Understanding Electrical and Thermal Transport in Single Strand Cu-Coated Carbon Fiber

Carbon fiber is used in many parts of high-performance cars to improve its performance. Furthermore, there are many researches to improve the properties of cables that have reduced weight by coating metal on carbon fiber cores. But there is a lack of research on thermal properties, one of the important properties.

In this study, 1ω AC current was used to analyze the electrical and thermal conductivity of single-stranded metal-coated carbon fibers with different metal thicknesses. Generated 3ω voltage due to heat generation was measured and analyzed. We conclude that depositing a metal layer on CF improves the both conductivity of CF. And our results show that the thermal conductivity of CF improves as the metal thickness increases. The heat flow is also identified through the Lorenz number, which represents the ratio of thermal conductivity to electrical conductivity. The change in Lorenz number explains how heat is distributed in the MCF over temperature changes.

Our results help to understand the heat transfer of the core-shell structure and can be used to identify heat dissipation and conduction without compromising the electrical conductivity of metal-coated carbon fibers.