Hybrid discrete ordinates-spherical harmonics solution to the Boltzmann transport equation for phonons for non-equilibrium heat conduction (Q655020)

Extended abstract: The Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) for phonons has found prolific use for the prediction of non-equilibrium heat conduction phenomena in semiconductor materials. This article presents a new hybrid formulation and associated numerical procedures for solution of the BTE for phonons. In doing so, the phonon intensity is first split into two components, ballistic and diffusive ones. The governing equation for the ballistic component is solved using two different established methods that are appropriate for use in complex geometries, namely the discrete ordinates method (DOM) and the control angle discrete ordinates method (CADOM). The diffusive component, on the other hand, is determined by invoking the first-order spherical harmonics (or \(P_1\)) approximation, which results in a Helmholtz equation with Robin boundary conditions. Both governing equations, referred to commonly as the ballistic-diffusive equations (BDEs), are solved using the unstructured finite-volume procedure. Results of the hybrid method are compared against benchmark Monte Carlo results, as well as solutions of the BTE using standalone DOM and CADOM for two two-dimensional transient heat-conduction problems at various Knudsen numbers. Subsequently, the method is explored for a large-scale three-dimensional geometry in order to assess convergence and computational cost. The results shown are found for the gray BTE, but the approach is also applicable for the frequency-dependent BTE. It is found that the proposed hybrid method is accurate at all Knudson numbers. From an efficiency standpoint, the hybrid method is found to be superior to the direct solution of the BTE both for steady state as well as unsteady non-equilibrium heat conductions with computational gains increasing with increasing problem size. The new approach presented, unlike previously published formulations of BDEs, does not require a priori knowledge of the specific heat capacity of the material.