Claims
- 1. A method of making a thermally conductive and conformable composition, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing 100 parts by weight of a gel; and
- (b) combining the gel with between 150 and 400 parts by weight of .alpha.-alumina, wherein at least 10 percent by weight of the .alpha.-alumina has a particle size of at least 74 .mu.m, to form a combination of the gel material and the .alpha.-alumina; and
- (c) mixing the combination to make the thermally conductive and conformable composition.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the gel is a thermoplastic gel made from styrene-(ethylene butylene)-styrene or styrene-(ethylene propylene)-styrene block copolymer.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the .alpha.-alumina is calcined .alpha.-alumina.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the .alpha.-alumina is a powder which has a bulk density of less than 1.0 g/cm.sup.3.
- 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the thermally conductive and conformable composition has a thermal conductivity of at least 1.3 watt/m-.degree. C., a hardness of less than 1,000 g, and an elongation at break of at least 50%.
- 6. A thermally conductive and conformable composition, made by the method of claim 1.
- 7. A method of making a thermally conductive and conformable composition, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing 100 parts by weight of a precursor material curable into a gel;
- (b) combining the precursor material with between 150 and 400 parts by weight of .alpha.-alumina, wherein at least 10 percent by weight of the .alpha.-alumina has a particle size of at least 74 .mu.m, to form a combination of the precursor material and the .alpha.-alumina; and
- (c) curing the precursor material into a gel to form the thermally conductive and conformable composition.
- 8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the gel is an organopolysiloxane gel.
- 9. A thermally conductive and conformable composition, made by the method of claim 7.
- 10. A method of making a thermally conductive and conformable composition, comprising the steps of:
- (a) separately providing first and second precursor components, which when mixed together cure to form a gel, the combined amounts of the first and the second precursor components totaling 100 parts by weight;
- (b) separately combining .alpha.-alumina with each of the first and second precursor components to form respective first and second combinations comprising .alpha.-alumina and a first or second precursor component respectively, wherein at least 10 weight percent of the .alpha.-alumina has a particle size of at least 74 .mu.m and the total amount of .alpha.-alumina is between 150 and 400 parts by weight; and
- (c) mixing the first and second combinations and curing to form the thermally conductive and conformable composition.
- 11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the gel is an organopolysiloxane gel.
- 12. A thermally conductive and conformable composition, made by the method of claim 10.
- 13. A conformable and thermally conductive composition, comprising
- (a) 100 parts by weight of a gel and
- (b) between 150 and 400 parts by weight of .alpha.-alumina, wherein at least 10 weight percent of the .alpha.-alumina has a particle size of at least 74 .mu.m.
- 14. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the gel is an organopolysiloxane gel.
- 15. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the gel is a thermoplastic gel made from styrene-(ethylene butylene)-styrene or styrene-(ethylene propylene)-styrene block copolymer.
- 16. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the .alpha.-alumina is calcined .alpha.-alumina.
- 17. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the .alpha.-alumina is a powder which has a bulk density of less than 1.0 g/cm.sup.3.
- 18. A composition according to claim 13, having a thermal conductivity of at least 1.3 watt/m-.degree. C., a hardness of less than 1,000 g, and an elongation at break of at least 50%.
- 19. An article comprising
- (I) a conformable and thermally conductive composition, comprising
- (a) 100 parts by weight of a gel and
- (b) between 150 and 400 parts by weight of .alpha.-alumina, wherein at least 10 weight percent of the .alpha.-alumina has a particle size of at least 74 .mu.m; and
- (II) a flexible matrix internally supporting the composition.
- 20. An article according to claim 19, wherein the flexible matrix is a fabric.
- 21. An article according to claim 19, wherein the flexible matrix is an open cell foam.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/746,024, filed Nov. 5, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,138, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (29)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0096888 |
Dec 1983 |
EPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
746024 |
Nov 1996 |
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