In this research, the thermal transport behavior of the branched carbon nanotube (CNT) with T-junction was investigated using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Both symmetric and asymmetric temperature-controlled simulations were imposed to evaluate how the heat flowed inside the branched CNT with three branches of equal length and same chirality. The branch length and strain effects on the heat flow were examined. In addition, the simulated heat flow was compared with the prediction made by conventional thermal circuit calculation based on diffusive phonon transport. The heat was observed to flow straight rather than sideway inside the branched CNT with T-junction under the asymmetric temperature setup; this finding contradicts the conventional thermal circuit calculation. There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon. One is ballistic phonon transport and the other is phonons have different interactions or scattering with the defective atomic configurations at the T-junction. Moreover, the tensile strain could tune the heat flow, a finding that might be useful in thermal management applications.

在这项研究中，使用非平衡分子动力学模拟研究了具有T型结的支链碳纳米管（CNT）的热传输行为。进行对称和非对称温度控制仿真，以评估热量如何在具有相同长度和相同手性的三个分支的分支CNT内部流动。研究了支链长度和应变对热流的影响。此外，将模拟的热流与通过基于扩散声子输运的常规热回路计算得出的预测进行了比较。在不对称温度设置下，观察到热量在带有T型结的CNT内流向的是笔直的而不是向侧面流动。这一发现与传统的热回路计算相矛盾。对于这种现象有两种可能的解释。一种是弹道声子传输，另一种是声子在T型结处的缺陷原子构型具有不同的相互作用或散射。此外，拉伸应变可以调节热流，这一发现可能在热管理应用中很有用。