Off-Lattice Monte Carlo Simulation of Heat Transfer through Carbon Nanotube Multiphase Systems Taking into Account Thermal Boundary Resistances

An off-lattice Monte Carlo model was developed to study the heat transfer in three-phase systems containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) randomly orientated and distributed at the interface of another two media. Thermal energy was simulated by a large number of discrete thermal walkers with a random movement in the CNTs and a Brownian motion in the other two media. Thermal boundary resistances (TBRs) were calculated according to the Acoustic Mismatch theory and were applied in the simulation using the probabilities of the thermal walkers to travel across the interfaces. The numerical models were validated by comparing the simulation results with the theoretically calculated values for a spherical heat source. Using the current model, heat transfer properties with complex morphology of CNTs (diameter, orientations, and aspect ratio), as well as different heat sources, can be quantified.