Heat conduction equation differential equations

Temperature profiles can be determined from the transient heat conduction equation or, in integral models, by assuming some functional form of the temperature profile a priori. With the former, numerical solution of partial differential equations is required. With the latter, the problem is reduced to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations, but numerical solution is still required. The following equations embody a simple heat transfer limited pyrolysis model for a noncharring polymer that is opaque to thermal radiation and has a density that does not depend on temperature. For simplicity, surface regression (which gives rise to convective terms) is not explicitly included. 

To analyze a transient heat-transfer problem, we could proceed by solving the general heat-conduction equation by the separation-of-variables method, similar to the analytical treatment used for the two-dimensional steady-state problem discussed in Sec. 3-2. We give one illustration of this method of solution for a case of simple geometry and then refer the reader to the references for analysis of more complicated cases. Consider the infinite plate of thickness 2L shown in Fig. 4-1. Initially the plate is at a uniform temperature T, and at time zero the surfaces are suddenly lowered to T = T,. The differential equation is... 

This variational equation based on Eq. (3.355) is equivalent to a differential heat conduction equation in the following form... 

A Euler-Lagrange equation for the variational problem of 8 J LqdV may be obtained by considering the differential heat conduction equation, and we have... 

The resulting solution is a function of two dimensionless parameters, AT kpcy laH(ty, and xliat). In reality, the nonsteady-state temperature distribution in a cellulosic fuel is not accurately represented by the above solution, since the boundary conditions are not perfectly matched with those of the experiment, and the partial differential does not include the effects of heats of reaction and of phase change. However, Martin and Ramstad, " in their study of ignition, have demonstrated that the actual temperature profiles can be expressed as functions of the same dimensionless parameters derived from the solution of the heat-conduction equation,... 

The heat conduction equations above were developed using an energy balance on a differential element inside the medium, and they remain the same regardless of the thermal conditions on tlie surfaces of the medium. That is, the differential equations do not incorporate any information related to the conditions on the surfaces such as the surface temperature or a specified heat flux. Yet we know that the heat flux and the temperature distribution in a medium depend on the conditions at the surfaces, and (he description of a heat transfer problem in a medium is not complete without a full description of the thermal conditions at the bounding surfaces of the medium. The mathematical expressions of the thermal conditions at the boundaries are called the boundat7 conditions. 

The physical argument presented above is consistent with the mathematical nature of the problem since tlie heat conduction equation is second order (i.e., involves second derivative.s with respect to the space variables) in all directions along which heat conduction is significant, and the general solution of a second-order linear differential equation involves two surbitrary constants for each direction. That is, the number of boundary conditions that needs to be specified in a direction is equal to the order of the differential equation in that direction. 

In the application of the heat conduction equation in its general form (2.8) a series of simplifying assumptions are made, through which a number of special differential equations, tailor made for certain problems, are obtained. A significant simplification is the assumption of constant material properties A and c. The linear partial differential equations which emerge in this case are discussed in the next section. Further simple cases are... 

If the thermal power W is linearly dependent or independent of the temperature d, the heat conduction equation, (2.9), is a second order linear, partial differential equation of parabolic type. The mathematical theory of this class of equations was discussed and extensively researched in the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore tried and tested solution methods are available for use, these will be discussed in 2.3.1. A large number of closed mathematical solutions are known. These can be found in the mathematically orientated standard work by H.S. Carslaw and J.C. Jaeger [2.1],... 

The heat conduction equation only determines the temperature inside the body. To completely establish the temperature field several boundary conditions must be introduced and fulfilled by the solution of the differential equation. These boundary conditions include an initial-value condition with respect to time and different local conditions, which are to be obeyed at the surfaces of the body. The temperature field is determined by the differential equation and the boundary conditions. 

