Numerical simulation of heat transfer at the interface of dissimilar materials

Abstract

Purpose

The small dimensions of future device designs also imply a stronger effect of material boundary resistance. For nanoscale devices and structures, especially, interface phenomena often dominate their overall thermal behavior. The purpose of this paper is to propose molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties at Cu‐Al interface.

Design/methodology/approach

The two‐temperature model (TTM)‐MD model is used to describe the electron‐phonon scattering at interface of different metals. Before the simulation of heat transfer process, a non‐ideal Cu‐Al interface is constructed by simulating diffusion bonding.

Findings

According to the simulation results, in unsteady state, the temperature distribution and the displacements of atoms near the interface tend to generate stress and voids. It reveals the damage mechanics at the interface in heat transfer.

Originality/value

The atomic model proposed in this paper is computationally efficient for interfacial heat transfer problems, and could be used for investigation of other interfacial behaviors of dissimilar materials.

Citation

Liao, N. and Yang, P. (2010), "Numerical simulation of heat transfer at the interface of dissimilar materials", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 84-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615531011008136