Investigation into the thermal noise propagation mechanism within composite materials for gravitational wave detection systems

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer Vol. 231; p. 125836
• Main Authors: Liu, Xiangyu, Ai, Qing, Zhou, Huaxiang, Liu, Meng, Shuai, Yong, Pan, Qinghui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Interfacial heat transfer; Microthermal source; Molecular dynamics; Near-field radiative heat transfer; Polyimide polymer; Molecular dynamics; Interfacial heat transfer; Polyimide polymer; Near-field radiative heat transfer; Microthermal source
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.125836

•MD and first-principles calculations derived parameters for thermal radiation.•Simulations revealed temperature variations due to microthermal sources.•Interface structures improved the continuity and stability of heat diffusion.•Phonon-polaritons stabilized thermal transport in micro- and nanoscale gaps.•Nonlinear effects emerged due to high-energy-level heat source values. The thermal transmission properties of polymer-based composites, commonly used in satellites, are crucial for high-precision thermal management applications. The study constructed the structures of polyimide polymers and polyimide/graphene interfaces based on molecular dynamics and fluctuation dissipation theorem. Optical parameters were determined through first-principles calculations, and the thermal transport from a microthermal source was simulated using Reverse Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (RNEMD) and the modified four-dimensional transfer matrix method (M4D-TMM). Simulations of polymers, interface structures, and interfacial thermal radiation models investigated the transmission dynamics of microthermal sources during heat transport. Findings showed that the differences in the temperature fields formed within the polymer from microthermal heat sources were less than 20 K for heat source inputs ranging from 0.002 W/m² to 20 GW/m². With a microthermal source, the heat diffusion was extensive, the heat transport was continuous, and the temperature field remained stable. At the level of the heat source up to the intermolecular energy level, the temperature field distribution showed significant instability, leading to nonlinear effects. Within the interface structure, the continuity of heat diffusion increased as the heat source intensified. The interface structure demonstrated enhanced temperature sensitivity and improved stability, with minimal fluctuations of only 0.59 %. The increase in heat flux perpendicular to the interface structure was ascribed to near-field radiative heat transfer. As the temperature difference decreased to less than 0.1 K, the influence of evanescent waves on radiative heat flux nearly disappeared. Phonon polaritons maintained temperature stability during thermal transport through micro- and nanoscale gaps. Integrating thermal conduction principles in polyimide polymers and interface structures with near-field thermal radiation provides a theoretical framework for high-precision thermal management in gravitational wave detection.