The Laplace transformation has proved an effective tool for the solution of the linear heat conduction equation (2.110) with linear boundary conditions. It follows a prescribed solution path and makes it possible to obtain special solutions, for example for small times or at a certain position in the thermally conductive body, without having to determine the complete time and spatial dependence of its temperature field. An introductory illustration of the Laplace transformation and its application to heat conduction problems has been given by H.D. Baehr [2.25]. An extensive representation is offered in the book by H. Tautz [2.26]. The Laplace transformation has a special importance for one-dimensional heat flow, as in this case the solution of the partial differential equation leads back to the solution of a linear ordinary differential equation. In the following introduction we will limit ourselves to this case. 

In the finite difference method, the derivatives dfl/dt, dfl/dx and d2d/dx2, which appear in the heat conduction equation and the boundary conditions, are replaced by difference quotients. This discretisation transforms the differential equation into a finite difference equation whose solution approximates the solution of the differential equation at discrete points which form a grid in space and time. A reduction in the mesh size increases the number of grid points and therefore the accuracy of the approximation, although this does of course increase the computation demands. Applying a finite difference method one has therefore to make a compromise between accuracy and computation time. 

As a result of this many solutions to the heat conduction equation can be transferred to the analogous mass diffusion problems, provided that not only the differential equations but also the initial and boundary conditions agree. Numerous solutions of the differential equation (2.342) can be found in Crank s book [2.78]. Analogous to heat conduction, the initial condition prescribes a concentration at every position in the body at a certain time. Timekeeping begins with this time, such that... 

Baumeister and Hamill [32] solved the hyperbolic heat conduction equation in a semi-infinite medium subjected to a step change in temperature at one of its ends using the method of Laplace transform. The space-integrated expression for the temperature in the Laplace domain had the inversion readily available within the tables. This expression was differentiated using Leibniz s rule, and the resulting temperature distribution was given for x > X as... 

Another interesting property of Eq. (4.233) is that it is identical in form, mathematically, to the integral solution of the heat-conduction equation. Thus the reaction-rate function R v Bn) must also satisfy the differential equation... 

Example The differential equation of heat conduction in a moving fluid with velocity components is... 

Fourier s law is the fundamental differential equation for heat transfer by conduction ... 

When q is zero, Eq. (5-18) reduces to the famihar Laplace equation. The analytical solution of Eq. (10-18) as well as of Laplaces equation is possible for only a few boundary conditions and geometric shapes. Carslaw and Jaeger Conduction of Heat in Solids, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1959) have presented a large number of analytical solutions of differential equations apphcable to heat-conduction problems. Generally, graphical or numerical finite-difference methods are most frequently used. Other numerical and relaxation methods may be found in the general references in the Introduction. The methods may also be extended to three-dimensional problems. 

In the finite-difference appntach, the partial differential equation for the conduction of heat in solids is replaced by a set of algebraic equations of temperature differences between discrete points in the slab. Actually, the wall is divided into a number of individual layers, and for each, the energy conserva-tk>n equation is applied. This leads to a set of linear equations, which are explicitly or implicitly solved. This approach allows the calculation of the time evolution of temperatures in the wall, surface temperatures, and heat fluxes. The temporal and spatial resolution can be selected individually, although the computation time increa.ses linearly for high resolutions. The method easily can be expanded to the two- and three-dimensional cases by dividing the wall into individual elements rather than layers. 

The heat transfer model, energy and material balance equations plus boundary condition and initial conditions are shown in Figure 4. The energy balance partial differential equation (PDE) (Equation 10) assumes two dimensional axial conduction. Figure 5 illustrates the rectangular cross-section of the composite part. Convective boundary conditions are implemented at the interface between the walls and the polymer matrix. 

Transient Heat Conduction. Our next simulation might be used to model the transient temperature history in a slab of material placed suddenly in a heated press, as is frequently done in lamination processing. This is a classical problem with a well known closed solution it is governed by the much-studied differential equation (3T/3x) - q(3 T/3x ), where here a - (k/pc) is the thermal diffuslvity. This analysis is also identical to transient species diffusion or flow near a suddenly accelerated flat plate, if q is suitably interpreted (6). 

