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Title: Modelling transient heat conduction in solids at multiple length and time scales: A coupled non-equilibrium molecular dynamics/continuum approach

Journal Article · · Journal of Computational Physics
 [1]
  1. Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom)

A method for controlling the thermal boundary conditions of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations is presented. The method is simple to implement into a conventional molecular dynamics code and independent of the atomistic model employed. It works by regulating the temperature in a thermostatted boundary region by feedback control to achieve the desired temperature at the edge of an inner region where the true atomistic dynamics are retained. This is necessary to avoid intrinsic boundary effects in non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Three thermostats are investigated: the global deterministic Nose-Hoover thermostat and two local stochastic thermostats, Langevin and stadium damping. The latter thermostat is introduced to avoid the adverse reflection of phonons that occurs at an abrupt interface. The method is then extended to allow atomistic/continuum models to be thermally coupled concurrently for the analysis of large steady state and transient heat conduction problems. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated for the example of heat flow down a three-dimensional atomistic rod of uniform cross-section subjected to a variety of boundary conditions.

OSTI ID:
21308116
Journal Information:
Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 228, Issue 19; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.jcp.2009.06.035; PII: S0021-9991(09)00367-2; Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English