LAUSR

Abstract Taking interface phonon scattering into consideration, we present a set of thermal conduction interface conditions to simulate the interfacial temperature jump in nanocomposites and consequently obtain closed-form solutions describing thermal fields in the vicinity of a circular nanoinhomogeneity. Our results show that the heat flux inside the inhomogeneity is uniform and that the heat flux in the surrounding matrix can also be made uniform by designing the size or thermal conductivity of the inhomogeneity in the case when the thermal conductivity of the inhomogeneity is higher than that of the matrix. Using our theoretical results, we derive an explicit expression for the effective thermal conductivity of a rectangular region containing a circular nanoinhomogeneity. Furthermore, we undertake a numerical study to further explore the effects of interface phonon scattering on thermal conduction. Our results indicate that interface phonon scattering has the ability to suppress thermal conduction around a nanoinhomogeneity and has thus important applications in improving the performance of a range of functional materials.