Julia A. King, Associate Professor

PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming, December 1989

M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, May 1987

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, May 1982


Professional Experience
  • Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI : Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering: August 2001 to Present; Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering: August 1996 to July 2001
  • DuPont/Conoco, Ponca City, OK, Senior Engineer from December 1989 to March 1993, Director of Carbon Materials Science Center from March 1993 to August 1996
  • Exxon USA, Baytown, TX, Process Control Engineer and Process Engineer: June 1982 to June 1985

Research Interests

My research interests are in the area of composite materials. Specifically, my interests often focus on adding various carbon fillers to typically thermoplastic polymers to produce electrically and thermally conductive resins.  

Thermally and Electrically Conductive Resins 

Increasing the thermal and electrical conductivities of typically insulating polymers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon, has the potential of greatly increasing the market for these materials. A thermally conductive material is useful as a heat sink in applications such as lighting ballasts and transformer housings. An electrically conductive material can be used in static dissipative, slightly electrically conductive (e.g., fuel gages, etc.), or EMI (Electromagnetic Interference)/RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) shielding applications (computer and cellular phone housings, etc). 

One approach to improving the thermal and electrical conductivities is through the addition of a conductive filler material. For example, adding synthetic graphite particles to nylon 6,6 increases the thermal conductivity from approximately 0.3 W/mK to 1.8 W/mK and decreases the electrical resistivity from approximately 1015 ohm-cm to 20 ohm-cm. 

I currently have a research project funded by the National Science Foundation ($311,950) entitled "Development and Modeling of Highly Conductive Carbon Filled Thermoplastic Resins for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plate Applications", which began on May 1, 2005 and ends on April 30, 2008. The first objective of this project is to determine the synergistic effects of different carbon based fillers on the composite thermal and electrical conductivity. The second objective is to fabricate and test a fuel cell bipolar plate at Dana Corporation (industrial partner for this project). The third objective is to develop improved conductivity models for highly filled conductive resins.

Selected Publications  

R. A. Hauser, J. A. King, R. M. Pagel, and J. M. Keith,  “Effects of Carbon Fillers on the Thermal Conductivity of Highly Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, in press.

 J. A. King, T. M. Tambling, J. M. Keith, A. J. Cole, and F. A. Morrison, “Synergistic Effects of Multiple Carbon Fillers on the Rheology of Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Polymer Composites, in press.

J. A. King, R. L. Barton, R. A. Hauser, J. M. Keith, “ Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers in Electrically and Thermally Conductive Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Polymer Composites, in press.

J. A. King, T. M. Tambling, F. A. Morrison, J. M. Keith, A. J. Cole, and R. M. Pagel,   “Effects of Carbon Fillers on the Rheology of Highly Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.  108, No. 3, pp. 1646-1656, May 2008.

 J. A. King, J. M. Keith, O. L. Glenn, Jr., I. Miskioglu, A. J. Cole, S. R. McLaughlin, and R. M. Pagel, “Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers on Tensile and Flexural Properties in Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.  108, No. 3, pp. 1657-1666, May 2008.

 J. A. King, R. A. Hauser, A. M. Tomson, I. M. Wescoat, and J. M. Keith,  “Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers in Thermally Conductive Liquid Crystal Polymer Based Resins”, Journal of Composite Materials, Vol.  42, No. 1, pp. 91-107, January 2008.

 J. M. Keith, J. A. King, P. W. Grant, A. J. Cole, B. M. Klett, and I. Miskioglu, “Tensile Properties of Carbon–Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites”, Polymer Composites,  Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 15-21, January 2008.

 R. L. Barton, J. M. Keith, and J. A. King, “Electrical Conductivity Model Evaluation of Carbon Fiber Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science Composites, Vol.  106, No. 4, pp. 2456-2462, November 2007.

 R. L. Barton, J. M. Keith, and J. A. King, “Development and Modeling of Electrically Conductive Carbon Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plate Applications”, Journal of New Materials for Electrochemical Systems,  Vol. 10, pp. 225-229, 2007.

 J. M. Keith, J. A. King, K. M. Lenhart, and B. E. Zimny, “Thermal Conductivity Models for Carbon/Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science Composites, Vol.  105, No. 6, pp. 3309-3316, September 2007.

J. M. Keith,  F. A. Morrison, and J. A. King,   “Finite Element Method for Fuel Cell Fundamentals in the Undergraduate Transport Courses", Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Meeting, June 2007, Honolulu, HI.

E. Kunen, J. M. Keith,  P. W. Grant, J. A. King,  and F. A. Morrison, “FEM Calculations of Capillary Rheometer Flow of Carbon Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Journal of Applied Polymer Science,   Vol. 106, No. 1, pp. 433-438, 2007. 

