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Heat Transfer Module

Users Guide

VERSION 4.3b

Heat Transfer Module Users Guide


19982013 COMSOL
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Version:

May 2013

COMSOL 4.3b

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Part No. CM020801

C o n t e n t s
Chapter 1: Introduction
About the Heat Transfer Module

Why Heat Transfer is Important to Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . .

How the Heat Transfer Module Improves Your Modeling. . . . . . . .

The Heat Transfer Module Physics Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Where Do I Access the Documentation and Model Library? . . . . . . 11


Overview of the Users Guide

14

C h a p t e r 2 : H e a t Tr a n s f e r T h e o r y
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

18

What is Heat Transfer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18


The Heat Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A Note on Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Heat Flux and Heat Source Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
About the Boundary Conditions for the Heat Transfer User
Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Radiative Heat Transfer in Transparent Media . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Consistent and Inconsistent Stabilization Methods for the Heat
Transfer User Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Moist Air Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
About Heat Transfer with Phase Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Theory for the Thermal Contact Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
About the Heat Transfer Coefficients
Heat Transfer Coefficient Theory

53

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Nature of the Flowthe Grashof Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55


Heat Transfer Coefficients External Natural Convection . . . . . . . 56
Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Natural Convection . . . . . . . 58
Heat Transfer Coefficients External Forced Convection . . . . . . . 59

CONTENTS

|i

Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Forced Convection . . . . . . . 59


About Highly Conductive Layers

61

Theory of Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer

63

Equation Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Activating Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer and Thickness . . . . . . . . . 64
Theory for the Bioheat Transfer User Interface

65

Theory for the Heat Transfer in Porous Media User


Interface

66

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

68

Frame Physics Feature Nodes and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . 68


Conversion Between Material and Spatial Frames

. . . . . . . . . . 72

References for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

75

C h a p t e r 3 : T h e H e a t Tr a n s f e r B r a n c h
About the Heat Transfer Interfaces

78

The Heat Transfer Interface

81

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat
Transfer User Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Heat Transfer in Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Translational Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Heat Transfer in Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Initial Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Heat Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Heat Transfer with Phase Change

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Thermal Insulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

ii | C O N T E N T S

Outflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

100

Symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

101

Heat Flux. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

101

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

103

Periodic Heat Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

104

Boundary Heat Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

104

Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

106

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

106

Thermal Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

108

Line Heat Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

111

Point Heat Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

112

Pressure Work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

112

Viscous Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

113

Inflow Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

114

Open Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

115

Convective Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

116

Highly Conductive Layer Nodes

118

Highly Conductive Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

118

Layer Heat Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

120

Edge Heat Flux

121

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Point Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

122

Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

123

Point Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

124

Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

125

Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

125

Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes

127

Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

127

Out-of-Plane Radiation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

129

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

130

Change Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

130

The Bioheat Transfer Interface

132

Biological Tissue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

133

Bioheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

134

The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface

136

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat
Transfer in Porous Media User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . .

137

CONTENTS

| iii

Heat Transfer in Porous Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

137

Thermal Dispersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

143

C h a p t e r 4 : H e a t Tr a n s f e r i n T h i n S h e l l s
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface

146

Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer in
Thin Shells User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

148

Heat Flux. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

149

Thin Conductive Layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

150

Heat Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

151

Initial Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

152

Change Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

152

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

153

Insulation/Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

153

Change Effective Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

154

Edge Heat Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

154

Point Heat Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

155

Theory for the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface


156
About Heat Transfer in Thin Shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

156

Heat Transfer Equation in Thin Conductive Shell . . . . . . . . . .

156

Thermal Conductivity Tensor Components . . . . . . . . . . . .

157

C h a p t e r 5 : R a d i a t i o n H e a t Tr a n s f e r
The Radiation Branch Versions of the Heat Transfer User
Interface
The Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface . .

160
160

The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media User


Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

161

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation
Branch Versions of the Heat Transfer User Interface . . . . . . . .

iv | C O N T E N T S

161

The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface

164

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the


Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface . . . . . . . . . . .

167

Surface-to-Surface Radiation (Boundary Condition) . . . . . . . . .

168

Opaque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

172

Diffuse Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

173

Prescribed Radiosity

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

174

Radiation Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

177

External Radiation Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

178

Theory for the Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface

182

Wavelength Dependence of Surface Emissivity and Absorptivity . . . .

182

The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Gray Surfaces . . . . . . . . . .

188

The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Spectral Surfaces . . . . . . . . .

190

View Factor Evaluation

192

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About Surface-to-Surface Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

194

Guidelines for Solving Surface-to-Surface Radiation Problems . . . . .

196

Radiation Group Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

197

The Radiation in Participating Media User Interface

199

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation
in Participating Media User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

201

Radiation in Participating Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

202

Opaque Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

203

Incident Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

205

Continuity on Interior Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

206

Theory for the Radiation in Participating Media User


Interface
Radiation and Participating Media Interactions . . . . . . . . . . .

207
207

Radiative Transfer Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

208

Boundary Condition for the Transfer Equation. . . . . . . . . . .

209

Heat Transfer Equation in Participating Media . . . . . . . . . . .

210

Discrete Ordinates Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

211

Discrete Ordinates Method Implementation in 2D . . . . . . . . .

212

CONTENTS

|v

References for the Radiation User Interfaces

214

Chapter 6: The Single-Phase Flow Branch


The Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
The Laminar Flow User Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

216
216

The Turbulent Flow, k- User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . .

219

Domain, Boundary, Pair, and Point Nodes for Single-Phase Flow . . . .

223

The Turbulent Flow, Low Re k- User Interface . . . . . . . . . .

221

Fluid Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

224

Volume Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

226

Initial Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

227

Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

228

Inlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

231

Outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

233

Symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

236

Open Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

237

Boundary Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

237

Periodic Flow Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

239

Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

240

Interior Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

242

Interior Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

244

Grille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

245

Flow Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

246

Pressure Point Constraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

246

More Boundary Condition Settings for the Turbulent Flow User


Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theory for the Laminar Flow User Interface
Theory for the Inlet Boundary Condition

vi | C O N T E N T S

247
250

. . . . . . . . . . . .

250

Additional Theory for the Outlet Boundary Condition . . . . . . .

251

Theory for the Fan Defined on an Interior Boundary . . . . . . . .

253

Theory for the Fan and Grille Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . .

254

Non-Newtonian Flow: The Power Law and the Carreau Model . . . .

257

Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces


Turbulence Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The k-Turbulence Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Low Reynolds Number k- Turbulence Model . . . . . . . . .

260
260
264
270

Inlet Values for the Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent Intensity . .

273

Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition . . .

274

Solvers for Turbulent Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

274

Pseudo Time Stepping for Turbulent Flow Models . . . . . . . . .

275

References for the Single-Phase Flow, User Interfaces

276

C h a p t e r 7 : T h e C o n j u g a t e H e a t Tr a n s f e r B r a n c h
About the Conjugate Heat Transfer User Interfaces

280

Selecting the Right User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

280

The Non-Isothermal Flow Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

282

Conjugate Heat Transfer Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

283

The Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer,


Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow User Interfaces

285

The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow User Interface . . . . . . .

285

The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow User Interface . . . . . .

289

Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

289

The Turbulent Flow, k- and Turbulent Flow Low Re k-User

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fluid

292

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

293

Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

300

Interior Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

302

Initial Values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

303

Open Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

303

Pressure Work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

304

Viscous Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

305

Symmetry, Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

305

Symmetry, Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

306

CONTENTS

| vii

Theory for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat


Transfer User Interfaces
Turbulent Non-Isothermal Flow Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . .

308
310

References for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat


Transfer User Interfaces

315

Chapter 8: Glossary
Glossary of Terms

viii | C O N T E N T S

318

Introduction
This guide describes the Heat Transfer Module, an optional package that extends
the COMSOL Multiphysics modeling environment with customized physics
interfaces for the analysis of heat transfer.

This chapter introduces you to the capabilities of this module. A summary of the
physics interfaces and where you can find documentation and model examples is
also included. The last section is a brief overview with links to each chapter in this
guide.
About the Heat Transfer Module
Overview of the Users Guide

About the Heat Transfer Module


In this section:
Why Heat Transfer is Important to Modeling
How the Heat Transfer Module Improves Your Modeling
The Heat Transfer Module Physics Guide
Where Do I Access the Documentation and Model Library?

Overview of the Physics and Building a COMSOL Model in the


COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

Why Heat Transfer is Important to Modeling


The Heat Transfer Module is an optional package that extends the COMSOL
Multiphysics modeling environment with customized user interfaces and functionality
optimized for the analysis of heat transfer. It is developed for a wide audience including
researchers, developers, teachers, and students. To assist users at all levels of expertise,
this module comes with a library of ready-to-run example models that appear in the
companion Heat Transfer Module Model Library.
Heat transfer is involved in almost every kind of physical process, and can in fact be the
limiting factor for many processes. Therefore, its study is of vital importance, and the
need for powerful heat transfer analysis tools is virtually universal. Furthermore, heat
transfer often appears together with, or as a result of, other physical phenomena.
The modeling of heat transfer effects has become increasingly important in product
design including areas such as electronics, automotive, and medical industries.
Computer simulation has allowed engineers and researchers to optimize process
efficiency and explore new designs, while at the same time reducing costly
experimental trials.

How the Heat Transfer Module Improves Your Modeling


The Heat Transfer Module has been developed to greatly expand upon the base
capabilities available in COMSOL Multiphysics. The module supports all fundamental

2 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

mechanisms including conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer. Using the
physics interfaces in this module along with the inherent multiphysics capabilities of
COMSOL Multiphysics, you can model a temperature field in parallel with other
featuresa versatile combination increasing the accuracy and predicting power of your
models.
This book introduces the basic modeling process. The different physics interfaces are
described and the modeling strategy for various cases is discussed. These sections cover
different combinations of conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer. This
guide also reviews special modeling techniques for highly conductive layers, thin
conductive shells, participating media, and out-of-plane heat transfer. Throughout the
guide the topics and examples increase in complexity by combining several heat
transfer mechanisms and also by coupling these to physics interfaces describing fluid
flowconjugate heat transfer.
Another source of information is the Heat Transfer Module Model Library, a set of
fully-documented models that is divided into broadly defined application areas where
heat transfer plays an important roleelectronics and power systems, processing and
manufacturing, and medical technologyand includes tutorial and verification
models.
Most of the models involve multiple heat transfer mechanisms and are often coupled
to other physical phenomena, for example, fluid dynamics or electromagnetics. The
authors developed several state-of-the art examples by reproducing models that have
appeared in international scientific journals. See Where Do I Access the
Documentation and Model Library?.

The Heat Transfer Module Physics Guide


The table below lists all the interfaces available specifically with this module. Having
this module also enhances these COMSOL Multiphysics basic interfaces: Heat
Transfer in Fluids, Heat Transfer in Solids, Joule Heating, and the Single-Phase Flow,
Laminar interface.

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

If you have an Subsurface Flow Module combined with the Heat Transfer Module, this
also enhances the Heat Transfer in Porous Media interface.
The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow (nitf) and Non-Isothermal Flow,
Turbulent Flow (nitf) interfaces found under the Fluid Flow>Non-Isothermal
Flow branch are identical to the Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces
(Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow) found under the Heat
Transfer>Conjugate Heat Transfer branch. The difference is that Fluid is the
default domain node for the Non-Isothermal Flow interfaces.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:


Studies and the Study Nodes
The Physics User Interfaces
For a list of all the interfaces included with the COMSOL Multiphysics
basic license, see Physics Guide.
PHYSICS USER INTERFACE

ICON

TAG

SPACE
DIMENSION

AVAILABLE PRESET STUDY


TYPE

spf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow, k-

spf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow, Low Re


k-

spf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary with
initialization; transient
with initialization

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Fluid Flow
Single-Phase Flow
Laminar Flow*
Turbulent Flow

Non-Isothermal Flow
Laminar Flow

4 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

PHYSICS USER INTERFACE

ICON

TAG

SPACE
DIMENSION

AVAILABLE PRESET STUDY


TYPE

Turbulent Flow, k-

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow, Low Re


k-

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary with
initialization; transient
with initialization

Heat Transfer in Solids*

ht

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Heat Transfer in Fluids*

ht

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Heat Transfer in Porous Media

ht

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Bioheat Transfer

ht

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Heat Transfer in Thin Shells

htsh

3D

stationary; time
dependent

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow, k-

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow, Low Re


k-

nitf

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

stationary with
initialization; transient
with initialization

ht

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Turbulent Flow

Heat Transfer

Conjugate Heat Transfer


Laminar Flow
Turbulent Flow

Radiation
Heat Transfer with
Surface-to-Surface
Radiation

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

PHYSICS USER INTERFACE

ICON

TAG

SPACE
DIMENSION

AVAILABLE PRESET STUDY


TYPE

Heat Transfer with


Radiation in Participating
Media

ht

3D, 2D

stationary; time
dependent

Surface-to-Surface
Radiation

rad

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Radiation in Participating
Media

rpm

3D, 2D

stationary; time
dependent

jh

all dimensions

stationary; time
dependent

Electromagnetic Heating
Joule Heating*

* This is an enhanced interface, which is included with the base COMSOL package but has
added functionality for this module.
T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E S T U D Y C A P A B I L I T I E S

Table 1-1 lists the Preset Studies available for the interfaces most relevant to this
module.

