Nanoscale modeling of conduction heat transfer in metals using the two-temperature model

Abstract

The goal of this study is to investigate the energy transfer in metals due to electron–phonon (lattice) interaction using the two-temperature model (TTM). In TTM, molecular dynamics simulation and classical energy equation are used to find the lattice and electronic temperatures, respectively. An initial temperature profile is considered for the electronic temperature. Then, the electronic and lattice temperatures are determined until they reach equilibrium. This means that we excite electrons with assignment an initial temperature profile and simulate the subsequent energy relaxation process. To study the phase change during simulation, the radial coordinate numbers of atoms are calculated. The results show that the excited electrons may act as a heat bath and transport energy to other parts of the lattice. The same approach can be used to gain a high level understanding in very fast heat transfer phenomena especially in laser–metal interaction.