Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “interfacial heat conductance”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Contribution of the Hydroxyl Group on Interfacial Heat Conduction of Monohydric Alcohols: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Monohydric alcohols have been used as promising phase change materials (PCMs) for low-temperature latent heat storage. However, the heat storage/retrieval rates are limited due to the low thermal conductivity of such alcohols. In this work, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations were performed to study the microscopic heat conduction in example monohydric alcohols, i.e., 1-dodecanol (C12H26O), 1-tetradecanol (C14H30O), and 1-hexadecanol (C16H34O). A simplified ideal crystal model was proposed to exploit the potential for improving the thermal conductivity of monohydric alcohols. The effect of ideal crystalline structures, especially the contribution of the hydroxyl group, on the microscopic heat conduction process was analyzed. The thermal conductivity of the ideal crystals of the various monohydric alcohols was predicted to be more than twice as compared to that of their respective solids. The major thermal resistance in the ideal crystals was found around the molecular interfaces, as a result of the excellent heat conduction performance along the linear molecular chains. The calculated vibrational density of states (VDOS) and interfacial heat transfer were then investigated. When the interfaces are surrounded by hydroxyl groups as walls, strong hydrogen bond (HB) interactions were observed. The interfacial heat transfer coefficient of the ideal crystalline structures of 1-tetradecanol was found to reach up to ~735.6 MW/m2 W. It was elucidated that the high interfacial heat transfer rate is clearly related to the stronger intermolecular interactions.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2022

Atomistic insights into the heat conductance across the interfaces between erythritol and different metals: A non-equilibrium molecular dynamics study

The heat conductance across the interface between a phase change material (PCM) and the metal shell is important for thermal design of latent heat storage systems. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations were carried out in this work to unravel, at the atomistic level, the interfacial heat conductance mechanisms between erythritol (the most promising medium-temperature polyol PCM) and two different metals (i.e., copper and aluminum). The interfacial contact ratio was introduced as a parameter to represent different contact conditions at the interfaces, for example, different surface roughness levels of the metals. It was found that with the increase of interfacial contact ratio, the temperature difference between the erythritol/metal interfaces decreases, whereas the interfacial heat transfer coefficient increases gradually. At the perfect contact condition, i.e., the interfacial contact ratio reaches 100%, the interfacial heat transfer coefficients across the erythritol/Cu and erythritol/Al interfaces were predicted to be 398 ± 26 MW/m 2 K and 544 ± 11 MW/m 2 K, respectively. The interfacial heat conductance of erythritol/Al is better than that of erythritol/Cu. The mismatch of atomic spectral density across the interfaces between erythritol and the two metals was analyzed and distinguished. These results could guide the selection of packaging materials and the thermal design of erythritol-based latent heat storage systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Experimental metrology to obtain thermal phonon transmission coefficients at solid interfaces

Interfaces play an essential role in phonon-mediated heat conduction in solids, impacting applications ranging from thermoelectric waste heat recovery to heat dissipation in electronics. From the microscopic perspective, interfacial phonon transport is described by transmission coefficients that link vibrational modes in the materials composing the interface. But, direct experimental determination of these coefficients is challenging because most experiments provide a mode-averaged interface conductance that obscures the microscopic detail. Here, we report a metrology to extract thermal phonon transmission coefficients at solid interfaces using ab initio phonon transport modeling and a thermal characterization technique, time-domain thermoreflectance. In combination with transmission electron microscopy characterization of the interface, our approach allows us to link the atomic structure of an interface to the spectral content of the heat crossing it. This work provides a useful perspective on the microscopic processes governing interfacial heat conduction.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Temperature dependent behavior of thermal conductivity of sub-5 nm Ir film: Defect-electron scattering quantified by residual thermal resistivity

By studying the temperature-dependent behavior (300 K down to 43 K) of electron thermal conductivity (κ) in a 3.2 nm-thin Ir film, we quantify the extremely confined defect-electron scatterings and isolate the intrinsic phonon-electron scattering that is shared by the bulk Ir. At low temperatures below 50 K, κ of the film has almost two orders of magnitude reduction from that of bulk Ir. The film has ∂κ/∂T > 0, while the bulk Ir has ∂κ/∂T < 0. We introduce a unified thermal resistivity (Θ = T/κ) to interpret these completely different κ ∼ T relations. It is found that the film and the bulk Ir share a very similar Θ ∼ T trend, while they have a different residual part (Θ{sub 0}) at 0 K limit: Θ{sub 0} ∼ 0 for the bulk Ir, and Θ{sub 0} = 5.5 m·K{sup 2}/W for the film. The Ir film and the bulk Ir have very close ∂Θ/∂T (75–290 K): 6.33 × 10{sup −3} m K/W for the film and 7.62 × 10{sup −3} m K/W for the bulk Ir. This strongly confirms the similar phonon-electron scattering in them. Therefore, the residual thermal resistivity provides an unprecedented way to quantitatively evaluating defect-electron scattering (Θ{sub 0}) in heat conduction. Moreover, the interfacial thermal conductance across the grain boundaries is found larger than that of Al/Cu interface, and its value is proportional to temperature, largely due to the electron's specific heat. A unified interfacial thermal conductance is also defined and firmly proves this relation. Additionally, the electron reflection coefficient is found to be large (88%) and almost temperature independent.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Estimating interfacial thermal conductivity in metamaterials through heat flux mapping