Studies and Solvers in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

6 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

PRESET
STUDIES*

Laminar Flow

spf

u, p

Turbulent Flow, k-

spf

u, p, k, ep

Turbulent Flow, Low Re k-

spf

u, p, k, ep, G

TRANSIENT WITH INITIALIZATION

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

TIME DEPENDENT

TAG

STATIONARY

PHYSICS INTERFACE

STATIONARY WITH INITIALIZATION

TABLE 1-1: HEAT TRANSFER MODULE DEPENDENT VARIABLES AND PRESET STUDY AVAILABILITY

FLUID FLOW>SINGLE-PHASE FLOW

FLUID FLOW>NON-ISOTHERMAL FLOW

nitf

u, p, T

Turbulent Flow, k-

nitf

u, p, k, ep, T

Turbulent Flow, Low Re k-

nitf

u, p, k, ep, G, T

ht

Heat Transfer in Fluids**

ht

Heat Transfer in Porous


Media**

ht

Bioheat Transfer**

ht

Heat Transfer in Thin Shells

htsh

Laminar Flow

HEAT TRANSFER

Heat Transfer in Solids**

HEAT TRANSFER>CONJUGATE HEAT TRANSFER

Laminar Flow**

nitf

u, p, T

Turbulent Flow, k-**

nitf

u, p, k, ep, T

Turbulent Flow, Low Re k-**

nitf

u, p, k, ep, G, T

ht

T, J

HEAT TRANSFER>RADIATION

Heat Transfer with


Surface-to-Surface Radiation**

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

PRESET
STUDIES*

Heat Transfer with Radiation in


Participating Media**

ht

T, I (radiative
intensity)

Surface-to-Surface Radiation

rad

Radiation in Participating
Media

rpm

I (radiative intensity)

T, V

TRANSIENT WITH INITIALIZATION

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

TIME DEPENDENT

TAG

STATIONARY

PHYSICS INTERFACE

STATIONARY WITH INITIALIZATION

TABLE 1-1: HEAT TRANSFER MODULE DEPENDENT VARIABLES AND PRESET STUDY AVAILABILITY

HEAT TRANSFER>ELECTROMAGNETIC HEATING

Joule Heating**

jh

* Custom studies are also available based on the interface.


** For these interfaces, it is possible to enable surface to surface radiation and/or
radiation in participating media. In these cases, J and I are dependent variables.
SHOW MORE PHYSICS OPTIONS

There are several general options available for the physics user interfaces and for
individual nodes. This section is a short overview of these options, and includes links
to additional information when available.
The links to the features described in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual (or any external guide) do not work in the PDF, only
from within the online help.

To locate and search all the documentation for this information, in


COMSOL Multiphysics, select Help>Documentation from the main menu
and either enter a search term or look under a specific module in the
documentation tree.

8 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

To display additional options for the physics interfaces and other parts of the model
tree, click the Show button (
) on the Model Builder and then select the applicable
option.
After clicking the Show button (
), additional sections get displayed on the settings
window when a node is clicked and additional nodes are available from the context
menu when a node is right-clicked. For each, the additional sections that can be
displayed include Equation, Advanced Settings, Discretization, Consistent Stabilization,
and Inconsistent Stabilization.
You can also click the Expand Sections button (
) in the Model Builder to always show
) and select Reset to Default to reset to
some sections or click the Show button (
display only the Equation and Override and Contribution sections.
For most nodes, both the Equation and Override and Contribution sections are always
) and then select Equation View to display the
available. Click the Show button (
Equation View node under all nodes in the Model Builder.
Availability of each node, and whether it is described for a particular node, is based on
the individual selected. For example, the Discretization, Advanced Settings, Consistent
Stabilization, and Inconsistent Stabilization sections are often described individually
throughout the documentation as there are unique settings.
SECTION

CROSS REFERENCE

Show More Options and


Expand Sections

Advanced Physics Sections

Discretization

Show Discretization

The Model Wizard and Model Builder


Discretization (Node)

DiscretizationSplitting of
complex variables

Compile Equations

Consistent and
Inconsistent Stabilization

Show Stabilization

Constraint Settings

Weak Constraints and Constraint Settings

Override and Contribution

Physics Exclusive and Contributing Node Types

Numerical Stabilization

OTHER COMMON SETTINGS

At the main level, some of the common settings found (in addition to the Show
options) are the Interface Identifier, Domain, Boundary, or Edge Selection, and
Dependent Variables.

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

At the nodes level, some of the common settings found (in addition to the Show
options) are Domain, Boundary, Edge, or Point Selection, Material Type, Coordinate
System Selection, and Model Inputs. Other sections are common based on application
area and are not included here.
SECTION

CROSS REFERENCE

Coordinate System
Selection

Coordinate Systems

Domain, Boundary, Edge,


and Point Selection

About Geometric Entities

Interface Identifier

Predefined Physics Variables

About Selecting Geometric Entities


Variable Naming Convention and Scope
Viewing Node Names, Identifiers, Types, and Tags

Material Type

Materials

Model Inputs

About Materials and Material Properties


Selecting Physics
Adding Multiphysics Couplings

Pair Selection

Identity and Contact Pairs


Continuity on Interior Boundaries

THE LIQUIDS AND GASES MATERIALS DATABASE

The Heat Transfer Module includes an additional Liquids and Gases material database
with temperature-dependent fluid dynamic and thermal properties.
For detailed information about materials and the Liquids and Gases
Material Database, see Materials in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual.

10 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Where Do I Access the Documentation and Model Library?


A number of Internet resources provide more information about COMSOL, including
licensing and technical information. The electronic documentation, context help, and
the Model Library are all accessed through the COMSOL Desktop.
If you are reading the documentation as a PDF file on your computer, the
blue links do not work to open a model or content referenced in a
different guide. However, if you are using the online help in COMSOL
Multiphysics, these links work to other modules, model examples, and
documentation sets.
THE DOCUMENTATION

The COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual describes all user interfaces and
functionality included with the basic COMSOL Multiphysics license. This book also
has instructions about how to use COMSOL and how to access the documentation
electronically through the COMSOL Help Desk.
To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics:
Press F1 or select Help>Help (

) from the main menu for context help.

Press Ctrl+F1 or select Help>Documentation (


) from the main menu for opening
the main documentation window with access to all COMSOL documentation.
Click the corresponding buttons (

or

) on the main toolbar.

and then either enter a search term or look under a specific module in the
documentation tree.
If you have added a node to a model you are working on, click the Help
button (
) in the nodes settings window or press F1 to learn more
about it. Under More results in the Help window there is a link with a
search string for the nodes name. Click the link to find all occurrences of
the nodes name in the documentation, including model documentation
and the external COMSOL website. This can help you find more
information about the use of the nodes functionality as well as model
examples where the node is used.

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

11

THE MODEL LIBRARY

Each model comes with documentation that includes a theoretical background and
step-by-step instructions to create the model. The models are available in COMSOL
as MPH-files that you can open for further investigation. You can use the step-by-step
instructions and the actual models as a template for your own modeling and
applications.
In most models, SI units are used to describe the relevant properties, parameters, and
dimensions in most examples, but other unit systems are available.
) from the main menu, and
To open the Model Library, select View>Model Library (
then search by model name or browse under a module folder name. Click to highlight
any model of interest, and select Open Model and PDF to open both the model and the
documentation explaining how to build the model. Alternatively, click the Help
button (
) or select Help>Documentation in COMSOL to search by name or browse
by module.
The model libraries are updated on a regular basis by COMSOL in order to add new
models and to improve existing models. Choose View>Model Library Update (
) to
update your model library to include the latest versions of the model examples.
If you have any feedback or suggestions for additional models for the library (including
those developed by you), feel free to contact us at info@comsol.com.
CONT ACT ING COMSOL BY EMAIL

For general product information, contact COMSOL at info@comsol.com.


To receive technical support from COMSOL for the COMSOL products, please
contact your local COMSOL representative or send your questions to
support@comsol.com. An automatic notification and case number is sent to you by
email.

12 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

COMSOL WEBSITES

COMSOL website

www.comsol.com

Contact COMSOL

www.comsol.com/contact

Support Center

www.comsol.com/support

Download COMSOL

www.comsol.com/support/download

Support Knowledge Base

www.comsol.com/support/knowledgebase

Product Updates

www.comsol.com/support/updates

COMSOL Community

www.comsol.com/community

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R M O D U L E

13

Overview of the Users Guide


The Heat Transfer Module Users Guide gets you started with modeling using
COMSOL Multiphysics. The information in this guide is specific to the Chemical
Reaction Engineering Module. Instructions how to use COMSOL in general are
included with the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.
As detailed in the section Where Do I Access the Documentation and
Model Library? this information can also be searched from the COMSOL
Multiphysics software Help menu.
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S , G L O S S A R Y, A N D I N D E X

To help you navigate through this guide, see the Contents, Glossary, and Index.
H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

The Heat Transfer Theory chapter starts with the general theory underlying the heat
transfer interfaces used in this module. It then discusses theory about heat transfer
coefficients, highly conductive layers, and out-of-plane heat transfer. The last three
sections briefly describe the underlying theory for the Bioheat Transfer, Heat Transfer
in Thin Shells, and Heat Transfer in Porous Media interfaces.
T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

The module includes interfaces for the simulation of heat transfer. As with all other
physical descriptions simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics, any description of heat
transfer can be directly coupled to any other physical process. This is particularly
relevant for systems based on fluid-flow, as well as mass transfer.

General Heat Transfer


The Heat Transfer Branch chapter details the variety of Heat Transfer interfaces that
form the fundamental interfaces in this module. It covers all the types of heat transfer
conduction, convection, and radiationfor heat transfer in solids and fluids. About the
Heat Transfer Interfaces provides a quick summary of each interface, and the rest of
the chapter describes these interfaces in details. This includes the highly conductive
layer and out-of-plane heat transfer physics features and the Heat Transfer in Porous
Media interface. The Heat Transfer with Participating Media (ht) interface is also
described as it is a Heat Transfer interface where surface-to-surface radiation is active
by default.

14 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Bioheat Transfer
The Bioheat Transfer Interface section discusses modeling heat transfer within
biological tissue using the Bioheat Transfer interface.

Heat Transfer in Thin Shells


The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells chapter describes the interface, which is suitable for
solving thermal-conduction problems in thin structures.

Radiative Heat Transfer


Radiation Heat Transfer chapter describes the Surface-to-Surface Radiation, the Heat
Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation, and the Radiation in Participating Media
interfaces.
T H E C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

The Conjugate Heat Transfer Branch chapter describes the Non-Isothermal Flow
Laminar Flow (nitf) and Turbulent Flow (nitf) interfaces found under the Fluid Flow
branch, which are identical to the Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces. Each section
describes the applicable interfaces in detail and concludes with the underlying theory
for the interfaces.
THE FLUID FLOW USER INTERFACES

The Single-Phase Flow Branch chapter describe the single-phase laminar and turbulent
flow interfaces in detail. Each section describes the applicable interfaces in detail and
concludes with the underlying theory for the interfaces.

O V E R V I E W O F T H E U S E R S G U I D E

15

16 |

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Heat Transfer Theory


This chapter discusses some fundamental heat transfer theory. Theory related to
individual interfaces is discussed in those chapters. In this chapter:
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces
About the Heat Transfer Coefficients
About Highly Conductive Layers
Theory of Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer
Theory for the Bioheat Transfer User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer in Porous Media User Interface
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

17

Theory for the Heat Transfer User


Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interfacetheory is described in this section. This section reviews the
theory about the heat transfer equations in COMSOL Multiphysics and heat transfer
in general. For more detailed discussions of the fundamentals of heat transfer, see Ref.
1 and Ref. 3.
In this section:
What is Heat Transfer?
The Heat Equation
A Note on Heat Flux
Heat Flux and Heat Source Variables
About the Boundary Conditions for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces
Radiative Heat Transfer in Transparent Media
Consistent and Inconsistent Stabilization Methods for the Heat Transfer User
Interfaces
Moist Air Theory
About Heat Transfer with Phase Change
Theory for the Thermal Contact Feature
References for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

What is Heat Transfer?


Heat transfer is defined as the movement of energy due to a difference in temperature.
It is characterized by the following mechanisms:
ConductionHeat conduction takes place through different mechanisms in
different media. Theoretically it takes place in a gas through collisions of the
molecules; in a fluid through oscillations of each molecule in a cage formed by its
nearest neighbors; in metals mainly by electrons carrying heat and in other solids by
molecular motion which in crystals take the form of lattice vibrations known as
phonons. Typical for heat conduction is that the heat flux is proportional to the
temperature gradient.

18 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

ConvectionHeat convection (sometimes called heat advection) takes place


through the net displacement of a fluid, which transports the heat content in a fluid
through the fluids own velocity. The term convection (especially convective cooling
and convective heating) also refers to the heat dissipation from a solid surface to a
fluid, typically described by a heat transfer coefficient.
RadiationHeat transfer by radiation takes place through the transport of
photons. Participating (or semitransparent) media absorb, emit and scatter photons.
Opaque surfaces absorb or reflect them.

The Heat Equation


The fundamental law governing all heat transfer is the first law of thermodynamics,
commonly referred to as the principle of conservation of energy. However, internal
energy, U, is a rather inconvenient quantity to measure and use in simulations.
Therefore, the basic law is usually rewritten in terms of temperature, T. For a fluid, the
resulting heat equation is:
T p
T
C p ------- + u T = q + :S ---- ------- ------ + u p + Q
t

T p t

(2-1)

where
is the density (SI unit: kg/m3)
Cp is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure (SI unit: J/(kgK))
T is absolute temperature (SI unit: K)
u is the velocity vector (SI unit: m/s)
q is the heat flux by conduction (SI unit: W/m2)
p is pressure (SI unit: Pa)
is the viscous stress tensor (SI unit: Pa)
S is the strain-rate tensor (SI unit: 1/s):
1
S = --- u + u T
2
Q contains heat sources other than viscous heating (SI unit: W/m3)

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

19

For a detailed discussion of the fundamentals of heat transfer, see Ref. 1.


