MESOSCOPIC MODELING OF HEAT TRANSFER IN CARBON NANOTUBE MULTIPHASE SYSTEMS

Abstract

An effective mesoscopic model was developed using the off-lattice Monte Carlo method to model the heat transfer in carbon nanotube (CNT) multiphase systems. The thermal energy was quantified through a large quantity of discrete thermal walkers with random movement in CNTs and Brownian motion in other mediums. Thermal boundary resistances (TBRs) were introduced through phonon transmission probabilities across interfaces. By taking into account all the affecting factors, the developed model could more accurately predict the thermal conductivities of three-phase polymer composites containing CNTs and inorganic nanoparticles than the existing models, such as effective medium theories (EMTs), finite element analysis (FEA) and molecular dynamics simulations (MD). The developed model could also accurately calculate the temperature profile in biological systems during cancer photothermal therapy using CNTs and near-infrared laser. The mesoscopic model may fill the gap between the macroscopic FEA and the microscopic MD for modeling heat transfer in CNT multiphase systems.