Heat and Fluid Flow in Microscale and Nanoscale Structures

Over the last 20 years, micro/nanoscale flow and heat transfer have been a most active area of interdisciplinary research, involving scientists from various specialities including engineering, physics, chemistry and materials science. Presenting state-of-the-art knowledge in heat transfer and fluid flow in micro- and nanoscale structures, this book provides invaluable information for both graduate researchers and R&D engineers in industry and consultancy. All of the chapters are invited contributions from some of the most prominent scientists in the field and follow a unified outline and presentation to aid accessibility.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Miniature and microscale energy systems: Introduction; Overview; Scaling; Thermally based power systems; Future directions. Chapter 2 Nanostructures for thermoelectric energy: Introduction; Thermoelectric effects and devices with bulk materials; Nanostructures for solid-state energy conversion; Summary. Chapter 3 Heat transport in superlattices and nanowires: Introduction; Superlattices; Nanowires and nanotubes; Heat transport in bulk materials by phonons; Heat transport in low-dimensional structures; Survey of previous work; Summary. Chapter 4 Thermomechanical formation and thermal detection of polymer nanostructures: Introduction; Relaxation kinetics in nanostructured polymer films; Modeling and simulation of nanometer-scale thermomechanical data bit formation; Thermal data reading and topography mapping; Summary and conclusions. Chapter 5 Two-phase flow microstructures in thin geometries: multi-field modelling: Introduction; Global characteristics; Local flow characteristics; Summary. Chapter 6 Radiative energy transport at the spatial and temporal icro/nanoscales: Introduction; Fundamentals; Applications; Future directions and concluding remarks. Chapter 7 Direct simulation Monte Carlo of gaseous flow and heat transfer in a microchannel: Introduction; Description of the DSMC method; DSMC simulation of microchannel; Results and discussion; Conclusions. Chapter 8 DSMC modeling of near-interface transport in liquid-vapor phase-change processes with multiple microscale effects: Introduction; Phase equilibrium in microscale multiphase systems; Molecular transport at interfaces; High Knudsen number and nonequilibrium effects; Variation of interfacial tension with interface curvature; Liquid phase and interfacial region effects; DSMC modeling of combined effects during vaporization and condensation; Concluding remarks. Chapter 9 Molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale heat and fluid flow: Introduction; Basic equations and finite difference scheme; Intermolecular potential model; Macroscopic properties; Boundary conditions and simulation system; MD application to heat and fluid flow; Future development.