The need to improve thermal management in
miniaturized electronic components has triggered the use of composite materials
such as aluminium silicon carbide (AlSiC) in the production of heat sinks.
However, thermal performance and reliability is a challenge in the development
of metal matrix composites. This research focused on the thermo-mechanical
analyses of AlSiC composite materials with single SiC particulate inclusions.
ANSYS finite element method was employed in the design and analyses of the
aluminium metal matrix with a 10-50% composition of SiC particulates. The
stresses, strains, deformation, and fatigue life of the composites were
investigated based on the applied commercial thermal cycle profile (-40oC
to 85oC). The results obtained showed that the stresses, strains,
and deformation reduce as the percentage of particle inclusions increases. In
addition, the fatigue life of the composite increased with increasing
particulate inclusion. This research infers that 50% particulate inclusion composites
will enhance the thermal and reliability performance in microelectronics
applications.
