# Thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of thin silicone rubber

The Guarded Heat Flow Meter (GHFM-02) follows ASTM E1530-19 for testing thermal resistance and thermal conductivity of solids, such as metals, polymers, and composites. The easy to operate GHFM-02 follows the trusted steady-state approach, with the addition of a guard to limit the effects of lateral heat loss. This design allows testing of a wide range of materials with low to medium thermal conductivity.

Figure 1. A portable GHFM-02 that follows ASTM E1530-19 for the thermal conductivity

In this experiment, thin samples of silicone of 0.8 mm and 1.51 mm thick were measured for thermal conductivity and thermal resistance. A temperature delta between plates of 10˚C was used to establish a mean testing temperature of ~ 26 ˚C. Results of this testing may be seen in the following table:

Tmean (°C) λ (W/mK) Rs (K·m2/W)
High temperature thin silicone rubber sheet (0.8 mm)
26.08 0.238 0.00335
26.08 0.237 0.00338
26.10 0.236 0.00339
26.13 0.249 0.00321
High temperature thin silicone rubber sheet (0.8 mm)
26.01 0.230 0.00656
25.99 0.230 0.00657
25.99 0.232 0.00650
26.01 0.224 0.00673

Figure 2: Thermal conductivity and resistance results of high temperature thin silicone