Case 13853/13749

Advanced Graphite and Transition Percolation Materials

Keywords:

Graphite, Thermal Conduct Fluid, Composite materials, Percolation structures, Phase transition, Thermal conductivity, Resistivity

Applications:

Temperature sensing and control, thermal management, thermistors

Problem:
  • Low thermal conductivity and high cost of thermal transfer fluid
  • Self-formation of percolation structures in composite materials

Technology:

These inventions pertain to new types of microfluids and transition percolation materials. One invention proposes a graphite microfluid that exhibits uniform supension of graphite microflakes (dimensions on the order of 10μm x100nm) in water, ethylene glycol and oil. Another invention introduces new phase transition percolation materials. The host material is suspended in liquid phase forming a percolation network that exhibits desirable properties (electrical, thermal, magnetic, piezoelectric, optical, etc.). The material does not exhibit these properties in solid form creating a large contrast between material properties in solid or liquid phase.

Advantages:
  • Low density of microflakes increases stability and simplifies suspension process
  • High thermal conductivity
  • Inexpensive
  • High sensitivity to temperature, magnetic, or optical changes depending on applications
  • Self-healing

Inventors:
  • Professor Gang Chen(Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
  • Dr. Ruiting Zheng (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
  • Jinwei Gao (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)

Intellectual Property:

Case 13749: US Patent Number 8,192,643, filed on June 5, 2012

Case 13853: US Patent Application Number 12/720382, filed on March 9, 2010

Publications:

N/A

Last revised: April 29, 2013

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