The variability of the thickness as well as the thermal conductivity of interfaces in composites may significantly influence thermal transport characteristics and the notion of a metamaterial as an effective medium. The consequent modulations of the heat flux passage are analytically and experimentally examined through a non-contact methodology using radiative imaging, on a model anisotropic thermal metamaterial. It was indicated that a lower Al layer/silver interfacial epoxy ratio of ∼25 compared to that of a Al layer/alumina interfacial epoxy (of ∼39) contributes to a smaller deviation of the heat flux bending angle.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1989

Effects of anisotropic heat conduction on solidification

Two-dimensional solidification influenced by anisotropic heat conduction has been considered. The interfacial energy balance was derived to account for the heat transfer in one direction (x or y) depending on the temperature gradient in both the x and y directions. A parametric study was made to determine the effects of the Stefan number, aspect ratio, initial superheat, and thermal conductivity ratios on the solidification rate. Because of the imposed boundary conditions, the interface became skewed and sometimes was not a straight line between the interface position at the upper and lower adiabatic walls (spatially nonlinear along the height). This skewness depends on the thermal conductivity ratio k(yy)/k(yx). The nonlinearity of the interface is influenced by the solidification rate, aspect ratio, and k(yy/k(yx).

Weaver, J. A.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of interfacial interactions on the thermal conductivity and interfacial thermal conductance in tungsten–graphene layered structure

Graphene film was deposited by microwave plasma assisted deposition on polished oxygen free high conductivity copper foils. Tungsten–graphene layered film was formed by deposition of tungsten film by magnetron sputtering on the graphene covered copper foils. Tungsten film was also deposited directly on copper foil without graphene as the intermediate film. The tungsten–graphene–copper samples were heated at different temperatures up to 900 °C in argon atmosphere to form an interfacial tungsten carbide film. Tungsten film deposited on thicker graphene platelets dispersed on silicon wafer was also heated at 900 °C to identify the formation of tungsten carbide film by reaction of tungsten with graphene platelets. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. It was found that tungsten carbide film formed at the interface upon heating only above 650 °C. Transient thermoreflectance signal from the tungsten film surface on the samples was collected and modeled using one-dimensional heat equation. The experimental and modeled results showed that the presence of graphene at the interface reduced the cross-plane effective thermal conductivity and the interfacial thermal conductance of the layer structure. Heating at 650 and 900 °C in argon further reduced the cross-plane thermal conductivity and interface thermal conductance as a result of formation nanocrystalline tungsten carbide at the interface leading to separation and formation of voids. The present results emphasize that interfacial interactions between graphene and carbide forming bcc and hcp elements will reduce the cross-plane effective thermal conductivity in composites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Duality of the Interfacial Thermal Conductance in Graphene-based Nanocomposites

The thermal conductance of graphene-matrix interfaces plays a key role in controlling the thermal transport properties of graphene-based nanocomposites. Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we found that the interfacial thermal conductance depends strongly on the mode of heat transfer at the graphene-matrix interfaces: if heat enters graphene from one side of its basal plane and immediately leaves the graphene through the other side, the corresponding interfacial thermal conductance, G(across), is large; if heat enters graphene from both sides of its basal plane and leaves the graphene at a position far away on its basal plane, the corresponding interfacial thermal conductance, G(non-across), is small. For a single-layer graphene immersed in liquid octane, G(across) is ~150 MW/m2K while Gnon-across is ~5 MW/m2K. G(across) decreases with increasing multi-layer graphene thickness (i.e., number of layers in graphene) and approaches an asymptotic value of 100 MW/m2K for 7-layer graphenes. G(non-across) increases only marginally as the graphene sheet thickness increases. Such a duality of the interface thermal conductance for different probing methods and its dependence on graphene sheet thickness can be traced ultimately to the unique physical and chemical structure of graphene materials. The ramifications of these results in areas such as experimental measurement of thermal conductivity of graphene and the design of graphene-based thermal nanocomposites are discussed.

