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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials

Published on: January 26, 2014

Heat transport through a solid-solid junction: the interface as an autonomous thermodynamic system.

Riccardo Rurali¹, Luciano Colombo², Xavier Cartoixà³

¹Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) Campus de Bellaterra, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. rrurali@icmab.es.

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP

|May 6, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The interface between two solid materials acts as an autonomous thermodynamic system, supporting the Gibbs description even away from equilibrium. This reconciles thermal boundary resistance with nonequilibrium thermodynamics, treating it as an interface property.

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Area of Science:

Thermodynamics
Materials Science
Computational Physics

Background:

The interface between solids is crucial for heat transfer.
Existing models for thermal boundary resistance often lack rigorous thermodynamic grounding.
Understanding interface behavior away from global equilibrium is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe the solid-solid interface as an autonomous thermodynamic system.
To verify local equilibrium and support the Gibbs description of interfaces.
To reconcile continuum models of thermal boundary resistance with nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

Main Methods:

Computational experiments using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.
Analysis of local equilibrium at the interface.
Derivation from nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

Main Results:

The solid-solid interface can be treated as an autonomous thermodynamic system.
The Gibbs description of the interface is supported, even away from global equilibrium.
Thermal boundary resistance is confirmed as an interface property, dependent on interface temperature.
Thermal rectification is explained by differing interface temperatures for opposite heat flow directions.

Conclusions:

The interface between two solid materials behaves as an autonomous thermodynamic system.
Nonequilibrium thermodynamics provides a rigorous framework for understanding thermal boundary resistance.
Interface properties, like thermal boundary resistance, are fundamental to heat transfer in solid junctions.