Thermal Transport: Overview

Abstract

This chapter focuses on recent progress in the modeling of conductive thermal transport in a variety of systems and materials, from crystalline solids and nanostructures to molecular junctions, composites, and biological systems. Novel emergent technologies in energy harvesting and conversion, microelectronics, phase-change memories, heat-assisted magnetic recording, sensing, and medical therapy and diagnostic have prompted the extension of thermal transport modeling beyond traditional bulk crystalline materials and heavily parameterized models. Major advances have been made possible by the development of fundamental theories and computational approaches, which are discussed in the following chapters.