An “In Silico Method†to Predict the Thermal Conductivity in Insulating Crystals

Abstract

A method, based on the so-called “U-process†model [1] of the density of the lattice vibration energy, is used to predict the thermal conductivity of insulator materials from room temperature up to the melting point. Results are presented for the thermal conductivities of some typical insulator materials such as oxides and semiconductors. It is found that the agreement between the calculations and the available experimental data is excellent