We show through calculations on typical lattice models that thermal conductance $\sigma$ can well describe the near-equilibrium thermal transport property of one-dimensional materials of finite length, which presents a situation often met in the application of nanoscale devices. The $\sigma$ generally contains contributions from the material itself and those from the thermal reservoirs. The intrinsic $\sigma$ of the material, i.e., the one with the fewest external influences, can be efficiently calculated with the help of the “blackbody”-like nonreflective thermal reservoir, either through the nonequilibrium method or through the Green-Kubo-type formula. $\sigma$ thus calculated would be helpful to guide the design of thermal management and heat control in nanoscale devices.

• Received 18 July 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.94.052131