Heat transfer through near-field interactions in nanofluids

Using the Landauer-Buttiker theory, the author calculate the thermal conductance associated with plasmon modes in one dimensional arrays of nanoparticles closely spaced in a host fluid. The author's numerical simulations show that the near-field interactions between particles have a negligible effect on the thermal conductivity of nanoparticle colloidal solutions (nanofluids). (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.