Liu, Ying↗
NASA NTRS1978

A constant heat flux model of the evaporating interline region

An approximate procedure is developed for determining the heat sink capability of an interline region (junction of vapor, evaporating thin film, and nonevaporating thin film), with consideration of the effect of resistance of the solid to heat transfer. The formulation is based on a simple one-dimensional constant heat flux model. The solution is directed toward a limiting case in which the thermal conductance of the solid is controlling. Since the value of the ideal liquid-vapor interfacial heat transfer coefficient is very large, conductance of the solid is found to dominate the overall heat transfer coefficient in the interline region after a small increase in film thickness.

Wayner, P. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A finite element analysis of the freeze/thaw behavior of external artery heat pipes

A two-dimensional finite element model was used to determine the freeze/thaw characteristics of an external artery heat pipe. During startup, the working fluid, which was located in the liquid channel and the circumferential wall grooves, experienced a phase transformation from a solid to a liquid state. The transient heat conduction equations with moving interfacial conditions were solved using the appropriate initial boundary conditions. The modelling results include the cross-sectional temperature distribution and the interfacial or melt front position as a function of time. A fixed grid approach was adopted in the model for the phase-change process during thawing of frozen working fluid. The interfacial position between the liquid and solid regions was found by balancing the latent heat caused by interfacial movement with the heat addition or extraction at the related grid points.

Lu, X. J.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Statistical study of thermal contact conductance

A theoretical analysis of the principles of interfacial thermal conductance between two heated metal surfaces in mutual contact is presented. It was determined that when heat flows from one metal to the other, the flow lines converge toward the actual contact points since the thermal conductivities of the metals are much greater than any intervening medium such as air or fluids. The converging lines cause contact resistance, which is usually high compared to the resistances offered to heat flow by metals. The resultant variation in resistance can produce unreliable equipment for aerospace and industrial applications unless the conductance can be determined accurately.

Nejat, V. T.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Modeling of zero gravity venting

The venting of cylindrical containers partially filled with initially saturated liquids was conducted under zero gravity conditions and compared with an analytical model which determined the effect of interfacial mass transfer on the ullage pressure response during venting. A model is proposed to improve the estimation of the interfacial mass transfer. Duhammel's superposition integral is incorporated in this analysis to approximate the transient temperature response of the interface, treating the liquid as a semiinfinite solid with conduction heat transfer. This approach to estimating interfacial mass transfer gives improved response when compared to previous models. The model still predicts a pressure decrease greater than those in the experiments reported.

Merte, H., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Intrinsic thermal interfacial resistance measurement in bonded metal–polymer foils

Heat conduction through bonded metal–polymer interfaces often limits the overall heat transfer in electronic packaging, batteries, and heat recovery systems. To design the thermal circuit in such systems, it is essential to measure the thermal interfacial resistance (TIR) across ~1 µm to 100 µm junctions. Previously reported TIR of metal–polymer junctions utilize ASTM E1530-based two-block systems that measure the TIR by applying pressure across the interface through external heating and cooling blocks. Here, we report a novel modification of the ASTM-E1530 technique that employs integrated heaters and sensors to provide an intrinsic TIR measurement of an adhesively bonded metal–polymer junction. We design the measurement technique using finite element simulations to either passively suppress or actively compensate the lateral heat diffusion through the polymer, which can minimize the systematic error to ≲5%. Through proof-of-concept experiments, we report the TIR of metal–polymer interfaces made from DuPont’s Pyralux double-side copper-clad laminates, commonly used in flexible printed circuit boards. Our TIR measurement errors are <10%. We highlight additional sources of errors due to non-idealities in the experiment and discuss possible ways to overcome them. Our measurement technique is also applicable to interfaces that are electrically insulating such as adhesively joined metal–metal junctions and sputter-coated or welded metal–polymer junctions. Altogether, the technique is capable of measuring TIR ≳10 –5 m 2 KW –1 in bonded metal–polymer foils and can be tailored for in situ measurements in flexible electronics, circuit packaging, and other hybrid metal–polymer systems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Test Article and Test Plan for Heat-Pipe Gap-Conductance Testing

The SPHERE Facility at INL is established to test phenomena related to heat pipes in nuclear applications. The current capability of the SPHERE testbed is operation of liquid alkali-metal-cooled heat pipes in a variety of atmospheres. The controlled atmosphere can be used to prevent oxidation of system parts and also to affect the thermal conductivity of gases for any interfacial gaps within the heat-pipe assembly. Currently available modes are vacuum, air, nitrogen, helium, and argon. Controlled mixtures of helium and argon are available to vary the thermal conductivity of the gas. The primary test article will be based on the existing 7-hole block design used for shakedown testing of the SPHERE Facility. The SPHERE test stand will be used with test articles to establish the conductivity between fuel elements as well as between the heat pipe and other layers of the fuel-rod assembly. Existing and new test blocks will be used and modified with additional instrumentation to establish the thermal conductivity between the gap of the block wall and the heat pipes.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interface and Thermophysical Properties of R 32 Refrigerant

