scholarly journals Low-Variance Monte Carlo Simulation of Thermal Transport in Graphene

Author(s):  
Colin Landon ◽  
Nicolas G. Hadjiconstantinou

Due to its unique thermal properties, graphene has generated considerable interest in the context of thermal management applications. In order to correctly treat heat transfer in this material, while still reaching device-level length and time scales, a kinetic description, such as the Boltzmann transport equation, is typically required. We present a Monte Carlo method for obtaining numerical solutions of this description that dramatically outperforms traditional Monte Carlo approaches by simulating only the deviation from equilibrium. We validate the simulation method using an analytical solution of the Boltzmann equation for long graphene nanoribbons; we also use this result to characterize the error associated with previous approximate solutions of this problem.

Author(s):  
Basil T. Wong ◽  
M. Pinar Mengu¨c¸

In this work, electronic thermal conduction in thin gold film is modeled via the Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE). The BTE is solved using a Monte Carlo Method (MCM). Temperature profiles for various film thicknesses are computed. Results show that the electronic thermal transport in gold is still diffusion-like at film thicknesses as small as 100 nm, implying that the Fourier law of conduction can be applied at this scale to predict the steady-state thermal heat transfer without comprising the physics. However, the Fourier law does not predict the temperature profiles accurately if the film thickness is reduced to 10 nm or below.


2018 ◽  
Vol 777 ◽  
pp. 421-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chhengrot Sion ◽  
Chung Hao Hsu

Many methods have been developed to predict the thermal conductivity of the material. Heat transport is complex and it contains many unknown variables, which makes the thermal conductivity hard to define. The iterative solution of Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) can make the numerical calculation and the nanoscale study of heat transfer possible. Here, we review how to apply the iterative method to solve BTE and many linear systems. This method can compute a sequence of progressively accurate iteration to approximate the solution of BTE.


VLSI Design ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-H. Chang ◽  
C.-K. Lin ◽  
N. Goldsman ◽  
I. D. Mayergoyz

We perform a rigorous comparison between the Spherical Harmonic (SH) and Monte Carlo (MC) methods of solving the Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE), on a 0.05 μm base BJT. We find the SH and the MC methods give very similar results for the energy distribution function, using an analytical band-structure, at all points within the tested devices. However, the SH method can be as much as seven thousand times faster than the MC approach for solving an identical problem. We explain the agreement by asymptotic analysis of the system of equations generated by the SH expansion of the BTE.


2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT A. VAN GORDER ◽  
K. VAJRAVELU

AbstractIn this paper, we extend the results in the literature for boundary layer flow over a horizontal plate, by considering the buoyancy force term in the momentum equation. Using a similarity transformation, we transform the partial differential equations of the problem into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations. We first analyse several special cases dealing with the properties of the exact and approximate solutions. Then, for the general problem, we construct series solutions for arbitrary values of the physical parameters. Furthermore, we obtain numerical solutions for several sets of values of the parameters. The numerical results thus obtained are presented through graphs and tables and the effects of the physical parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are discussed. The results obtained reveal many interesting behaviours that warrant further study of the equations related to non-Newtonian fluid phenomena, especially the shear-thinning phenomena. Shear thinning reduces the wall shear stress.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Hamza ◽  
I. G. Usman ◽  
A. Sule

Unsteady as well as steady natural convection flow in a vertical channel in the presence of uniform magnetic field applied normal to the flow region and temperature dependent variable thermal conductivity is studied. The nonlinear partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using unconditionally stable and convergent semi-implicit finite difference scheme. For steady case, approximate solutions have been derived for velocity, temperature, skin friction, and the rate of heat transfer using perturbation series method. Results of the computations for velocity, temperature, skin friction, and the rate of heat transfer are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively for various parameters embedded in the problem. An excellent agreement was found during the numerical computations between the steady-state approximate solutions and unsteady numerical solutions at steady-state time. In addition, comparison with previously published work is performed and the results agree well.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 1250090 ◽  
Author(s):  
BO-QI XIAO ◽  
GUO-PING JIANG ◽  
YI YANG ◽  
DONG-MEI ZHENG

With the consideration of the Brownian motion of nanoparticles in fluids, the probability model for the size of nanoparticles and the model for convective heat transfer of nanofluids are derived based on the fractal character of nanoparticles. The proposed model is expressed as a function of the size of nanoparticles, the volumetric nanoparticle concentration, the thermal conductivity of base fluids, fractal dimension of nanoparticles and the temperature, as well as the random number. It is found that the convective heat flux of nanofluids decreases with increasing of the average diameter of nanoparticles. This model has the characters of both analytical and numerical solutions. The Monte Carlo simulations combined with the fractal geometry theory are performed. Every parameter of the proposed formula on convective heat transfer of nanofluids has clear physical meaning. So the proposed model can reveal the physical mechanisms of convective heat transfer of nanofluids.


Author(s):  
Neil Zuckerman ◽  
Jennifer R. Lukes

The calculation of heat transport in nonmetallic materials at small length scales is important in the design of thermoelectric and electronic materials. New designs with quantum dot superlattices (QDS) and other nanometer-scale structures can change the thermal conductivity in ways that are difficult to model and predict. The Boltzmann Transport Equation can describe the propagation of energy via mechanical vibrations in an analytical fashion but remains difficult to solve for the problems of interest. Numerical methods for simulation of propagation and scattering of high frequency vibrational quanta (phonons) in nanometer-scale structures have been developed but are either impractical at micron length scales, or cannot truly capture the details of interactions with nanometer-scale inclusions. Monte Carlo (MC) models of phonon transport have been developed and demonstrated based on similar numerical methods used for description of electron transport [1-4]. This simulation method allows computation of thermal conductivity in materials with length scales LX in the range of 10 nm to 10 μm. At low temperatures the model approaches a ballistic transport simulation and may function for even larger length scales.


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