Near-Field Heat Transfer Percolation in Nanoparticles based Composite Media

Near-field radiative heat transfer is investigated in composite media including nanoparticles. By modeling pair interactions only, the effective thermal conductivity due to near field radiation is calculated based on a thermal nodes model. We highlight the onset of a Near-Field percolation occurring much earlier than the mechanical percolation at critical volume fraction f=0.033. This 15 mechanism drastically increases the thermal conductivity even at low volume fractions. It also indicates a simple experimental protocol to prove Near-Field contact.