Driven by the urgent demand for efficient cooling in microelectronics and advanced thermal management systems, difluoromethane (R32/CH 2 F 2 ) has emerged as a promising candidate owing to its favorable thermophysical properties, including high heat transfer efficiency and low viscosity. While bulk properties such as density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity have been widely studied, interfacial properties, including surface tension and interfacial thickness, remain comparatively underexplored, despite their importance in phase-transition dynamics. Here, we perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations from 180 to 300 K using an optimized transferable force field for fluoropropenes with enhanced electrostatics to assess both bulk and interfacial behavior of R32. Simulations reproduced density within ±2.1%, viscosity within 3.05%, and thermal conductivity within 7.41% of NIST reference data. Heat capacities (C p and C v ) were predicted within 5%. For interfacial properties, surface tension trends were reproduced within 13.58% deviation, and the vapor–liquid coexistence curve closely matched reference data, yielding a critical temperature of 345.7 K (1.6% deviation) and a critical density of 0.397 g/cm 3 (6.4% deviation). Importantly, the vapor–liquid interface exhibited pronounced temperature-dependent broadening across the 180–290 K range. This behavior correlates with increasing molecular kinetic energy, reduction in intermolecular cohesive interactions, and a progressive loss of preferential dipole alignment, which collectively enhance thermal fluctuation amplitudes at elevated temperatures. These validated results provide predictive molecular-level insights, particularly for interfacial properties that remain less characterized. By reducing property prediction errors in key parameters such as critical temperature, this work provides reliable inputs for heat-exchanger and system models. Such correlations can support optimized component sizing, improved performance, and reduced refrigerant charge. Beyond R32, the methodology offers a transferable framework for blended and next-generation low-GWP refrigerants, contributing to sustainable thermal management aligned with the 2027 EU F-Gas regulation and 2030 Kigali Amendment.

Fluids↗
DOE OSTI2012

Effects of chemical bonding on heat transport across interfaces

Interfaces often dictate heat flow in micro- and nanostructured systems. However, despite the growing importance of thermal management in micro- and nanoscale devices, a unified understanding of the atomic-scale structural features contributing to interfacial heat transport does not exist. Herein, we experimentally demonstrate a link between interfacial bonding character and thermal conductance at the atomic level. Our experimental system consists of a gold film transfer-printed to a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) with systematically varied termination chemistries. Using a combination of ultrafast pump–probe techniques (time-domain thermoreflectance, TDTR, and picosecond acoustics) and laser spallation experiments, we independently measure and correlate changes in bonding strength and heat flow at the gold–SAM interface. For example, we experimentally demonstrate that varying the density of covalent bonds within this single bonding layer modulates both interfacial stiffness and interfacial thermal conductance. Here, we believe that this experimental system will enable future quantification of other interfacial phenomena and will be a critical tool to stimulate and validate new theories describing the mechanisms of interfacial heat transport. Ultimately, these findings will impact applications, including thermoelectric energy harvesting, microelectronics cooling, and spatial targeting for hyperthermal therapeutics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Heat transfer in directly-irradiated high-temperature solid–gas flows laden with polydisperse particles

Heat transfer in directly-irradiated high-temperature solid–gas flows laden with polydisperse particles is investigated using a novel transient three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model. The model couples particle–gas hydrodynamics of solid–gas flows laden with polydisperse particles, radiative heat transfer in non-grey absorbing, emitting and anisotropically-scattering multi-component participating media, conduction heat transfer in the gas phase, and interfacial convection heat transfer. The multiphase particle-in-cell method is used to predict high-fidelity solid–gas flow characteristics, such as the local discrete particle size distribution, with increased computational efficiency by combining the advantages of both Eulerian and Lagrangian methods. The multi-component radiative transfer model is implemented using an advanced collision-based Monte Carlo ray-tracing method. The number of the prescribed discrete particle components is found to be the key parameter affecting the computational accuracy and efficiency, which primarily depends on the size distribution of the particles. For the model particle–gas flow featuring free-falling Gamma-distributed ceramic particles exposed to concentrated solar irradiation, the particle volume fraction, radiative, fluid flow and thermal characteristics appear to converge with the increasing number of the discrete particle components. Five particle components are sufficient to obtain physically meaningful results. A further increase in the number of the particle components only slightly increases the accuracy of the numerical predictions at the expense of a rapidly increasing computational time. For five particle components, the particle vertical velocity at the receiver exit for particles with the diameter of 43.4 μm is 57% of that for the particles with the diameter of 202.8 μm. The temperatures of these two particle components increase from the initial ambient values by factors of 2 and 1.2, respectively, during the simulation time. In conclusion, the model developed allows for increased fidelity of particle–gas flow simulations with significant radiative effects.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