Radiative Thermostat Driven by the Combined Dynamics of Electrons, Phonons and Photons

Jose Ordonez-Miranda (1)

1 TNR - Thermique aux Nano échelles et Rayonnement [Institut Pprime]

Based on the metal-insulator transition of two phase-change materials (PCMs) with asymmetric thermal conductivities and emissivities sensitive to temperature, a radiative thermostat capable of maintaining a constant temperature without consuming energy is proposed. This is done by deriving explicit expressions for the heat flux and temperature profiles of the thermostat surrounded by these PCMs and demonstrating that it can be maintained at a temperature nearly equal to the common transition temperature of both PCMs, as the environmental one changes more than 20 K. It it shown that the combined operation of two PCMs is much better than non-PCMs to develop energyfree termostats, specially those supporting poor thermal conduction or dominant heat radiation. The obtained results thus establish a fundamental theoretical method to exploit the nonlinear heat transport driven by electrons, phonons and photons, for saving energy on temperature preservation and thermal insulation.

Mots clés: numbers: 65.60.+a; 65.80.-g; 65.90.+i

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Jose Ordonez-Miranda. Radiative Thermostat Driven by the Combined Dynamics of Electrons, Phonons and Photons. Physical Review Applied, 2020, 14 (6), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevApplied.14.064043⟩. ⟨hal-03381542⟩