Equations of gas dynamics with heat conductivity. We are now interested in a complex problem in which the gas flow is moving under the heat conduction condition. In conformity with (l)-(7), the system of differential equations for the ideal gas in Lagrangian variables acquires the form... 

The laser we use in these experiments is an exclmer laser with a pulse width of approximately 20 nsec. In this time regime the laser heating can be treated using the differential equation for heat flow with a well defined value for the thermal diffusivity (k) and the thermal conductivity (K) (4). 

Chapter 4 eoncerns differential applications, which take place with respect to both time and position and which are normally formulated as partial differential equations. Applications include diffusion and conduction, tubular chemical reactors, differential mass transfer and shell and tube heat exchange. It is shown that such problems can be solved with relative ease, by utilising a finite-differencing solution technique in the simulation approach. 

The heating of the liquid can be approximated by the transient conduction of heat to a slab of finite thickness 8, with the conventional differential equation,... 

Let us consider the semi-infinite (thermally thick) conduction problem for a constant temperature at the surface. The governing partial differential equation comes from the conservation of energy, and is described in standard heat transfer texts (e.g. Reference [13]) ... 

The occurrence of kinetic instabilities as well as oscillatory and even chaotic temporal behavior of a catalytic reaction under steady-state flow conditions can be traced back to the nonlinear character of the differential equations describing the kinetics coupled to transport processes (diffusion and heat conductance). Studies with single crystal surfaces revealed the formation of a large wealth of concentration patterns of the adsorbates on mesoscopic (say pm) length scales which can be studied experimentally by suitable tools and theoretically within the framework of nonlinear dynamics. [31]... 

The equations describing the concentration and temperature within the catalyst particles and the reactor are usually non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations and have to be solved numerically. However, it is unusual for experimental data to be of sufficient precision and extent to justify the application of such sophisticated reactor models. Uncertainties in the knowledge of effective thermal conductivities and heat transfer between gas and solid make the calculation of temperature distribution in the catalyst bed susceptible to inaccuracies, particularly in view of the pronounced effect of temperature on reaction rate. A useful approach to the preliminary design of a non-isothermal fixed bed catalytic reactor is to assume that all the resistance to heat transfer is in a thin layer of gas near the tube wall. This is a fair approximation because radial temperature profiles in packed beds are parabolic with most of the resistance to heat transfer near the tube wall. With this assumption, a one-dimensional model, which becomes quite accurate for small diameter tubes, is satisfactory for the preliminary design of reactors. Provided the ratio of the catlayst particle radius to tube length is small, dispersion of mass in the longitudinal direction may also be neglected. Finally, if heat transfer between solid cmd gas phases is accounted for implicitly by the catalyst effectiveness factor, the mass and heat conservation equations for the reactor reduce to [eqn. (62)]... 

Mathematically, studies of diffusion often require solving a diffusion equation, which is a partial differential equation. The book of Crank (1975), The Mathematics of Diffusion, provides solutions to various diffusion problems. The book of Carslaw and Jaeger (1959), Conduction of Heat in Solids, provides solutions to various heat conduction problems. Because the heat conduction equation and the diffusion equation are mathematically identical, solutions to heat conduction problems can be adapted for diffusion problems. For even more complicated problems, including many geological problems, numerical solution using a computer is the only or best approach. The solutions are important and some will be discussed in detail, but the emphasis will be placed on the concepts, on how to transform a geological problem into a mathematical problem, how to study diffusion by experiments, and how to interpret experimental data. 

The differential equations of fluid dynamics express conservation of mass, conse rvation of momentum, conservation of energy and an equation of state. For an adiabatic reversible process, viscosity and heat conduction processes are absent and the equations are 2.1.1 to 2.1.13, inclusive... 

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