the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites is normal-
ized with respect to the matrix thermal conductivity. A good
agreement is observed between the predictions of the model
and the FEM results [43].
Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the ITR,
degree of agglomeration, size of nanoparticles, and constitu-
ent material properties which mostly affect the homogenized
thermal properties of the SiC nanoparticle-reinforced Al-
based nanocomposites.
1.28
Present method
1.21
1.14
1.07
1
0 2 4 6 8 10
Nanoparticle amount (vol.%)
Fig. 5  Comparison between the results of the present model and the
FEM [43] for the thermal conductivity of the particulate nanocom-
posites
Figure 6 depicts the influence of nanoparticle/metal ITR
on the PMMNC thermal conductivity. The value of Rk is
chosen to be 0, 0.1 × 10–9, 1 × 10–9 and 6.85 × 10–9 ­m2K/W.
A homogenous dispersion of the ceramic nanoparticles into
the Al matrix is considered. The notable sensitivity of the
thermal properties to the ITR can be found from this figure.
The maximum value of the thermal conductivity is deter-
mined when Rk=0. It is illustrated that the thermal conduc-
tivity decreases by increasing the ITR. For example, when
the SiC nanoparticle weight fraction is 5%, in comparison
with the case of Rk=1 × 10–9 ­m2K/W, the thermal conducting
coefficient of the PMMNC without ITR enhances by 16.6%
from 157 to 183 W/mK. Therefore, the reduction in the ITR
is necessary to obtain a higher thermal conductivity. When

230
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

205 180
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

180
155

155
130
130 Rk=6.85e-9 m^2K/W
Experiment [8]
Rk=1e-9 m^2K/W
Present method, With ITR 105 Rk=0.1e-9 m^2K/W
105
Present method, Without ITR Rk=0

80 80
0 8 16 24 32 40 48 0 3 6 9 12
SiC particle amount (vol.%) SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%)

Fig. 4  Comparison between the model predictions and experiment [8] Fig. 6  Influence of ITR on the thermal conductivity of Al-based
of Al-based composites reinforced with SiC particles nanocomposites reinforced with nanoscale SiC particles

13
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Rk = 0, the increase in ceramic nanoparticle content leads to

an enhancement of the PMMNC thermal conductivity.
180
Inherent characteristics of the nanoscale ceramic parti-

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

cles and other factors induced during the production of the
PMMNCs make the SiC nanoparticles easy to agglomerate 155
in real engineering situations. The thermal conducting coef- d=35 nm
ficient of the Al-based nanocomposites as a function of SiC
130 d=350 nm
nanoparticle weight fraction for different values of 𝜁 , includ-
ing 0.5, 0.65, and 0.8 is indicated in Fig. 7. It is found an d=3.5 µm

increased thermal conductivity for the PMMNCs owing to 105 d=5 µm

the uniform dispersion of SiC nanoparticles as 𝜉 = 𝜁 = 0.5.
The homogenized thermal conductivities of the PMMNCs
have lower values as the value of 𝜁 increases. In other words,
when ceramic nanoparticles form agglomeration regions
( 𝜉 ≠ 𝜁 ) in the PMMNCs, degradation of the thermal con-
ductivity is observed against the PMMNCs containing
well-dispersed nanoparticles. Therefore, fabrication of the
Al-based nanocomposites with a homogenous nanoparticle
dispersion is expected to be an efficient way to attain a more
level of thermal conductivity. This can make the heat dissi-
pation from structures faster which is favorable in numerous
engineering applications, especially in electronic equipment.
The thermal conductivity of Al-based composites versus
the particle content for different values of SiC diameter is
presented in Fig. 8. For this micromechanical analysis, five
different values, including 35 nm, 350 nm, 3.5 µm, 5 µm
and 10 µm, are selected. As the ceramic particle diameter
increases, the thermal conductivity of the Al-based compos-
ites can be increased. This is due to the fact that the increase
in the particle diameter decreases the influence of thermal
resistance in interfacial region on the composite thermal
conductivity. A threshold value of particle diameter exists
after which further increase in diameter does not contribute
to the thermal properties of the Al-based composites.
d=10 µm
80
0 3 6 9 12
SiC nanoparticle amount (wt.%)
Fig. 8  Influence of diameter of SiC particles on the thermal conduc-
tivity of Al-based composites
To examine the effect of the metal matrix thermal con-
ductivity on the effective PMMNC thermal conducting
coefficient, another micromechanical analysis is performed.
Figure 9 displays the variation of PMMNC thermal conduct-
ing coefficient with the matrix thermal conductivity in the
range of 150–250 W/mK. The predictions have been illus-
trated in the presence and the absence of ITR. Generally,
the PMMNC thermal conductivity displays a linear increase
trend with increasing the matrix thermal conductivity. As
expected, the thermal conductivities of Al-based nanocom-
posites with the ITR are lower than those of the Al-based
nanocomposites without ITR.
A sensitivity analysis is directed to explore the role of
nanoscale particle thermal properties in the thermal con-
ducting behavior of Al-based nanocomposites. Figure 10

