A review on Aluminium based thermal interface materials for heat transfer application

Thermal management is the capability of a system to maintain its temperature with the support of thermodynamics and heat transfer-based technologies. Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) are any kind of material that is inserted between two components in order to enhance the thermal coupling between them hence the heat transfer rate. It is commonly used in many systems for heat dissipation. Thermal Interface Material with higher thermal conductivity value will improve the heat transfer performance of such devices. The conventional heat dissipaters are typically made up of materials like aluminum and copper which are quite heavy (density of Al-2.7 g/cm3, density of Cu-8.96 g/cm3) and have low thermal conductivity value (for Al-207 W/mK, Cu-385 W/mK) in pure form. This paper is an effort to review and summarize the recent developments in the research area of Thermal Management. Aluminium based metal matrix composites used as heat sink are an ongoing research interest as they enhance the thermal conductivity and finds application in aerospace, automobile, electronic equipment’s and building materials.