Thermal Conductance of Buckled Carbon Nanotubes

Knowledge of thermal conductance of carbon nanotubes under mechanical deformation is important to characterize the robustness of carbon nanotube heat conduction. In this study, using molecular dynamics simulations, we have calculated thermal conductance of an elastically buckled single-walled carbon nanotube. A local buckle was formed by mechanically bending a carbon nanotube at an angle of 60 degrees, and thermal conductance through the buckle was calculated by a nonequilibrium molecular dynamics approach. The thermal conductance exhibits strong diameter dependence, correlated with the strain energy generated in the buckle. Despite the highly strained deformation, the thermal resistance across a buckle is similar to that of a point defect and heterotube junction, revealing a robust nature of carbon nanotube heat conduction to buckling deformation. (C) 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics