Atomistic simulations of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a liquid environment are performed to better understand thermal transport in CNT-based nanofluids. Thermal conductivity is studied using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) methods to understand the effective conductivity of a solvated CNT combined with a novel application of Hamilton–Crosser (HC) theory to estimate the conductivity of a fluid suspension of CNTs. Simulation results show how the presence of the fluid affects the CNTs ability to transport heat by disrupting the low-frequency acoustic phonons of the CNT. A spatially dependent use of the Irving–Kirkwood relations reveals the localized heat flux, illuminating the heat transfer pathways in the composite material. Model results can be consistently incorporated into HC theory by considering ensembles of CNTs and their surrounding fluid as being present in the liquid. The simulation-informed theory is shown to be consistent with existing experimental results.
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Thermal Transport Mechanisms in Carbon Nanotube-Nanofluids Identified From Molecular Dynamics Simulations Available to Purchase
Enrique V. Barrera,
Enrique V. Barrera
Department of Materials Science &
Nanoengineering,
e-mail: [email protected]
Nanoengineering,
Rice University
,Houston, TX 77005
e-mail: [email protected]
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Jeremy A. Templeton
Jeremy A. Templeton
Thermal/Fluid Sciences &
Engineering Department,
e-mail: [email protected]
Engineering Department,
Sandia National Laboratories
,Livermore, CA 94550
e-mail: [email protected]
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Jonathan W. Lee
Andrew J. Meade, Jr.
Enrique V. Barrera
Department of Materials Science &
Nanoengineering,
e-mail: [email protected]
Nanoengineering,
Rice University
,Houston, TX 77005
e-mail: [email protected]
Jeremy A. Templeton
Thermal/Fluid Sciences &
Engineering Department,
e-mail: [email protected]
Engineering Department,
Sandia National Laboratories
,Livermore, CA 94550
e-mail: [email protected]
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received July 11, 2014; final manuscript received February 18, 2015; published online March 24, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Robert D. Tzou.
J. Heat Transfer. Jul 2015, 137(7): 072401 (8 pages)
Published Online: July 1, 2015
Article history
Received:
July 11, 2014
Revision Received:
February 18, 2015
Online:
March 24, 2015
Citation
Lee, J. W., Meade, A. J., Jr., Barrera, E. V., and Templeton, J. A. (July 1, 2015). "Thermal Transport Mechanisms in Carbon Nanotube-Nanofluids Identified From Molecular Dynamics Simulations." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. July 2015; 137(7): 072401. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029913
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