Specific heat capacity at constant pressure is the amount of energy
required to raise one unit of mass of a substance by one degree while
maintained at constant pressure. This quantity is also commonly referred
to as specific heat or specific heat capacity.
In deriving Equation 2-1, a number of thermodynamic relations have been used. The
equation also assumes that mass is always conserved, which means that density and
velocity must be related through:

+ v = 0
t
The heat transfer interfaces use Fouriers law of heat conduction, which states that the
conductive heat flux, q, is proportional to the temperature gradient:
T
q i = k -------x i

(2-2)

where k is the thermal conductivity (SI unit: W/(mK)). In a solid, the thermal
conductivity can be anisotropic (that is, it has different values in different directions).
Then k becomes a tensor
k xx k xy k xz
k = k yx k yy k yz
k zx k zy k zz
and the conductive heat flux is given by
qi =

kij ------x j
j

Fouriers law expect that the thermal conductivity tensor is symmetric.


Non symmetric tensor leads to unphysical results.

20 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

The second term on the right of Equation 2-1 represents viscous heating of a fluid. An
analogous term arises from the internal viscous damping of a solid. The operation :
is a contraction and can in this case be written on the following form:
a:b =

anm bnm
n m

The third term represents pressure work and is responsible for the heating of a fluid
under adiabatic compression and for some thermoacoustic effects. It is generally small
for low Mach number flows. A similar term can be included to account for
thermoelastic effects in solids.
Inserting Equation 2-2 into Equation 2-1, reordering the terms and ignoring viscous
heating and pressure work puts the heat equation into a more familiar form:
T
C p ------- + C p u T = kT + Q
t
The Heat Transfer in Fluids physics solves this equation for the temperature, T. If the
velocity is set to zero, the equation governing pure conductive heat transfer is
obtained:
T
C p ------- + k T = Q
t

A Note on Heat Flux


The concept of heat flux is not as simple as it might first appear. The reason is that heat
is not a conserved property. The conserved property is instead the total energy. There
is hence heat flux and energy flux that are similar but not identical.
This section briefly describes the theory for the variables for Total Energy Flux and
Total Heat Flux. The approximations made do not affect the computational results,
only variables available for results analysis and visualization.
TO T A L E N E R G Y F L U X

The total energy flux for a fluid is equal to (Ref. 4, chapter 3.5)
u H 0 + k T + u + q r

(2-3)

Above, H0 is the total enthalpy

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

21

1
H 0 = H + --- u u
2
where in turn H is the enthalpy. In Equation 2-3 is the viscous stress tensor and qr is
the radiative heat flux. in Equation 2-3 is the force potential. It can be formulated
in some special cases, for example, for gravitational effects (Chapter 1.4 in Ref. 4), but
it is in general rather difficult to derive. Potential energy is therefore often excluded
and the total energy flux is approximated by
1
u H + --- u u k T + u + q r

(2-4)

For a simple compressible fluid, the enthalpy, H, has the form (Ref. 5)
T

H = H ref +

-
Cp dT + --- 1 + ---- -----T

T ref

p ref

dp
p

(2-5)

where p is the absolute pressure. The reference enthalpy, Href, is the enthalpy at
reference temperature, Tref, and reference pressure, pref. Tref is 298.15 K and pref is
one atmosphere. In theory, any value can be assigned to Href (Ref. 7), but for practical
reasons, it is given a positive value according to the following approximations
Solid materials and ideal gases: HrefCp,refTref
Gasliquid: HrefCp,refrefTrefprefref
where the subscript ref indicates that the property is evaluated at the reference state.
The two integrals in Equation 2-5 are sometimes referred to as the sensible enthalpy
(Ref. 7). These are evaluated by numerical integration. The second integral is only
included for gas/liquid since it is commonly much smaller than the first integral for
solids and it is identically zero for ideal gases.
For the evaluation of H to work, it is important that the dependence of
Cp, , and on the temperature are prescribed either via model input or
as a function of the temperature variable. If Cp, , or depends on the
pressure, that dependency must be prescribed either via model input or
by using the variable pA, which is the variable for the absolute pressure.
TO T A L H E A T F L U X

The total heat flux vector is defined as (Ref. 6):

22 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

uU k T + q r

(2-6)

where U is the internal energy. It is related to the enthalpy via


p
H = U + --

(2-7)

What is the difference between Equation 2-4 and Equation 2-7? As an example,
consider a channel with fully developed incompressible flow with all properties of the
fluid independent of pressure and temperature. The walls are assumed to be insulated.
Assume that the viscous heating is neglected. This is a common approximation for
low-speed flows.
There is a pressure drop along the channel that drives the flow. Since there is no viscous
heating and the walls are isolated, Equation 2-5 gives that HinHout. Since
everything else is constant, Equation 2-4 shows that the energy flux into the channel
is higher than the energy flux out of the channel. On the other hand UinUout, so the
heat flux into the channel is equal to the heat flux going out of the channel.
If the viscous heating on the other hand is included, then HinHout (first law of
thermodynamics) and UinUout (since work has been converted to heat).

Heat Flux and Heat Source Variables


This section lists some predefined variables that are available to compute heat fluxes
and sources. All the variable names start with the physics interface prefix. By default
the Heat Transfer interface prefix is ht. As an example, the variable named tflux can
be analyzed using ht.tflux (as long as the physics interface prefix is ht).
TABLE 2-1: HEAT FLUX VARIABLES
VARIABLE

NAME

GEOMETRIC ENTITY LEVEL

tflux

Total Heat Flux

Domains, boundaries

dflux

Conductive Heat Flux

Domains, boundaries

turbflux

Turbulent Heat Flux

Domains, boundaries

aflux

Convective Heat Flux

Domain, boundaries

trlflux

Translational Heat Flux

Domains, boundaries

teflux

Total Energy Flux

Domains, boundaries

not applicable

Radiative Heat Flux

Domains

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

23

TABLE 2-1: HEAT FLUX VARIABLES


VARIABLE

NAME

GEOMETRIC ENTITY LEVEL

ccflux_u

Convective Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Out-of-plane domains (1D


and 2D)

Radiative Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Out-of-plane domains (1D


and 2D), boundaries

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Out-of-plane domains (1D


and 2D)

ntflux

Normal Total Heat Flux,


Extrapolated

Boundaries

ndflux

Normal Conductive Heat Flux,


Extrapolated

Boundaries

naflux

Normal Convective Heat Flux

Boundaries

ntrlflux

Normal Translational Heat Flux

Boundaries

nteflux

Normal Total Energy Flux,


Extrapolated

Boundaries

ndflux_u

Internal Normal Conductive Heat


Flux, Extrapolated, Upside

Interior boundaries

ndflux_d

Internal Normal Conductive Heat


Flux, Extrapolated, Downside

Interior boundaries

naflux_u

Internal Normal Convective Heat


Flux, Extrapolated, Upside

Interior boundaries

naflux_d

Internal Normal Convective Heat


Flux, Downside

Interior boundaries

ntrlflux_u

Internal Normal Translational Heat


Flux, Upside

Interior boundaries

ntrlflux_d

Internal Normal Translational Heat


Flux, Downside

Interior boundaries

ntflux_u

Internal Total Normal Heat Flux,


Upside

Interior boundaries

ntflux_d

Internal Total Normal Heat Flux,


Downside

Interior boundaries

nteflux_u

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux,


Extrapolated, Upside

Interior boundaries

ccflux_d
ccflux_z
rflux_u
rflux_d
rflux_z
q0_u
q0_d
q0_z

24 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

TABLE 2-1: HEAT FLUX VARIABLES


VARIABLE

NAME

GEOMETRIC ENTITY LEVEL

nteflux_d

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux,


Extrapolated, Downside

Interior boundaries

ndflux_acc

Normal Conductive Flux, Accurate

Exterior boundaries

ntflux_acc

Normal Total Heat Flux, Accurate

Exterior boundaries

nteflux_acc

Normal Total Energy Flux, Accurate

Exterior boundaries

ndflux_acc_u

Internal Normal Conductive Flux,


Accurate, Upside

Interior boundaries

ndflux_acc_d

Internal Normal Conductive Flux,


Accurate, Downside

Interior boundaries

ntflux_acc_u

Internal Normal Total Heat Flux,


Accurate, Upside

Interior boundaries

ntflux_acc_d

Internal Normal Total Heat Flux,


Accurate, Downside

Interior boundaries

nteflux_acc_u

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux,


Accurate, Upside

Interior boundaries

nteflux_acc_d

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux,


Accurate, Downside

Interior boundaries

rflux

Radiative Heat Flux

Boundaries

ccflux

Convective Heat Flux

Boundaries

Qtot

Domain Heat Sources

Domains

Qbtot

Boundary Heat Sources

Boundaries

Ql

Line heat source (Line and Point


Heat Sources)

Edges

Qp

Point heat source (Line and Point


Heat Sources)

Points

DOMAIN HEAT FLUXES

On domains the heat fluxes are vector quantities. Their definition can vary depending
on the active physics nodes and selected properties.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

25

Total Heat Flux


On domains the total heat flux, tflux, corresponds to the conductive and convective
heat flux. For accuracy reasons the radiative heat flux is not included.

See Radiative Heat Flux to evaluate the radiative heat flux.

For solid domains, for example heat transfer in solids and biological tissue domains,
the total heat flux is defined by:
tflux = trlflux + dflux
For fluid domains (for example, heat transfer in fluids), the total heat flux is defined by:
tflux = aflux + dflux

Conductive Heat Flux


The conductive heat flux variable, dflux, is evaluated using the temperature gradient
and the effective thermal conductivity:
dflux = k eff T
When the out-of-plane property is activated (1D and 2D only) the conductive heat flux
is defined as follows:
In 2D (dz is the domain thickness):
dflux = d z k eff T
In 1D (Ac is the cross-section area):
dflux = A c k eff T
In the general case keff is the thermal conductivity, k.
For heat transfer in fluids with turbulent flow, keff = k + kT, where kT is the turbulent
thermal conductivity.

26 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

For heat transfer in porous media, keff = keq, where keq is the equivalent conductivity
defined in the Heat Transfer in Porous Media feature.
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media feature requires one of the following
products: Batteries & Fuel Cells Module, CFD Module, Chemical
Reaction Engineering Module, Corrosion Module, Electrochemistry
Module, Electrodeposition Module, Heat Transfer Module, or
Subsurface Flow Module.

Turbulent Heat Flux


The turbulent heat flux variable, turbflux, enables access to the part of the
conductive heat flux that is due to the turbulence.
turbflux = k T T

Convective Heat Flux


The convective heat flux variable, aflux, is defined using the internal energy, E:
aflux = uE
When the out-of-plane property is activated (1D and 2D only) the convective heat flux
is defined as follows:
In 2D (dz is the domain thickness):
aflux = d z uE
In1D (Ac is the domain thickness):
aflux = A c uE
The internal energy, E, is defined by:
ECpT for solid domains
ECpT for ideal gas fluid domains
EHp for other fluid domains
where H is the enthalpy defined by Equation 2-5.

Translational Heat Flux


Similar to convective heat flux but defined for solid domains with translation. The
variable name is trlflux.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

27

Total Energy Flux


The total energy flux, teflux, is defined when viscous heating is enabled:
teflux = uH 0 + dflux + u
where the total enthalpy, H0, is defined as
uu
H 0 = H + -----------2

Radiative Heat Flux


In participating media, the radiative heat flux, qr, is not available for analysis on
domains because it is much more accurate to evaluate the radiative heat source:
Qr = qr
OUT-OF-PLANE DOMAIN FLUXES

When the out-of-plane property is activated (1D and 2D only), out-of-plane domain
fluxes are defined. If there are no out-of-plane physics features, they are evaluated to
zero.

Convective Out-of-Plane Heat Flux


The convective out-of-plane heat flux, ceflux, is generated by the Out-of-Plane
Convective Heat Flux feature.
In 2D:
upside: ccflux_u = h u T ext u T
downside: ccflux_d = h d T ext d T
In 1D:
ccflux_z = h z T ext z T

Radiative Out-of-Plane Heat Flux


The radiative out-of-plane heat flux, rflux, is generated by the Out-of-Plane
Radiationfeature.
In 2D:
4

upside: rflux_u = u T amb u T

28 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

downside: rflux_d = d T amb d T


In 1D:
4

rflux_z = z T amb z T

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux


The convective out-of-plane heat flux, q0, is generated by the Out-of-Plane Heat Flux
feature.
In 2D:
upside: q0_u = h u T ext u T
downside: q0_d = h d T ext d T
In 1D:
q0_z = h z T ext z T
BOUNDARY HEAT FLUXES

All the domain heat fluxes (vector quantity) are also available as boundary heat fluxes.
The boundary heat fluxes are then equal to the mean value of the adjacent domains.
In addition normal boundary heat fluxes (scalar quantity) are available on boundaries.

Normal Total Heat Flux, Extrapolated


The variable ntflux is defined by:
ntflux = mean tflux n

Normal Conductive Heat Flux, Extrapolated


The variable ndflux is defined by:
ndflux = mean dflux n

Normal Convective Heat Flux


The variable naflux is defined by:
naflux = mean aflux n

Normal Translational Heat Flux


The variable ntrlflux is defined by:

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

29

ntrlflux = mean trlflux n

Normal Total Energy Flux, Extrapolated


The variable nteflux is defined by:
nteflux = mean teflux n

Radiative Heat Flux


On boundaries the radiative heat flux, rflux, is a scalar quantity defined as:
4

rflux = T amb T + G T + q w
where the terms respectively account for surface-to-ambient radiative flux,
surface-to-surface radiative flux, and radiation in participating net flux.

Convective Heat Flux


Convective heat flux, ccflux, is defined as the contribution from the Convective Heat
Flux boundary condition:
ccflux = h T ext T
When the out-of-plane property is activated (1D and 2D only) the convective heat flux
is defined as follows:
In 2D (dz is the domain thickness):
ccflux = d z h T ext T
In 1D (Ac is the cross section area):
ccflux = A c h T ext T
INTERNAL BOUNDARY HEAT FLUXES

The internal normal boundary heat fluxes (scalar quantity) are available on interior
boundaries. They are calculated using the upside and the downside value of heat fluxes
from the adjacent domains.

