Size Effect On Heat Transfer In Nanoscale Liquid Bridge

Heat transfer in a nanoscale liquid-argon bridge between planar gold surfaces is investigated using molecular dynamics simulation and continuum analysis. Heat transfer in the nanoscale bridge turns out to be significantly less efficient than in the bulk. The departure from the macroscopic thermal property depends on two sizes: bridge length and width. As the width gets smaller, the heat transfer in the bridge deteriorates due to the meniscuses that narrow the heat path and constrict the transfer. On the other hand, the heat transfer deteriorates with decreasing bridge length due primarily to inhomogeneous density distribution. An elevated and oscillatory density in the solid-liquid interfacial region and a reduced density in the middle region are developed in the bridge. The layering structure increases the acoustic scattering and the lowered density reduces the number of energy carriers. Overall effects of the two contributions vary with bridge length, which causes the size effect in the heat transfer of nanoscale liquid bridges.