R. A. Hauser,  J. A. King,  J. M. Keith, R. L. Barton, and M. G. Miller, “Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon /Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates", Proceedings of the Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Technical Conference, pp. 230-234, May 2007, Cincinnati, OH.

J. A. King,  J. M. Keith, and R. C. Smith, and F. A. Morrison, “Electrical Conductivity and Rheology of Carbon Fiber/Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Polymer Composites,  Vol. 28. No. 2, pp. 168-174, April 2007. 

J. A. King, I. Miskioglu, D. Wright-Charlesworth, and C. Van Karsen, “Nanoscratch Testing to Assess the Fiber Adhesion of Short Carbon Fiber Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 103, No. 1, pp. 328-335, January 2007.

J. M. Keith,  J. A. King,  M. G. Miller, and A. M. Tomson, “Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Fiber/Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 102, No. 6, pp. 5456-5462, December 2006.

J. M. Keith, J. A. King,  and R. L. Barton, “Electrical Conductivity Modeling of Carbon-Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 102, No. 4, pp. 3293-3300. November 2006.

D. D. Wright-Charlesworth, J. A. King,  D. M. Miller, and C. H. Lim,  “In Vitro Flexural Properties of Composites Fabricated from Poly (Lactic Acid) and Hydroxyapatite",  Journal of  Biomedical Materials Research; Part A, Vol. 78A, No. 3, pp. 541-549, September 2006. 

J. A. King, F. A. Morrison, J. M. Keith, M. G. Miller, R. C. Smith, M. Cruz, A. M. Neuhalfen, and R. L. Barton, “Electrical Conductivity and Rheology of Carbon -Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 101, No. 4, pp. 2680-2688, August 2006.

M. G. Miller, J. M. Keith,  J. A. King,  B. J. Edwards, N. Klinkenberg, and D. A. Schiraldi,  “Measuring Thermal Conductivities of Anisotropic Synthetic Graphite-Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Polymer Composites,  Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 388-394, August 2006.

M. G. Miller, J. M. Keith, J. A. King, R. A. Hauser, and A. M. Moran, “Comparison of Guarded Heat Flow and Transient Plane Source Methods of Carbon-Filled Nylon 6,6 Composites: Experiments and Modeling,", Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 99, No. 5, pp. 2144-2151, March 2006. 

J. M. Keith, C. D. Hingst, M. G. Miller, J. A. King,  and R. A. Hauser,  “Measuring and Predicting In-Plane Thermal Conductivity of Carbon -Filled Nylon 6,6 Polymer Composites",  Polymer Composites, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 1-7, February 2006. 

J. A. King, M. G. Miller, R. L. Barton, J. M. Keith, R. A. Hauser, K. R. Peterson, and L. L. Sutter, “Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon-Filled Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites", Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 99, No. 4, pp. 1552-1558, February 2006. 

J. M. Keith, N. B. Janda, J. A. King,  W. F. Perger, and T. J. Oxby,  “A Shielding Effectiveness Density Theory for Carbon Fiber/Nylon 6,6 Composites”, Polymer Composites, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 671-678, 2005. 

D. Wright-Charlesworth, D. M. Miller, I. Miskioglu, and J. A. King, “Nanoindentation of Injection Molded PLA and Self-reinforced Composite PLA after In Vitro Conditioning for Three Months",  Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A, Vol. 74A, Issue 3, pp. 388-396, September 2005. 

N. B. Janda, J. M. Keith, J. A. King, W. F. Perger, and T. J. Oxby, “Shielding Effectiveness Modeling of Carbon Fiber/Nylon  6,6 Composites", Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 96,  pp. 62-69, 2005.

J. A. Heiser, J. A. King, J. P. Konell, and L. L. Sutter,  “Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Filled Nylon 6,6”, Advances in Polymer Technology, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 135-146, 2004.

J. A. Heiser, J. A. King,  J. P. Konell, and L. L. Sutter,  “Shielding Effectiveness of Carbon Filled Nylon 6,6”, Polymer Composites, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 407-416, 2004. 

J. A. Heiser and J. A. King, “Thermally Conductive Carbon Filled Nylon 6,6", Polymer Composites, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 186-193, 2004.

J. A. Heiser, J. A. King, J. P. Konell, I. Miskioglu, and L. L. Sutter, “Tensile and Impact Properties of Carbon Filled Nylon 6,6 Based Resins”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 91, 2004, pp. 2881-2893. 

J. P. Konell, J. A. King, and I. Miskioglu,“Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers on Tensile and Impact Properties in Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate Based Resins”, Polymer Composites, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 172-185, 2004. 

J. P. Konell, J. A. King, and I. Miskioglu, “Tensile Modulus Modeling of Carbon-Filled Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate-Based Resins”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 90, 2003, pp. 1716-1728.  

K. S. Torrey, W. A. Yrjana, W. A., and J. A. King, “Effect of  Thermally Conductive Fillers on the Internal Bond Strength of Strandboard", Forest Products Journal, November/December 2003, Vol. 53, No. 11/12, pp. 74-80.  

Q. J. Krueger and J. A. King, “Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers on Shielding Effectiveness in Conductive Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate Based Resins”, Advances in Polymer Technology, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 96-111, 2003.  

E. H. Weber, M. L. Clingerman, and J. A. King, “Thermally Conductive Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate Based Resin. Part 1: Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 88, pp. 112-122, 2003.

E. H. Weber,  M. L. Clingerman, and J. A. King, “Thermally Conductive Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate Based Resin. Part 2: Modelling”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 88, pp. 123-130, 2003.

M. L. Clingerman, E. H. Weber, J. A. King, and K. H. Schulz, “Development of an  Additive Equation for Predicting the Electrical Conductivity of Carbon- Filled Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 88, pp. 2280-2299, 2003.

M. L. Clingerman, E. H. Weber, J. AKing, and K. H. Schulz, “Synergistic Effects of Carbon Fillers in Electrically Conductive Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate Based Resins”, Polymer Composites, October 2002, Vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 911-924.

M. L. Clingerman, J. A. King,  K. H. Schulz, and J. D. Meyers,  “Evaluation of Electrical Conductivity Models for Conductive Polymer Composites”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science,  Vol. 83, 2002, pp. 1341-1356. 

J. A. King, K. W. Tucker, J. D. Meyers,  E. H. Weber,  M. L. Clingerman, and K. R. Ambrosius,  “Factorial Design Approach Applied to Electrically and Thermally Conductive Nylon 6,6”, Polymer   Composites , February 2001, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 142-154.

J. A. King, K. W. Tucker, B. D. Vogt, E. H. Weber, and C. Quan, “Conductive High Temperature Nylon”, Journal of Composite Materials, December 2000, Vol. 34,  No. 24, pp. 2038-2060. 

J. A. King, K. W. Tucker, B. D. Vogt, E. H. Weber, and C. Quan, Electrically and Thermally Conductive Nylon 6,6”, Polymer Composites, October 1999, Vol. 20,  No. 5, pp. 643-654. 

J. A. King, “Incorporating Safety into Unit Operations Laboratory”, Chemical Engineering Education,  Vol.   32, No. 3, Summer 1998, pp. 178-183.

D. M. Blackketter, D. Upadhyaya, T. R. King, J. A. King, Evaluation of Fiber Surface Treatment and Sizing on the Shear and Transverse Tensile Strengths of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset and Thermoplastic Matrix Composites, Polymer Composites, Vol. 14 (1993) p.430.

J. King, D. Buttry, and D. Adams, "Development and Evaluation of Surface Treatments to Enhance the Fiber-Matrix Adhesion in PAN-Based Carbon Fiber/Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites. Part 1: Coupling Agent and Amine Surface Treatments", Polymer Composites, August 1993, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 292-300. 

J. King, D. Buttry, and D. Adams, "Development and Evaluation of Surface Treatments to Enhance the Fiber-Matrix Adhesion in PAN-Based Carbon Fiber/Liquid Crystal Polymer Composites. Part II: Electrochemical Treatments", Polymer Composites, August 1993, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 301-307. 

Patents  

J. A. King, and D. A. Buttry, US Patent Number 5,106,680, Adhesion Between Carbon Fibers and Thermoplastic Matrix Materials in Carbon Fiber Composites by Using Multifunctional Amine and Azo Compounds as Bridging Agents, Assignee: Hoechst Celanese Corporation, April 21, 1992. 

 L. M. Matuana and J. A. King, “ Method of Making Wood-Based Composite Board”, U. S. Patent No. 6,702,969 B2, Date Issued = March 9, 2004.

 L. M. Matuana and J. A. King,  “ Veneer-Based Product and  Method of Manufacture”,  U.S. Patent No. 6,589,655 B2: Date of Patent = July 8, 2003.  

Contact Information

Department of Chemical Engineering, Rm 203 CSE Bldg
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Ph: 906/487-3106
Fax: 906/487-3213
E-Mail:  jaking@mtu.edu

 

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This page was last updated: 19 February 2008