Internal Normal Conductive Heat Flux, Extrapolated, Upside


The variable ndflux_u is defined by:
ndflux_u = up dflux n

Internal Normal Conductive Heat Flux, Extrapolated, Downside


The variable ndflux_d is defined by:

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

ndflux_d = down dflux n

Internal Normal Convective Heat Flux, Extrapolated, Upside


The variable naflux_u is defined by:
naflux_u = up aflux n

Internal Normal Convective Heat Flux, Downside


The variable naflux_d is defined by:
naflux_d = down aflux n

Internal Normal Translational Heat Flux, Upside


The variable ntrlflux_u is defined by:
ntrlflux_u = up trlflux n

Internal Normal Translational Heat Flux, Downside


The variable ntrlflux_d is defined by:
ntrlflux_d = down trlflux n

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux, Extrapolated, Upside


The variable nteflux_u is defined by:
nteflux_u = up teflux n

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux, Extrapolated, Downside


The variable nteflux_d is defined by:
nteflux_d = down teflux n

Internal Total Normal Heat Flux, Upside


The variable ntflux_u is defined by:
ntflux_u = up tflux n

Internal Total Normal Heat Flux, Downside


The variable ntlux_d is defined by:
ntflux_d = down tflux n

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31

ACCURATE FLUXES

Normal Conductive Flux, Accurate


The variable ndflux_acc is defined by:
ndflux_acc = dep.dflux.T
ndflux_acc = dep.uflux.T

if the adjacent domain is on the downside


if the adjacent domain is on the upside

Internal Normal Conductive Flux, Accurate, Downside


The variable ndflux_acc_d is defined by:
ndflux_acc_d = dep.dflux.T

Internal Normal Conductive Flux, Accurate, Upside


The variable ndflux_acc_u is defined by:
ndflux_acc_u = dep.uflux.T

Normal Total Heat Flux, Accurate


The variable ntflux_acc is defined by:
ntflux_acc = ndflux_acc + naflux + ntrlflux

Internal Normal Total Heat Flux, Accurate, Downside


The variable ntflux_acc_d is defined by:
ntflux_acc_d = ndflux_acc_d + naflux_d + ntrlflux_d

Internal Normal Total Heat Flux, Accurate, Upside


The variable ntflux_acc_u is defined by:
ntflux_acc_u = ndflux_acc_u + naflux_u + ntrlflux_u

Normal Total Energy Flux, Accurate


The variable nteflux_acc is defined by:
ntflux_acc = nteflux ndflux + ndflux_acc

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux, Accurate, Downside


The variable nteflux_acc_d is defined by:
nteflux_acc_d = nteflux_d ndflux_d + ndflux_acc_d

Internal Normal Total Energy Flux, Accurate, Upside


The variable nteflux_acc_u is defined by:

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

nteflux_acc_u = nteflux_u ndflux_u + ndflux_acc_u


DOMAIN HEAT SOURCES

The sum of the domain heat sources added by different physics features are available
in one variable, Qtot (SI unit: W/m3). This variable Qtot is the sum of:
Q which is the heat source added by Heat Source(described for the Heat Transfer
interface and Electromagnetic Heat Source (described for the Joule Heating
interface in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual) feature.
Qmet which is the heat source added by the Bioheat feature.
The out-of-plane contributions (convective heat flux, heat flux, and
radiation), and the blood contribution in Bioheat are considered flux so
that they are not added to Qtot.
BOUNDARY HEAT SOURCES

The sum of the boundary heat sources added by different boundary conditions is
available in one variable, Qb,tot (SI unit: W/m2). This variable Qbtot is the sum of:
Qb which is the boundary heat source added by the Boundary Heat Source
boundary condition.
Qsh which is the boundary heat source added by the Boundary Electromagnetic
Heat Source boundary condition (described for the Joule Heating interface in the
COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual).
Qs: which is the boundary heat source added by a Layer Heat Source subfeature of
a highly conductive layer.
LINE AND POINT HEAT SOURCES

The sum of the line heat sources is available in a variable called Ql (SI unit: W/m).
The sum of the point heat sources is available in a variable called Qp (SI unit: W).

In 2D axisymmetric models, the SI unit for the variable Qp is W/m.

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33

About the Boundary Conditions for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces
TE M P E R A T U RE A N D H E A T F L U X B O U N D A R Y C O N D I T I O N S

The heat equation accepts two basic types of boundary conditions: specified
temperature and specified heat flux. The specified temperature is of a constraint type
and prescribes the temperature at a boundary:
T = T0

on

while the latter specifies the inward heat flux


n q = q0

on

where
q is the conductive heat flux vector (SI unit: W/m2) where q = kT.
n is the normal vector of the boundary.
q0 is inward heat flux (SI unit: W/m2), normal to the boundary.
The inward heat flux, q0, is often a sum of contributions from different heat transfer
processes (for example, radiation and convection). The special case q0 0 is called
thermal insulation.
A common type of heat flux boundary conditions are those where q0hTinfT,
where Tinf is the temperature far away from the modeled domain and the heat transfer
coefficient, h, represents all the physics occurring between the boundary and far
away. It can include almost anything, but the most common situation is that h
represents the effect of an exterior fluid cooling or heating the surface of solid, a
phenomenon often referred to as convective cooling or heating.

The Heat Transfer Module contains a set of correlations for convective


heat flux and heating. See About the Heat Transfer Coefficients.

O VE R R I D I N G M E C H A N I S M F O R H E A T TR A N S F E R B O U N D A R Y C O N D I T I O N S

This section includes information for features that may require additional
modules.

34 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Many boundary conditions are available in heat transfer. Some of them can be
associated (for example, Heat Flux and Highly Conductive Layer). Others cannot be
associated (for example, Heat Flux and Thermal Insulation).
Several categories of boundary condition exist in heat transfer. Table 2-2 gives the
overriding rules for these groups.
Temperature, Convective Outflow, Open Boundary, Inflow Heat Flux
Thermal Insulation, Symmetry, Periodic Heat Condition
Highly Conductive Layer
Heat Flux, Convective Heat Flux
Boundary Heat Source, Radiation Group
Surface-to-Surface Radiation, Re-radiating Surface, Prescribed Radiosity,
Surface-to-Ambient Radiation
Opaque Surface, Incident Intensity, Continuity on Interior Boundaries
Thin Thermally Resistive Layers, Thermal Contact
TABLE 2-2: OVERRIDING RULES FOR HEAT TRANSFER BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
A\B

1-Temperature

2-Thermal Insulation

3-Highly Conductive
Layer

4-Heat Flux

X
X

X
X

5-Boundary heat source


6-Surface-to-surface
radiation

7-Opaque Surface
8-Thin Thermally
Resistive Layer

X
X

When there is a boundary condition A above a boundary condition B in the model


tree and both conditions apply to the same boundary, use Table 2-2 to determine if A
is overridden by B or not:
Locate the line that corresponds to the A group (see above the definition of the
groups). In the table above only the first member of the group is displayed.
Locate the column that corresponds to the group of B.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

35

If the corresponding cell is empty A and B contribute. If it contains an X, B


overrides A.
Group 4 and group 5 boundary conditions are always contributing. That
means that they never override any other boundary condition. But they
might be overridden.

Example 1
Consider a boundary where Temperature is applied. Then a Surface-to-Surface Radiation
boundary condition is applied on the same boundary afterward.
Temperature belongs to group 1.
Surface-to-surface radiation belongs to group 6.
The cell on the line of group 1 and the column of group 6 is empty so Temperature
and Surface-to-Surface radiation contribute.

Example 2
Consider a boundary where Convective Heat Flux is applied. Then a Symmetry boundary
condition is applied on the same boundary afterward.
Convective Heat Flux belongs to group 4.
Symmetry belongs to group 2.
The cell on the line of group 4 and the column of group 2 contains an X so
Convective Heat Flux is overridden by Symmetry.

In Example 2 above, if Symmetry followed by Convective Heat Flux is


added, the boundary conditions contribute.

Radiative Heat Transfer in Transparent Media


This discussion so far has considered heat transfer by means of conduction and
convection. The third mechanism for heat transfer is radiation. Consider an
environment with fully transparent or fully opaque objects. Thermal radiation denotes
the stream of electromagnetic waves emitted from a body at a certain temperature.

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

DERIVING THE RADIATIVE HEAT FLUX

J =G + T4
G

,T

,T

Figure 2-1: Arriving irradiation (left), leaving radiosity (right).


Consider Figure 2-1. A point x is located on a surface that has an emissivity ,
reflectivity , absorptivity , and temperature T. Assume the body is opaque, which
means that no radiation is transmitted through the body. This is true for most solid
bodies.
The total arriving radiative flux at x is named the irradiation, G. The total outgoing
radiative flux x is named the radiosity, J. The radiosity is the sum of the reflected
radiation and the emitted radiation:
J = G + T

(2-8)

The net inward radiative heat flux, q, is then given the difference between the
irradiation and the radiosity:
q = GJ

(2-9)

Using Equation 2-8 and Equation 2-9 J can be eliminated and a general expression is
obtained for the net inward heat flux into the opaque body based on G and T.
q = 1 G T

(2-10)

Most opaque bodies also behave as ideal gray bodies, meaning that the absorptivity and
emissivity are equal, and the reflectivity is therefore given from the following relation:
= = 1

(2-11)

Thus, for ideal gray bodies, q is given by:


4

q = G T

(2-12)

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

37

This is the equation used as a radiation boundary condition.


R A D I A T I O N TY P E S

It is common to differentiate between two types of radiative heat transfer:


surface-to-ambient radiation and surface-to-surface radiation. Equation 2-12 holds
for both radiation types, but the irradiation term, G, is different for each of them. The
Heat Transfer interface supports both types of radiation.
SURFACE-TO-AMBIENT RADIATION

Surface-to-ambient radiation assumes the following:


The ambient surroundings in view of the surface have a constant temperature,
Tamb.
The ambient surroundings behave as a blackbody. This means that the emissivity
and absorptivity are equal to 1, and zero reflectivity.
These assumptions allows the irradiation to be explicitly expressed as
4

G = T amb

(2-13)

Inserting Equation 2-13 into Equation 2-12 results in the net inward heat flux for
surface-to-ambient radiation
4

q = T amb T

(2-14)

For boundaries where a surface-to-ambient radiation is specified, COMSOL


Multiphysics adds this term to the right-hand side of Equation 2-14.

Theory for the Radiation in Participating Media User Interface


Radiation and Participating Media Interactions

Consistent and Inconsistent Stabilization Methods for the Heat


Transfer User Interfaces
The different versions of the Heat Transfer interface have this advanced option to set
the stabilization method parameters. This section provides information pertaining to
these options.
To display this section, click the Show button (

38 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

) and select Stabilization.

CONSISTENT STABILIZATION

This section contains two consistent stabilization methods: streamline diffusion and
crosswind diffusion. These are consistent stabilization methods, which means that they
do not perturb the original transport equation.
The consistent stabilization methods take effect for fluids and for solids with
Translational Motion. A stabilization method is active when the corresponding check
box is selected.

Continuous Casting: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Thermal_Processing/continuous_casting

Streamline Diffusion
Streamline diffusion is active by default and should remain active for optimal
performance for heat transfer in fluids or other applications that include a convective
or translational term.

Crosswind Diffusion
Streamline diffusion introduces artificial diffusion in the streamline direction. This is
often enough to obtain a smooth numerical solution provided that the exact solution
of the heat equation does not contain any discontinuities. At sharp gradients, however,
undershoots and overshoots can occur in the numerical solution. Crosswind diffusion
addresses these spurious oscillations by adding diffusion orthogonal to the streamline
directionthat is, in the crosswind direction.
INCONSISTENT STABILIZATION

This section contains one inconsistent stabilization method: isotropic diffusion.


Adding isotropic diffusion is equivalent to adding a term to the physical diffusion
coefficient. This means that the original problem is not solved, which is why isotropic
diffusion is an inconsistent stabilization method. Still, the added diffusion definitely
dampens the effects of oscillations, but try to minimize the use of isotropic diffusion.
By default there is no isotropic diffusion. To add isotropic diffusion, select the Isotropic
diffusion check box. The field for the tuning parameter id then becomes available. The

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

39

default value is 0.25; increase or decrease the value of id to increase or decrease the
amount of isotropic stabilization.

See Show Stabilization and Stabilization Techniques in the COMSOL


Multiphysics Reference Manual.

Moist Air Theory


For the Heat Transfer in Fluids physics, the moist air functionality is provided to
calculate the relative humidity and to deduce if there is condensation. The following
theory assumes that the moist air is an ideal gas.

Heat Transfer in Fluids

HUMIDITY

Moisture Content
The moisture content (also called mixing ratio or humidity ratio) is defined as the ratio
of water vapor mass mv to dry air mass ma:
pv Mv
mv
x vap = ------- = -------------ma
pa M a

(2-15)

where pv is the water vapor partial pressure, pa is the dry air partial pressure, and Ma
and Mv are the molar mass of dry air and water vapor, respectively. Without
condensation, the moisture content is not affected by temperature and pressure.
The Moisture content represents a ratio of mass, and it is thus a dimensionless number
(SI unit: 1).

