This three-year US-France cooperative research project between Namas Chandra of Florida State University and Jean-Francois Silvain of the Institut de Chimie de la Matiere Condensee de Bordeaux is aimed at developing carbon-copper nanocomposite materials with advanced thermal properties.
Intellectual Merit
The electronic and power industries require devices that exhibit adjustable thermal properties and mechanical strength/stiffness to withstand external and heat induced stresses. Carbon fiber based copper matrix materials have been widely used in those industries. However, the use of carbon nanotubes instead of carbon fibers offers opportunities to improve properties of these materials. The proposal addresses the issue of how to manufacture copper composites embedded with carbon nanotubes. The investigators propose to use numerical and experimental methods to achieve this objective.
Broader Impacts
This international partnership takes advantage of combined expertise to resolve the problem of creating and modeling "extreme" composites with carbon nanotubes. Theory, modeling and simulations will be carried out at Florida State University, while the French group will conduct the experimental work. The proposed research will advance understanding of the thermo-mechanical properties needed to create to novel materials for use by the electronic and power industries. Education aspects involve training of US students in the experimental techniques developed by the French researchers.
