Analysis of thermal conductivity models with an extension to complex crystalline materials

The calculation of the thermal conductivity of condensed matter has posed a significant challenge to engineers and scientists for almost a century. Thermal conductivity models have been successfully applied to many materials however many challenges still remain. One serious challenge is the inability of current thermal conductivity models to calculate the thermal conductivity of highly complex materials. Another challenge is managing error introduced by using an effective interatomic potential, for many materials this problem is exacerbated because their effective potentials have not been extensively used or characterized. Recent interest in nanostructures has initiated a new set of challenges and unanswered questions. This work addresses different aspects of the aforementioned challenges by using zeolite MFI and gallium nitride as case studies.