Relative Humidity
The relative humidity of an air mixture is expressed as follows:
pv
= -------p sat

40 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

(2-16)

where pv is the water vapor partial pressure and psat is the saturation pressure of water
vapor.
According to Daltons law, the total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of all the
partial pressures of each individual gas; that is, p=pv+pa where pa is the dry air
partial pressure.
The relative humidity formulation is often used to quantify humidity. However, for a
same quantity of moisture content, the relative humidity changes with temperature
and pressure, so in order to compare different values of , it has to be at the same
temperature and pressure conditions.
This quantity is very useful to study the condensation as it defines the boundary
between the liquid phase and the vapor phase. In fact, when the relative humidity
reaches unity, it means that the vapor is saturated and that water vapor will condense.
The Reference relative humidity (SI unit: 1) is a quantity defined between 0 and 1,
where 0 corresponds to dry air and 1 to a water vapor-saturated air. This Reference
relative humidity associated to the Reference temperature and the Reference pressure
are used to calculate the moisture content. Then the thermodynamical properties of
moist air can be deduced through the mixture formula described below.
The Reference relative humidity cannot be greater than one, above which
value the water vapor is condensing. If the value is greater than one, the
Reference relative humidity value is forced to be one. The condensation
area cannot be simulated.

Specific Humidity
The specific humidity is defined as the ratio of water vapor mv to the total mass
mtot=mv+ma:

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

41

mv
= ----------m tot

(2-17)

As the water vapor only accounts for a few percent in the total mass, the
moisture content and the specific humidity are very close: xvap (only
for low values). For bigger values of , the two quantities are more
precisely related by:

x vap = ------------1

Concentration
The concentration is defined by:
nv
c v = -----V

(2-18)

where nv is the amount of water vapor in mol and V is the total volume. The water
vapor concentration is defined in this SI unit: mol/m3.
According to the ideal gas hypothesis, the saturation concentration is defined as
follows:
p sat T
c sat = -----------------RT
SATURATION STATE

The saturation state is reached when the relative humidity reaches one. It means that
the partial pressure of the water vapor is equal to the saturation pressure (which
depends on the temperature too).
The saturation pressure can be defined using the Clausius-Clapeyron formulation of
the vaporization-condensation equilibrium. Under ideal gas hypothesis and
considering only the gas volume:
h fg M v p
dp
------= ------------------2
dT
RT

(2-19)

where p is the pressure, T is the temperature, hfg is the latent heat of vaporization, Mv
is the molar mass of water vapor, and R is the universal gas constant.

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

By integrating, you can obtain the saturation pressure equation:


h fg M v 1
1
p sat = p ref exp ---------------- --------- ---------

R
T
T

ref
sat

(2-20)

where the reference values are: pref101325Pa (1 atm), Tref373.15K (100 C),
and hfg=2.26106J/kg.
The temperature and saturation pressure can easily be deduced from this formulation.
MOIST AIR PROPERTIES

The thermodynamical properties of moist air can be found with some mixture laws.

Preliminary Definitions
Molar Fraction The molar fraction of dry air Xa and the molar fraction of water vapor
Xv are defined such as:

p p sat
pa
na
X a = --------- = ----- = --------------------p
n tot
p

(2-21)

pv
p sat
nv
X v = --------- = ----- = -----------n tot
p
p

(2-22)

where na and nv are respectively the amount of dry air and water vapor, ntot is the total
amount of moist air in mol, where pa and pv are the partial pressure of dry air and water
vapor, p is the pressure, is the relative humidity, and psat is the saturation pressure.

XaXv1

Relation Between Relative Humidity And Moisture Content Moisture content and
relative humidity can be linked with the following expression:

x vap p
= --------------------------------------M
v
p sat -------- + x vap
Ma

(2-23)

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43

Mixture Properties
The thermodynamical properties are built through a mixture formula. The expressions
depend on dry air properties and pure steam properties and are balanced by the mass
fraction.
Density: According to the ideal gas law, the density mixture m expression is defined

as follows:
p
m = -------- M a X a + M v X v
RT

(2-24)

where Ma and Mv are respectively the molar mass of dry air and water vapor,
respectively, and Xa and Xv are the molar fraction of dry air and water vapor,
respectively.
The ideal gas assumption sets the compressibility factor and the
enhancement factor to the unity. In fact, the accuracy lost by this
assumption is small as the pure steam represents a small fraction.
Specific heat capacity at constant pressure: According to Ref. 10, the heat capacity at

constant pressure of a mixture is:


Ma
Mv
c p,m = --------- X a c p,a + --------- X v c p,v
Mm
Mm

(2-25)

where Mm represents the mixture molar fraction and is defined by


Mm=XaMa+XvMv and where cp,a and cp,v are the heat capacity at constant pressure
of dry air and steam, respectively.
Dynamic viscosity: According to Ref. 9 and Ref. 10, the dynamic viscosity is defined

as follows:
m =

Xi i
-------------------------X j ij
i = a,v

j = a,v

where ij is given by

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

(2-26)

1
---

ij

1 2
---

i 2 Mj 4
1 + ----- -------
j M i
= ----------------------------------------------1
Mi
8 1 + -------

M j

--2

Here, a and v are the dynamic viscosity of dry air and steam, respectively.
Thermal conductivity: According to Ref. 9 and Ref. 10, the thermal conductivity of

the mixture is defined similarly:


km =

Xi ki
-------------------------X j ij
i = a,v

(2-27)

j = a,v

where ka and kv are the thermal conductivity of dry air and steam, respectively.

Pure Component Properties


The dry air and steam properties used to define the mixture properties are
temperature-dependent high-order polynomials. The polynomials have been
computed according to Ref. 1 for dry air properties and Ref. 8 for pure steam
properties. The steam properties are based on the Industrial Formulation
IAPWS-IF97.
The valid temperature range is 200KT1200K for dry air properties and
273.15KT873.15K for steam properties.

Results and Analysis Variables


The following variables are provided to display the related quantities:
Moisture content xvap.
Vapor mass fraction omega_moist.
Concentration of water vapor c.
Relative humidity phi. This variable corresponds to the calculated with the system
temperature and pressure).
Condensation indicator condInd; this indicator is set to 1 if condensation has been
detected (and 0 if not.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

45

Functions
Three functions are defined and can be used as feature parameters as well as in post
processing.
ht.fluid1.fc(RH,T, pA), where RH is the relative humidity 0 1 , T is the
temperature (SI unit: K) and pA is the pressure (SI unit: Pa). It returns the
corresponding water vapor concentration (SI unit: mol/m^3).

The concentration computation assumes that the ideal gas assumption is


valid
ht.fluid1.fxvap(RH, T, pA), where RH is the relative humidity 0 1 , T is
the temperature (SI units: K) and pA is the pressure (SI units Pa). It returns the
moisture content (SI unit: 1).
ht.fluid1.fpsat(T), where T is the temperature (SI unit: K). It returns the
saturation pressure (SI unit: Pa).

About Heat Transfer with Phase Change


The Heat Transfer with Phase Change node is used to solve the heat equation after
specifying the properties of a phase change material according to the apparent heat
capacity formulation.
Instead of adding a latent heat L in the energy balance equation when the material
reaches its phase change temperature Tpc, it is assumed that the transformation occurs
in a temperature interval between Tpc T2 and Tpc T2. In this interval, the
material phase is modeled by a smoothed function, , representing the fraction of
phase after transition, which is equal to 0 before Tpc T2 and to 1 after Tpc T
2. The enthalpy H is expressed by:
H = 1 H phase1 + H phase2
where Hphase1 and Hphase2 are the enthalpies when the material is in phase 1 or in
phase 2, respectively. Differentiating with respect to temperature, this equality
provides the following formula for the specific heat capacity:
d
C p = 1 d H p phase1 + d H p phase2 + H phase2 H phase1
dT
dT
dT

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

which can be rewritten as:


C p = 1 C p phase1 + 2 C p phase2 + H phase2 H phase1

d
dT

Here, 1 and 2 are equal to 1 and , respectively. The specific heat capacity is the
sum of an equivalent heat capacity Ceq:
C eq = 1 C p phase1 + 2 C p phase2
and the distribution of latent heat CL:
C L T = H phase2 H phase1

d
dT

In the ideal case, when is the Heaviside function (equal to 0 before Tpc
d
and to 1 after Tpc),
is the Dirac pulse.
dT
Therefore, CL is the enthalpy jump L at temperature Tpc that is added
when you have a pure substance.
The latent heat distribution CL is approximated by
CL T = L

d
dT

so that the total heat per unit mass released during the phase transformation coincides
with the latent heat:

T
T pc + -------2
C L T dT
T
T pc -------2

= L

T
T pc + -------2 d
dT
T
T pc -------- d T
2

= L

The latent heat L may depend on the absolute pressure. It should not
depend on the temperature.
Finally, the apparent heat capacity Cp, used in the heat equation, is given by:
C p = 1 C p phase1 + 2 C p phase2 + C L
The equivalent heat conductivity and volumetric heat capacity reduce to:

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

47

k = 1 k phase1 + 2 k phase2
and
C p = 1 phase1 C p phase1 + 2 phase1 C p phase2
The density is thus given by:
1 phase1 C p phase1 + 2 phase1 C p phase2
= --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 C p phase1 + 2 C p phase2
To satisfy energy and mass conservation in phase change models, particular attention
should be paid to the density in time simulations. When the material density is not
constant over time, for example, dependent on the temperature, volume change is
expected.
Moving Mesh User Interface (described in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual) has the tools to deform the geometry accordingly.
However, if Moving Mesh is not used, it is recommended to set material
density to a constant value.

Theory for the Thermal Contact Feature


The Thermal Contact feature has correlations to evaluate the joint conductance at two
contacting surfaces.
The heat fluxes at the upside and downside boundaries depend on the temperature
difference according to the relations:
n d k d T d = h T u T d + rQ fric
n u k u T u = h T d T u + 1 r Q fric

48 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

At a microscopic level, contact is made at a finite number of spots as in Figure 2-2.

masp,u

asp,u

Figure 2-2: Contacting surfaces at the microscopic level.


The joint conductance h has three contributions: the constriction conductance, hc,
from the contact spots, the gap conductance, hg, due to the fluid at the interstitial
space, and the radiative conductance, hr:
h = hc + hg + hr
SURFACE ASPERITIES

The microscopic surface asperities are characterized by the average height uasp and
dasp and the average slope muasp and mdasp. The RMS values asp and masp are
(4.16 in Ref. 11):
asp =

u2 asp + d2 asp

m asp =

m u2 asp + m d2 asp

CONSTRICTION CONDUCTANCE

Cooper-Mikic-Yovanovich (CMY) Correlation


The Cooper-Mikic Yovanovich (CMY) correlation is valid for isotropic rough surfaces
and assumes plastic deformation of the surface asperities. It relates hc to the asperities
and pressure load at the contact interface:
m asp p 0.95
h c = 1.25k contact ----------- -------
asp H c
Here, Hc is the microhardness of the softer material, p is the contact pressure and
kcontact is the harmonic mean of the contacting surface conductivities:
2k u k d
k contact = -----------------ku + kd

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

49

When ku (resp. kd) is not isotropic, it is replaced by its normal


conductivity nTkun (resp. nTkdn).
The relative pressure pHc can be evaluated by specifying Hc directly or using the
following relation (4.16.1 in Ref. 11) for the relative pressure using c1 and c2, the
Vickers correlation coefficient and size index:
1

----------------------------------
1 + 0.071c2
p
p
------- = --------------------------------------------------
c2
Hc
asp

- m asp
c 1 1.62 --------

Here 0 is equal to 1 m. For materials with Brinell hardness between 1.30 and
7.60 GPa, c1 and c2 are given by the correlations below (4.16.1 in Ref. 11):
c1
HB 3
HB
HB 2
------= 4.0 5.77 -------- + 4.0 -------- 0.61 --------
H 0
H0
H0
H0
HB
c 2 = 0.37 + 0.442 -------c1
The Brinell hardness is denoted by HB and H0 is equal to 3.178 GPa.

Mikic Elastic Correlation


The Mikic correlation is valid for isotropic rough surfaces and assumes elastic
deformations of surface asperities. It gives hc by the following relation:
0.94
m asp
2p
h c = 1.54k contact ----------- ------------------------
asp mE contact

Here, Econtact is an effective Youngs modulus for the contact interface, satisfying
(4.16.3 in Ref. 11):
1 u2 1 d2
1 -----------------= --------------- + --------------Eu
Ed
E contact
where Eu and Ed are the Youngs moduli of the two contacting surfaces and u and d
are the Poissons ratios.

50 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

GAP CONDUCTANCE

The gap conductance due to interstitial fluid cannot be neglected for high fluid
thermal conductivity or high contact pressure. The parallel-plate gap gas correlation
assumes that the interstitial fluid is a gas and defines hg by:
kg
h g = -----------------Y + Mg
Here kg is the gas conductivity, Y denotes the mean separation thickness (see
Figure 2-2), and Mg is the gas parameter equal to:
M g =

kB Tg
= -----------------------2
2D p g

In these relations, is the contact thermal accommodation parameter, is a gas


property parameter (equal to 1.7 for air), is the gas mean free path, kB is the
Boltzmann constant, D is the average gas particle diameter, pg is the gas pressure
(often the atmospheric pressure), and Tg is the gap temperature equal to:
Tu + Td
T g = -------------------2
RADIATIVE CONDUCTANCE

At high temperatures, above 600 C, radiative conductance needs to be considered.


The gray-diffuse parallel plate model provides the following formula for hr:
u d
h r = ---------------------------------- T u3 + T u2 T d + T u T d2 + T d3
u + d u d
which implies that:
u d
h r T u T d = ---------------------------------- T u4 T d4
u + d u d
u d
h r T d T u = ---------------------------------- T d4 T u4
u + d u d
THERMAL FRICTION

The friction heat, Qfric, is partitioned into rQfric and 1rQfric at the contact
interface. If the two bodies are identical, r and 1r would be 0.5 so that half of the
friction heat goes to each surface. However, in the general case where the two bodies

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

51

are made of different materials, the partition rate might not be 0.5. The Charrons
relation (Ref. 12) defines r as:
1
r = --------------1 + d

d =

u C p u k u
------------------------ d C p d k d

and symmetrically, 1r is:


1
1 r = --------------1 + u

u =

d C p d k d
------------------------ u C p u k u

For anisotropic conductivities, nTkdn (resp. nTkun) replaces kd (resp.


ku).

