Thermal conductivity of gel-spun polyethylene fibers

The thermal conductivities of unidirectional gel-spun polyethylene fiber-reinforced composites have been measured parallel (K∥?) and perpendicular (K⊥) to the fiber axis from 15 to 300K. The axial thermal conductivity K∥? varies linearly with volume fraction v_f of fiber, while the transverse thermal conductivity K⊥ follows the Halpin-Tsai equation. Extrapolation to v_f = 1 gives the thermal conductivity of gel-spun polyethylene fiber which, at 300K, has values of 380 and 3.3 mW cm^?1K^?1 along and perpendicular to the fiber axis, respectively. The axial thermal conductivity is exceptionally high for polymers, and is more than twice the thermal conductivity of stainless steel. This high value arises from the presence of a large fraction of long (> 50 nm) extended chain crystals in the fiber. Further improvement of up to a factor of 10 is possible if the length and volume fraction of the extended chain crystals can be increased. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.