250
Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

220

190

160
With ITR
130
Without ITR
100
150 170 190 210 230 250
Metal matrix thermal conductivity (W/mK)

Fig. 9  Influence of metal matrix thermal conductivity on the thermal

Fig. 7  Influence of degree of nanoparticle agglomeration on the ther- conductivity of Al-based nanocomposites reinforced with nanoscale
mal conductivity of Al-based nanocomposites SiC particles

13

Normalized PMMNC thermal conductivity
1.2
1.14
1.08
1.02
0.96
0.9
1 2.5
Normalized nanoparticle thermal conductivity
Fig. 10  Variation of normalized thermal conductivity of SiC nano-
particle-reinforced Al-based nanocomposites with normalized ther-
mal conductivity of ceramic nanoparticle
displays the variation of the normalized thermal conductiv-
ity of PMMNC with the normalized thermal conductivity
of ceramic nanoparticle. The micromechanical simulation
has been performed for two weight fractions (5% and 10%).
Too, the role of ITR in the PMMNC thermal conductivity
has been tested. Note that both thermal conductivities are
normalized with respect to the matrix thermal conductiv-
ity. Generally, a nonlinear increase in the PMMNC thermal
conductivity is found by increasing the ceramic nanoparti-
cle thermal conductivity. The effect of nanoscale particle
thermal properties is more pronounced at a higher weight
fraction.
4 Conclusions
In this work, a micromechanics-based hierarchical tech-
nique involving the M-T method and the modified effective
medium approach was developed to estimate the effective
thermal conductivities of Al-based nanocomposites filled
with the SiC nanoparticles. The effects of the ITR between
the nanoparticle and metallic matrix as well as the disper-
sion type of nanoscale particles were examined. When the
agglomeration and ITR were included in the microme-
chanical analysis, a good agreement was found between
the predictions and the experimental results. Generally, the
nanoscale SiC particles lead to an insignificant enhancement
in the Al-based nanocomposite thermal conductivities which
was attributed to the presence of ITR. It was offered that
one well-organized way to improve the PMMNC thermal
conductivity is to reduce the interfacial resistance. Also,
the ceramic nanoparticle agglomeration decreased the Al-
based nanocomposite thermal properties, while a uniform
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Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
distribution of nanoparticles maximized the thermal conduc-
tivity. Thus, it was suggested that producing a homogenous
PMMNC is another way to improve the thermal properties.
The results depicted that the Al-based nanocomposite ther-
mal conductivity enhances by increasing both amount and
size of nanoscale ceramic particles. Moreover, the effective
thermal conducting coefficients of the PMMNCs can be
greatly improved with rising the thermal conductivities of
5%, Without ITR the metallic matrix and ceramic nanoparticles. The devel-
10%, Without ITR oped methodology may be a suitable model to design the
5%, With ITR metallic composites with high thermal conductivity utilized
10%, With ITR in micro-electro-mechanical systems.
4 5.5 7 8.5 10
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