Thermal Contact

Contact Switch: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Thermal_Contact_and_Friction/contact_switch

52 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

About the Heat Transfer Coefficients


One of the most common boundary conditions when modeling heat transfer is
convective cooling or heating whereby a fluid cools or heats a surface by natural or
forced convection. In principle, it is possible to model this process in two ways:
Use a heat transfer coefficient on the surfaces
Extend the model to describe the flow and heat transfer in the surrounding fluid
The second approach is the correct approach if the geometry or the external flow is
complicated. The Heat Transfer Module includes the Conjugate Heat Transfer
interface for this purpose. However, such a simulations can become costly, both in
terms of computational time and memory requirement.
The first method is simple, yet powerful and efficient. Convective heat flux is then
modeled by specifying the heat flux on the boundaries that interface with the fluid as
being proportional to the temperature difference across a fictitious thermal boundary
layer. Mathematically, the heat flux is described by the equation
n k T = h T inf T
where h is a heat transfer coefficient and Tinf the temperature of the external fluid far
from the boundary.
The main difficulty in using heat transfer coefficients is in calculating or specifying the
appropriate value of the h coefficient. That coefficient depends on the fluids material
properties, and the surface temperatureand, for forced-convection, also on the
fluids flow rate. In addition, the geometrical configuration affects the coefficient. The
Heat Transfer interface provides built-in functions for heat transfer coefficients. For
most engineering purposes, the use of these coefficients is an accurate and numerically
efficient modeling approach.
In this section:
Heat Transfer Coefficient Theory
Nature of the Flowthe Grashof Number
Heat Transfer Coefficients External Natural Convection
Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Natural Convection

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T S

53

Heat Transfer Coefficients External Forced Convection


Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Forced Convection

The Heat Transfer Interface


Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

Heat Transfer Coefficient Theory


It is possible to divide convection heat flux into four main categories depending on the
type of convection conditions (natural or forced) and on the type of geometry (internal
or external convection flow). In addition, these four cases can all experience either
laminar or turbulent flow conditions, resulting in a total of eight types of convection,
as in Figure 2-3.
Natural

Forced

External

Internal

Laminar Flow

Turbulent Flow

Figure 2-3: The eight possible categories of convective heat flux.


The difference between natural and forced convection is that in the latter case an
external force such as a fan creates the flow. In natural convection, buoyancy forces
induced by temperature differences and the thermal expansion of the fluid drive the
flow.

54 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Heat transfer handbooks generally contain a large set of empirical and theoretical
correlations for h coefficients. This module includes a subset of them. The expressions
are based on the following set of dimensionless numbers:
The Nusselt number, NuL(Re, Pr, Ra)hL/k
The Reynolds number, ReLU L/
The Prandtl number, PrCp/k
The Rayleigh number, RaGr Pr 2 gCp T L3/(k)
where
h is the heat transfer coefficient (SI unit: W/(m2K)).
L is the characteristic length (SI unit: m).
T is the temperature difference between surface and external fluid bulk (SI unit:
K).
g is the acceleration of gravity (SI unit: m/s2).
k is the thermal conductivity of the fluid (SI unit: W/(mK)).
is the fluid density (SI unit: kg/m3).
U is the bulk velocity (SI unit: m/s).
is the dynamic viscosity (SI unit: Pas).
Cp equals the heat capacity of the fluid (SI unit: J/(kgK)).
is the thermal expansivity (SI unit: 1/K)
Further, Gr refers to the Grashof number, which is defined as the ratio between the
buoyancy force and the viscous force.

Nature of the Flowthe Grashof Number


In cases of externally driven flow, such as forced convection, the flows nature is
characterized by the Reynolds number, Re, which describes the ratio of the inertial to
viscous forces. However, the velocity is largely unknown for internally driven flows
such as natural convection. In such cases the Grashof number, Gr, characterizes the
flow. It describes the ratio of the internal driving force (buoyancy force) to a viscous
force acting on the fluid. Similar to the Reynolds number it requires the definition of
a length scale, the fluids physical properties, and the temperature scale (temperature
difference). The Grashof number is defined as:

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T S

55

g T s T 0 L
GrL = ------------------------------------2

where g is the acceleration of gravity, is the fluids coefficient of volumetric thermal
expansion, Ts denotes the temperature of the hot surface, T0 equals the temperature
of the surrounding air, L is the length scale, represents the fluids dynamic viscosity,
and is the density.
In general, the coefficient of volumetric thermal expansion is given by
1
= --- -------
T

which for an ideal gas reduces to


= 1T
The transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs at a Gr value of 109; the flow is
turbulent for larger values.

Heat Transfer Coefficients External Natural Convection


VE R T I C A L WA L L

The correlations are equations 9.26 and 9.27 in Ref. 1:

0.67Ra L1 / 4

k-
----------------------------------------------------------0.68
+
Ra L 10 9

L
9 / 16 4 / 9
0.492k

1 + ------------------ C p

h =

2
k
0.387Ra L1 / 6

---- 0.825 + ------------------------------------------------------------- Ra L 10 9


9
/
16
8
/
27
L
0.492k

1 + -------------------


C p

(2-28)

where L, the height of the wall, is a correlation input and


g T p C p T T ext L 3
Ra L = --------------------------------------------------------------------------k

56 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

(2-29)

where in turn g is the acceleration of gravity equal to 9.81 m/s2. All material
properties are evaluated at TText2.
INCLINED WALL

The correlations are equations 9.26 and 9.27 in Ref. 1 (same as for vertical wall):

0.67 cos Ra L 1 / 4
k-
--- Ra L 10 9
L 0.68 + --------------------------------------------------------9 / 16 4 / 9
1 + 0.492k

-------------------
C p

h =

2
k
0.387Ra L1 / 6

---- 0.825 + ------------------------------------------------------------- Ra L 10 9


9
/
16
8
/
27
L
1 + 0.492k

-------------------

C p

(2-30)

where L, the height of the wall, is a correlation input and is the tilt angle (angle
between the wall and the vertical direction, = 0 for vertical walls). These
correlations are valid for 60 60.
The definition of Raleigh number, RaL, is analog to these for vertical walls and is given
by the following:
g T p C p T T ext L 3
Ra L = --------------------------------------------------------------------------k

(2-31)

where in turn g denotes the gravitational acceleration, equal to 9.81 m/s2.


For turbulent flow, 1 is used instead of cos in the expression for h, because this gives
better accuracy (see Ref. 3).
According to Ref. 1., correlations for inclined walls are only satisfactory
for the top side of a cold plate or the down face of a hot plate. Hence,
these correlations are not recommended for the bottom side of a cold face
and for the top side of a hot plate.
The laminar-turbulent transition depends on (see Ref. 3). Unfortunately, few data
is available about this transition. There is some data available in Ref. 3 but this data
gives only approximations of this transition, according to the authors. In addition, data
is only provided for water (Pr around 6). For this reasons, we define a flow as
turbulent, independently of value, when

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T S

57

g T p C p T T ext L 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 9
k
All material properties are evaluated at TText2.
HORIZONTAL PLATE, UPSIDE

The correlations are equations 9.309.32 in Ref. 1 but can also be found as
equations 7.77 and 7.78 in Ref. 3.
If TText, then

h =

k--0.54Ra L1 / 4 Ra L 10 7
L
k--0.15Ra L1 / 3 Ra L 10 7
L

(2-32)

k
h = ---- 0.27Ra L1 / 4
L

(2-33)

while if T Text, then

RaL is given by Equation 2-29, and L, the plate diameter (defined as area/perimeter,
see Ref. 3) is a correlation input. The material data are evaluated at TText2.
HORIZONTAL PLATE, DOWNSIDE

Equation 2-32 is used when T Text and Equation 2-33 is used when T Text.
Otherwise it is the same implementation as for Horizontal plate, upside.

Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Natural Convection


N A R R O W C H I M N E Y, P A R A L L E L P L A T E S

If RaL HL and T Text, then


k 1
h = ----- ------ Ra L
H 24

(2-34)

where L, the plate distance, and H, the chimney height, are correlation inputs
(equation 7.96 in Ref. 3). RaL is given by Equation 2-29. The material data are
evaluated at TText2.

58 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Narrow Chimney, Circular Tube


If RaDHD, then
k 1
h = ----- ---------- Ra D
H 128
where D, the tube diameter, and H, the chimney height, are correlation inputs (table
7.2 in Ref. 3 with DhD). RaD is given by Equation 2-29 with L replaced by D. The
material data are evaluated at TText2.

Heat Transfer Coefficients External Forced Convection


P L A T E , A VE R A G E D TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T

This correlation is an assembly of equations 7.34 and 7.41 in Ref. 1:

0.3387Pr 1 / 3 Re L1 / 2
k- -------------------------------------------------------------- 2 --Re L 5 10 5
h = L 1 + 0.0468 Pr 2 / 3 1 / 4

k 1/3
2 --4/5
5
L- Pr 0.037Re L 871 Re L 5 10

(2-35)

where Prcpk and ReLUextL. L, the plate length and Uext, the exterior
velocity are correlation inputs. The material data are evaluated at TText2.
P L A T E , L O C A L TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T

This correlation corresponds to equations 5.79b and 5.131 in Ref. 3:

h =

k
--------------------------------- 0.332Pr 1 / 3 Re x1 / 2 Re x 5 10 5
max x eps
k
--------------------------------- 0.0296Pr 1 / 3 Re x4 / 5 Re x 5 10 5
max x eps

(2-36)

where Prcpk and RexUextx. x, the position along the plate, and Uext, the
exterior velocity are correlation inputs. The material data are evaluated at TText2.

Heat Transfer Coefficients Internal Forced Convection


I S O T H E R M A L TU B E

This correlation corresponds to equations 8.55 and 8.61 in Ref. 1:

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R C O E F F I C I E N T S

59


k--3.66
Re D 2500

h =
k
0.14
4 / 5 Pr n ----------- ---- 0.027Re D
Re D 2500
T
D

(2-37)

where Prcpk, ReDUextD and n0.3 if TText and n0.4 if T Text. D,


the tube diameter and Uext, the exterior velocity, are correlation inputs. All material
data are evaluated at Text except T which is evaluated at the wall temperature, T.

60 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

About Highly Conductive Layers


This module supports heat transfer in highly conductive layers in 3D, 2D,
and 2D axisymmetry. Also see Highly Conductive Layer Nodes.

The highly conductive layer feature is efficient for modeling heat transfer in thin layers
without the need to create a fine mesh for them. The material in the thin layer must
be a good thermal conductor. A good example is a copper trace on a printed circuit
board, where the traces are good thermal conductors compared to the boards
substrate material. More generally, the highly conductive layer feature can be applied
in a part of a geometry with the following properties:
The part is a thin layer compared to the thickness of the adjacent geometry
The part is a good thermal conductor compared to the adjacent geometry
Because the layer is very thin and has a high thermal conductivity, you can assume that
no variations in temperature and in-plane heat flux exist along the layers thickness.
Furthermore, think of the difference in heat flux in the layers normal direction
between its upper and lower face as a heat source or sink that is smeared out along the
layer thickness.
A significant benefit is that a layer can be represented as a boundary instead of a
domain, which simplifies the geometry and reduces the required number of mesh
elements. Figure 2-4 shows an example where a highly conductive layer reduces the
mesh density significantly.

ABOUT HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYERS

61

Copper wire modeled


with a mesh

Copper wire represented as a


highly conductive layer

Figure 2-4: Modeling a copper wire as a domain (top) requires a denser mesh compared to
modeling it as a boundary with a highly conductive layer (bottom).
To describe heat transfer in highly conductive layers, the Highly Conductive Layer
feature uses a variant of the heat equation that describes the in-plane heat flux in the
layer:
T
d s s C s ------- + t d s k s tT = q q + d s Q S = q s
t

(2-38)

Here the operator t denotes the del or nabla operator projected onto the plane of
the highly conductive layer. The properties in the equation are:
s is the layer density (kgm3)
Cs is the layer heat capacity (J(kgK))
ks is the layer thermal conductivity at constant pressure (W(mK))
ds is the layer thickness (m)
q is the heat flux from the surroundings into the layer (Wm2)
q is the heat flux from the layer into the domain (Wm2)
Qs represents internal heat sources within the conductive layer (Wm3)
qs is the net outflux of heat through the top and bottom faces of the layer (Wm2)
With the above boundary equation inserted, the general heat flux boundary condition
becomes
T
n q = d s s C p s ------- t d s k s tT on
t

62 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Theory of Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer


Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes

When the object to model in COMSOL Multiphysics is thin or slender enough along
one of its geometry dimensions, there is usually only a small variation in temperature
along the objects thickness or cross section. For such objects, it is efficient to reduce
the model geometry to 2D or even 1D and use the out-of-plane heat transfer
mechanism. Figure 2-5 shows examples of likely situations where this type of geometry
reduction can be applied.
q

qup

qdown
Figure 2-5: Geometry reduction from 3D to 1D (top) and from 3D to 2D (bottom).
The reduced geometry does not include all the boundaries of the original 3D
geometry. For example, the reduced geometry does not represent the upside and
downside surfaces of the plate in Figure 2-5 as boundaries. Instead, heat transfer
through these boundaries appears as sources or sinks in the thickness-integrated
version of the heat equation used when out-of-plane heat transfer is active.

Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes

T H E O R Y O F O U T - O F - P L A N E H E A T TR A N S F E R

63

Equation Formulation
When out-of-plane heat transfer is enabled, the equation for heat transfer in solids,
Equation 3-1 is replaced by
T
d z C p ------- d z kT = d z Q
t

(2-39)

where dz is the thickness of the domain in the out-of-plane direction. The equation for
heat transfer in fluids, Equation 3-2, is replaced by
T
C p d z ------- + u T = d z kT + d z Q
t

(2-40)

The Pressure Work attribute on Solids and Fluids and the Viscous Heating attribute
on Fluids are not available when out-of-plane heat transfer is activated.
Heat Source nodes that are added to a model with out-of-plane heat
transfer enabled are multiplied by the thickness, dz. Boundary conditions
are also adjusted.

Activating Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer and Thickness


Using a 1D or 2D model, activate the physics features for out-of-plane heat transfer
and the thickness property by clicking the main Heat Transfer node and selecting the
Out-of-plane heat transfer check box under Physical Model.

64 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

T he o r y f o r t he Bi oh eat Tran sfer U ser


Interface
The Bioheat Transfer Interface uses the bioheat equation and the corresponding
physics nodes in the Heat Transfer interface. This is used to model heat transfer within
biological tissue.
This feature uses Pennes approximation to represent heat sources from metabolism
and blood perfusion. The equation for conductive heat transfer using this
approximation:
Cp

T
+ k T = b C b b T b T + Q met
t

(2-41)

The density , heat capacity Cp, and thermal conductivity k are the thermal properties
of the tissue. For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time
and the first term disappears.
To model Equation 2-41 add the Biological Tissue model equation, with a Bioheat
feature. The Biological Tissue model provides the left-hand side of Equation 2-41
while the Bioheat node provides the two source terms on the right-hand side of
Equation 2-41.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E B I O H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E

65

Theory for the Heat Transfer in


Porous Media User Interface
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface uses the following version of the heat
equation as the mathematical model for heat transfer in porous media (Ref. 14):
T
C p eq ------- + C p u T = k eq T + Q
t

(2-42)

with the following material properties:


is the fluid density.
Cp is the fluid heat capacity at constant pressure.
(Cp)eq is the equivalent volumetric heat capacity at constant pressure.
keq is the equivalent thermal conductivity (a scalar or a tensor if the thermal
conductivities are anisotropic).
u is the fluid velocity field, either an analytic expression or a velocity field from a
fluid-flow interface. u should be interpreted as the Darcy velocity, that is, the
volume flow rate per unit cross-sectional area. The average linear velocity (the
velocity within the pores) can be calculated as uLuL, where L is the fluids
volume fraction, or equivalently the porosity.
Q is the heat source (or sink). Add one or several heat sources as separate physics
features.
The equivalent thermal conductivity of the solid-fluid system, keq, is related to the
conductivity of the solid kp and to the conductive of the fluid, k by
k eq = p k p + L k
The equivalent volumetric heat capacity of the solid-fluid system is calculated by
C p eq = p p C p p + L C p
Here p denotes the solid materials volume fraction, which is related to the volume
fraction of the liquid L (or porosity) by
L + p = 1

66 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time, and the first
term in the left-hand side of Equation 2-42 disappears.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N P O R O U S M E D I A U S E R I N T E R F A C E

67

About Handling Frames in Heat


Transfer
This section discusses heat transfer analysis with moving frames, when spatial and
material frames do not coincide. When the Enable conversions between material and
spatial frame check box is selected, all heat transfer physics account for deformation
effects on heat transfer properties.
The entire physics (equations and variables) are defined on the spatial frame. When a
moving mesh is detected, the user inputs for certain features are defined on the
material and are converted so that all the corresponding variables contain the value on
the spatial frame.
The Heat Transfer Interface
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer
User Interfaces
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

Frame Physics Feature Nodes and Definitions


This subsection contains the list of all heat transfer nodes and the corresponding
definition frame.

Some of the physics require additional licenses, for example, a Heat


Transfer Module or a CFD Module.

The following explains the different values listed in the definition frame column in
Table 2-3, Table 2-4, and Table 2-5:
Material: The inputs are entered by the user and defined on the material frame.

Because the heat transfer variables and equations are defined on the spatial frame,
the inputs are internally converted to the spatial frame.

68 |

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Spatial: The inputs are entered by the user are defined on the spatial frame. No

conversion is done.
Material/(Spatial): For these physics nodes, select from a menu to decide if the inputs

are defined on the material or spatial frame. The default definition frame is the
material frame.
(Material)/Spatial: For these physics nodes, select from a menu to decide if the inputs

are defined on the material or spatial frame. The default definition frame is the
spatial frame.
N/A: There is no definition frame for this physics node.

Domain Nodes
TABLE 2-3: DOMAIN PHYSICS NODES FOR FRAMES
NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Heat Transfer in Solids

Material

Translational Motion

Material

Heat Transfer in Fluids

Spatial

Biological Tissue

Material

Heat Transfer with Phase Change

Spatial

Heat Transfer in Porous Media

Material (Solid part)


Spatial (Fluid part)

Thermal Dispersion

Spatial

Immobile Fluids

Spatial

Geothermal Heating

Material

Infinite Elements

Spatial

Pressure Work

Spatial

Viscous Heating

Spatial

Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Bioheat

Material

Opaque

N/A

Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux

Spatial

Out-of-Plane Radiation

Spatial

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Spatial

A B O U T H A N D L I N G F R A M E S I N H E A T TR A N S F E R

69

TABLE 2-3: DOMAIN PHYSICS NODES FOR FRAMES

70 |

NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Radiation in Participating Media

Spatial

Change Thickness

Spatial

Initial Values

Spatial

C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

Boundary Nodes
TABLE 2-4: BOUNDARY PHYSICS NODES FOR FRAMES
NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Temperature

Spatial

Thermal Insulation

N/A

Outflow

N/A

Symmetry

N/A

Heat Flux

(Material)/Spatial

Inflow Heat Flux

Spatial

Open Boundary

Spatial

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer

Material

Thermal Contact

Material

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Spatial

Surface-to-Surface Radiation

Spatial

Prescribed Radiosity

Spatial

Reradiating Surface

Spatial

Radiation Group

N/A

Periodic Heat Condition

Spatial

Boundary Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Heat Continuity

Spatial

Pair Thin Thermally Resistive Layer

Material

Pair Thermal Contact

Material

Pair Boundary Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Convective Heat Flux

Spatial

Highly Conductive Layer

Material

Layer Heat Source

Material

Opaque Surface

Spatial

Continuity on Interior Boundary

Spatial

Edge and Point Nodes


TABLE 2-5: EDGE AND POINT NODES FOR FRAMES
NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Line Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Point Heat Source

Material

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TABLE 2-5: EDGE AND POINT NODES FOR FRAMES


NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Edge Heat Flux

(Material)/Spatial

Point Heat Flux

Spatial

Temperature

Spatial

Point Temperature

Spatial

Edge Surface-to-Ambient

Spatial

Point Surface-to-Ambient

Spatial

TABLE 2-6: HEAT TRANSFER IN THIN SHELLS NODES

NODE NAME

DEFINITION FRAME

Thin Conductive Layer

Material

Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Change Thickness

Spatial

Initial Values

Spatial

Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux

Spatial

Out-of-Plane Radiation

Spatial

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Spatial

Heat Flux

Spatial/(Material)

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Spatial

Temperature

Spatial

Change Effective Thickness

Spatial

Edge Heat Source

Material/(Spatial)

Conversion Between Material and Spatial Frames


This subsection explains how the user inputs are converted. The conversion depends
on the dimension of the variables (scalars, vectors, or tensors) and on their density
order.
D E N S I T Y, H E A T S O U R C E , H E A T F L U X

Scalar density variables do not have the same value in the material and in the spatial
frame.
In heat transfer physics, the following variables are relative scalars of weight one (also
called scalar densities): the mass density , the heat source Q, the heat flux q0, the heat
transfer coefficient h, and the production/absorption coefficient qs.

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

When a feature has its definition frame on the spatial frame, no transformation is done
because the user input is defined on the spatial frame. For example, if =500[kg/m^3]
is defined in the Heat Transfer in Fluids (definition frame = spatial frame) the variable
ht.rho is equal to 500[kg/m^3] (on the spatial frame).
When a feature has its definition frame on the material frame, the user input is defined
on the material frame so it has to be multiplied by spatial.detInvF to get the
corresponding value on the spatial frame. For example, if =500[kg/m^3] is defined
in the Heat Transfer in Solids (definition frame = material frame) the variable ht.rho
is equal to spatial.detInvF*500[kg/m^3] (on the spatial frame). As a
consequence, to evaluate or integrate the mass density on the material frame, the value
of ht.rho has to be multiplied by spatial.detF.
spatial.detF has different definitions based on the dimension of the geometric

entity where it is evaluated. On domains it corresponds to the local volume change


from the material to the spatial frame while it corresponds to local surface or length
change on boundaries and edges. spatial.detInvF is the inverse of spatial.detF.
VE L O C I T Y VE C T O R

The relationship between u x y z and u X Y Z is


T

u x y z = F u X Y Z
where F is the coordinate transform matrix from the material to the spatial frame:
xX yX zX
F = xY yY zY
xZ yZ zZ
with xX corresponding to the derivative of x with respect to X.
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Thermal conductivity is a tensor density. The relationship between the value on the
spatial frame and the material frame is
1
T
k x y z = ----------------- F k X Y Z F
det F
where k x y z is the thermal conductivity tensor in the spatial frame and k X Y Z is
the thermal conductivity tensor in the material frame. F is the coordinate transform
matrix from the material frame to the spatial frame defined in the paragraph above.

A B O U T H A N D L I N G F R A M E S I N H E A T TR A N S F E R

73

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYER

The same transformations are applied to thermal conductivity but with different
transformation matrices. The transformation matrix uses tangential derivatives and is
defined as
xT X yT X zT X
Ftang = xT Y yT Y zT Y
xT Z yT Z zT Z
where xTX corresponds to the tangential derivative x with respect to X, and so on.
AXISYMMETRIC GEOMETRIES

In 1D axisymmetric and 2D axisymmetric models an additional conversion is done


between the material frame and the spatial frame. The density variables (density, heat
source, heat flux, and so forth) are multiplied by
R
---r
which corresponds to the ratio of the material first cylindrical coordinate over the
spatial one.
For example, if you enter a heat source Q =500[W/m^3]in the material frame in
axisymmetric cases, the conversion leads to:
R
Q =500[W/m^3]* ---- spatial.detInvF
r

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

References for the Heat Transfer


User Interfaces
1. F.P. Incropera, D.P. DeWitt, T.L. Bergman and A.S. Lavine, Fundamentals of
Heat and Mass Transfer, John Wiley & Sons, Sixth edition, 2006.
2. R. Codina, Comparison of Some Finite Element Methods for Solving the
Diffusion-Convection-Reaction Equation, Comp. Meth.Appl. Mech. Engrg, vol.
156, pp. 185210, 1998.
3. A. Bejan, Heat Transfer, John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
4. G.K. Batchelor, An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press,
2000.
5. R.L. Panton, Incompressible Flow, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
6. M. Kaviany, Principles of Convective Heat Transfer, 2nd ed., Springer, 2001.
7. T. Poinsot and D. Veynante, Theoretical and Numerical Combustion, Second
Edition, Edwards, 2005.
8. W. Wagner, and H-J Kretzschmar, International Steam Tables, 2nd ed., Springer,
2008.
9. J. Zhang, A. Gupta, and J. Bakera, Effect of Relative Humidity on the Prediction
of Natural Convection Heat Transfer Coefficients, Heat Transfer Engineering, vol.
28, no. 4, pp. 335342, 2007.
10. P.T. Tsilingiris, Thermophysical and Transport Properties of Humid Air at
Temperature Range Between 0 and 100 C, Energy Conversion and Management,
vol. 29, no. 2008, pp. 10981110, 2007.
11. A. Bejan et al., Heat Transfer Handbook, Wiley, 2003.
12. F. Charron, Partage de la chaleur entre deux corps frottants [Heat Partition
Between Two Rubbing Bodies], Publication Scientifique et Technique du Ministre
de l'Air, no. 182, 1943.
13. F.P. Incropera and D.P. DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, fifth
ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2002.

R E F E R E N C E S F O R T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

75

14. J. Bear and Y. Bachmat, Introduction to Modeling of Transport Phenomena in


Porous Media, Kluwer Academic Publisher, 1990.

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C H A P T E R 2 : H E A T TR A N S F E R T H E O R Y

The Heat Transfer Branch


This chapter details the variety of interfaces found under the Heat Transfer
branch (
) in the Model Wizard and these form the fundamental interfaces in the
Heat Transfer Module. It covers all the types of heat transferconduction,
convection, and radiationfor heat transfer in solids and fluids. For information
about surface-to-surface radiation see Radiation Heat Transfer.
In this chapter:
About the Heat Transfer Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interface
Highly Conductive Layer Nodes
Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes
The Bioheat Transfer Interface
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface

77

About the Heat Transfer Interfaces


The Heat Transfer interfaces model heat transfer by conduction and convection.
Surface-to-ambient radiation effects around edges and boundaries can also be
included. The interfaces are available in 1D, 2D, and 3D and for axisymmetric models
with cylindrical coordinates in 1D and 2D. The default dependent variable is the
temperature, T.
After selecting a version of the Heat Transfer interface in the Model Wizard, default
nodes are added under the main node. For example:
If Heat Transfer in Solids (
) is selected, a Heat Transfer (ht) node is added with a
default Heat Transfer in Solids model.
If Heat Transfer in Fluids (
added.

) is selected, a default Heat Transfer in Fluids model is

The benefit of the different versions of the standard Heat Transfer interface, all with ht
as the identifier (see Table 3-1), is that it is easy to add the default settings when
selecting the interface from the Model Wizard. At any time, right-click the parent node
to add a Heat Transfer in Fluids or Heat Transfer in Solids nodethe functionality is
always available.
The interface options are also available from the Heat Transfer interface
by selecting a specific check box under the Physical Model section (for
surface-to-surface radiation, biological tissue, radiation in participating
media, or porous media). See Table 3-1 and Table 3-2.
TABLE 3-1: THE HEAT TRANSFER (HT) PHYSICS INTERFACE OPTIONS
ICON

78 |

NAME

DEFAULT PHYSICAL MODEL

Heat Transfer in Solids

not applicable

Heat Transfer in Fluids

not applicable

Heat Transfer in Porous


Media

The Heat transfer in porous media check box is


selected.

Heat Transfer with


Surface-to-Surface
Radiation (under the
Radiation branch)

The Surface-to-surface radiation check box is


selected (which enables the Radiation Settings
section).

C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

TABLE 3-1: THE HEAT TRANSFER (HT) PHYSICS INTERFACE OPTIONS


ICON

NAME

DEFAULT PHYSICAL MODEL

Heat Transfer with


Radiation in Participating
Media (under the
Radiation branch)

The Radiation in participating media check box is


selected (which enables the Participating Media
Settings section).

Bioheat Transfer

The Heat transfer in biological tissue check box is


selected.

TABLE 3-2: ADDITIONAL HEAT TRANSFER PHYSICS OPTIONS


ICON

NAME

ID

DEFAULT PHYSICAL MODEL

Laminar Flow (under the

nitf

See Table 7-1 for details.

Turbulent Flow k-and


Turbulent Flow, Low Re
k-(under the Conjugate
Heat Transfer branch)

nitf

See Table 7-1 for details.

Heat Transfer in Thin


Shells

htsh

No Physical Model section, but the


Surface-to-Surface Radiation check box is
available to activate the Radiation Settings
section.

Surface-to-Surface
Radiation (under the
Radiation branch)

rad

No Physical Model section, but the


Radiation Settings section is automatically
available by default.

Radiation in Participating
Media (under the
Radiation branch)

rpm

not applicable

Joule Heating (under the

jh

No check boxes are selected under


Physical Model.

Conjugate Heat Transfer

branch)

Electromagnetic Heating

branch)

A B O U T T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E S

79

The Heat Transfer Interface


The Bioheat Transfer Interface
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface
The Conjugate Heat Transfer Branch
Radiation Heat Transfer
The Joule Heating User Interface in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual

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C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

The Heat Transfer Interface


The Heat Transfer user interfaces model heat transfer by conduction and convection.
Surface-to-ambient radiation effects around edges and boundaries can also be
included. The interfaces are available in 1D, 2D, and 3D and for axisymmetric models
with cylindrical coordinates in 1D and 2D. The default dependent variable is the
temperature, T.
The Heat Transfer user interfaces include the equations, boundary conditions, and
sources for modeling conductive and convective heat transfer and solving for the
temperature.
After selecting a version of the physics user interface in the Model Wizard (as described
in About the Heat Transfer Interfaces), default nodes are added under the main node.
For example:
) is selected, a Heat Transfer in Solids (ht) node is added
If Heat Transfer in Solids (
with a default Heat Transfer in Solids model as a subnode.
If Heat Transfer in Fluids (
) is selected, a Heat Transfer in Fluids (ht) node is added
with a default Heat Transfer in Fluids model as a subnode.
The benefit of the different versions of the Heat Transfer user interfaces, with ht as the
common default identifier (see Table 3-1), is that it is easy to add the default settings
when selecting the interface from the Model Wizard. At any time, right-click the
parent node to add a Heat Transfer in Fluids or Heat Transfer in Solids nodethe
functionality is always available.
When this interface is added, default nodes are added to the Model Builder based on the
selection made in the Model WizardHeat Transfer in Solids or Heat Transfer in Fluids,
Thermal Insulation (the default boundary condition), and Initial Values. Right-click the
Heat Transfer node to add other features that implement, for example, boundary
conditions and sources.

Depending on the version of the interface selected, the default nodes vary.

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

81

INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables
belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first interface in the model) is ht.
DOMAIN SELECTION

The default setting is to include All domains in the model to define heat transfer and a
temperature field. To choose specific domains, select Manual from the Selection list.
PHYSICAL MODEL

By default, no check boxes are selected for the standard version of the Heat Transfer
interface. Click to select any of the available check boxes to activate the other versions
of the ht interface as detailed in Table 3-1 and Table 3-2.

If required for 2D or 1D models, select the Out-of-plane heat transfer


check box and then enter the Thickness of the plane (dz). The default is
1 m and applies to the entire geometry. If another thickness is specified
for some of the domains, use the Change Thickness node.

About the Heat Transfer Interfaces

CONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Stabilization. The
Streamline diffusion check box is selected by default and should remain selected for
optimal performance for heat transfer in fluids or other applications that include a
convective or translational term. The Crosswind diffusion check box is also selected by
default. It provides extra diffusion in the region of sharp gradients. The added
diffusion is orthogonal to the streamline diffusion, so streamline diffusion and
crosswind diffusion can be used simultaneously.

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C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

INCONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Stabilization. The Isotopic

diffusion check box is not selected by default.


DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Discretization.

Select an element order (shape function order) for the TemperatureQuadratic (the
default), Linear, Cubic, Quartic, or Quintic.
The Compute boundary fluxes check box is selected by default so that COMSOL
computes predefined accurate boundary flux variables (with the suffix _acc such as
ht.ndflux_acc for the accurateas opposed to the standard extrapolated
normal conductive heat flux).
The Apply smoothing to boundary fluxes check box is selected by default. The
smoothing can provide a more well-behaved flux value close to singularities.
In the table, specify the Value type when using splitting of complex variablesReal
(the default) or Complex.
DEPENDENT VA RIA BLES

The Heat Transfer user interfaces have a dependent variable for the Temperature T. The
dependent variable names can be changed. Editing the name of a scalar dependent
variable changes both its field name and the dependent variable name. If a new field
name coincides with the name of another field of the same type, the fields will share
degrees of freedom and dependent variable names. A new field name must not coincide
with the name of a field of another type, or with a component name belonging to some
other field.
ADVANCED SETTINGS

Add both a Heat Transfer (ht) and Moving Mesh (ale) interface (found under the
Mathematics>Deformed Mesh branch in the Model Wizard) then click the Show
button (
) and select Advanced Physics Options to display this section.
When the model contains moving mesh, the Enable conversions between material and
spatial frame check box is selected by default.

This option has no effect when the model does not contain a moving frame since the
material and spatial frames are identical in this case. With moving mesh, and when this
option is active, the heat transfer features automatically account for deformation effects
on heat transfer properties. In particular the effects for volume changes on the density
are considered. Rotation effects on thermal conductivity of an anisotropic material

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

83

and, more generally, deformation effects on arbitrary thermal conductivity, are also
covered. When the Enable conversions between material and spatial frame check box is
not selected, the feature inputs (for example, Heat Source, Heat Flux, Boundary Heat
Source, and Line Heat Source) are not converted and all are defined on the Spatial
frame.
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
Show More Physics Options
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer
User Interfaces
Consistent and Inconsistent Stabilization Methods for the Heat
Transfer User Interfaces
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces
Show Stabilization in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat
Transfer User Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interface has these domain, boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes
and subnodes available (listed in alphabetical order including out-of-plane and highly
conductive layer features).
To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,
select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

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C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

Boundary Heat Source

Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux

Change Thickness

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux

Convective Heat Flux

Out-of-Plane Radiation

Continuity

Periodic Heat Condition

Edge Heat Flux

Point Heat Flux

Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Point Heat Source

Heat Flux

Point Temperature

Heat Source
Heat Transfer in Fluids

Point Surface-to-Ambient
Radiation

Heat Transfer in Solids

Pressure Work

Heat Transfer with Phase Change

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Highly Conductive Layer

Symmetry

Initial Values

Temperature

Inflow Heat Flux

Thermal Contact

Layer Heat Source

Thermal Insulation (the default


boundary condition)

Line Heat Source


Open Boundary
Outflow

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer


Translational Motion
Viscous Heating

For axisymmetric models, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial


symmetry boundaries into account and automatically adds an Axial
Symmetry node to the model that is valid on the axial symmetry
boundaries only.
The following nodes are also available for some versions of the Heat Transfer interface
and described in Radiation Heat Transfer chapter.
Incident Intensity
Opaque

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85

Opaque Surface
Radiation in Participating Media

Heat Transfer in Solids


The Heat Transfer in Solids node uses the heat equation version in Equation 3-1 as the
mathematical model for heat transfer in solids:
T
C p ------- kT = Q
t

(3-1)

For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time and the first
term disappears. The equation includes the following material properties: the density
, the heat capacity Cp, and the thermal conductivity k (a scalar or a tensor if the
thermal conductivity is anisotropic), and a heat source (or sink) Qone or more heat
sources can be added separately.
When parts of the model are moving in the material frame, right-click the Heat Transfer
in Solids node to add a Translational Motion node to take this into account.
If you have the CFD Module, also right-click to add a Pressure Work node.
If you have the Heat Transfer Module, also right-click to add Pressure
Work or Opaque nodes. The Opaque subnode is automatically added to the

entire selection when Surface-to-surface radiation is activated. The


selection can be edited.
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.

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COORDINATE SYSTEM SELECTION

The Global coordinate system is selected by default. The Coordinate system list contains
any additional coordinate systems that the model includes (except boundary
coordinate systems). The coordinate system is used for interpreting directions of
orthotropic and anisotropic thermal conductivity.
HEAT CONDUCTION, SOLID

The default setting is to use the Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) From
material. If User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic
based on the characteristics of the thermal conductivity, and enter another value or
expression.
The thermal conductivity describes the relationship between the heat flux
vector q and the temperature gradient T as in q = kT, which is
Fouriers law of heat conduction. Enter this quantity as power per length
and temperature.
The components of a thermal conductivity k in the case that it is a tensor
(kxx, kyy, and so on, representing an anisotropic thermal conductivity) are
available as ht.kxx, ht.kyy, and so on (using the default interface
identifier ht). The single scalar mean effective thermal conductivity
ht.kmean is the mean value of the diagonal elements kxx, kyy, and kzz.

Fouriers law expect that the thermal conductivity tensor is symmetric. A


non symmetric tensor can lead to unphysical results.

THERMODYNAMICS; SOLID

The default Density (SI unit: kg/m3) and Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) use values From material. Select User defined to enter other values
or expressions. The heat capacity at constant pressure describes the amount of heat
energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass.

Thermal Diffusivity
In addition, the thermal diffusivity is defined as k/(Cp) (SI unit: m2/s) is also a
predefined quantity. The thermal diffusivity can be interpreted as a measure of thermal
inertia (heat propagates slowly where the thermal diffusivity is low, for example). The
components of a thermal diffusivity in the case that it is a tensor (xx, yy, and so on,

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

87

representing an anisotropic thermal diffusivity) are available as ht.alphaTdxx,


ht.alphaTdyy, and so on (using the default interface identifier ht). The single scalar
mean thermal diffusivity ht.alphaTdMean is the mean value of the diagonal elements
xx, yy, and zz. The denominator Cp is the effective volumetric heat capacity, and
is also available as a predefined quantity, ht.C_eff.
Axisymmetric Transient Heat Transfer: Model Library path
COMSOL_Multiphysics/Heat_Transfer/heat_transient_axi

2D Heat Transfer Benchmark with Convective Cooling: Model


Library path COMSOL_Multiphysics/Heat_Transfer/heat_convection_2d

Translational Motion
Right-click the Heat Transfer in Solids node to add the Translational Motion node,
which provides movement by translation to model heat transfer in solids. It adds the
following contribution to the right-hand side of Equation 3-1, defined in the parent
node:
C p u T
The contribution describes the effect of a moving coordinate system that is required
to model, for example, a moving heat source.
Special care must be taken at boundaries where nu0. The Heat Flux
boundary condition does not, for example, work at boundaries where
nu0.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define.


By default, the selection is the same as for the Heat Transfer in Solids
node that it is attached to, but it is possible to use more than one Heat
Translation subnode, each covering a subset of the Heat Transfer in Solids
nodes selection.

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C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

TR A N S L A T I O N A L M O T I O N

Enter component values for x, y, and z (in 3D) for the Velocity field utrans (SI unit: m/
s).

Heat Generation in a Disc Brake: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Thermal_Contact_and_Friction/brake_disc

Heat Transfer in Fluids


The Heat Transfer in Fluids model uses the following version of the heat equation as the
mathematical model for heat transfer in fluids:
T
C p ------- + C p u T = kT + Q
t

(3-2)

For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time and the first
term disappears. This equation includes the following material properties, fields, and
sources:
Density (SI unit: kg/m3)
Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp (SI unit: J/(kgK))describes the amount of
heat energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass.
Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK))a scalar or a tensor if the thermal
conductivity is anisotropic.
Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s)either an analytic expression or a velocity field from
a fluid-flow interface.
The heat source (or sink) Qone or more heat sources can be added separately.
The Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless) the ratio of heat capacity at constant
pressure, Cp, to heat capacity at constant volume, Cv.
When using the ideal gas law to describe a fluid, specifying is enough to
evaluate Cp. For common diatomic gases such as air, 1.4 is the
standard value. Most liquids have 1.1 while water has 1.0. is used
in the streamline stabilization and in the variables for heat fluxes and total
energy fluxes. It is also used if the ideal gas law is applied. See
Thermodynamics; Solid.

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

89

Right-click to add Viscous Heating (for heat generated by viscous friction),


Opaque, or Pressure Work nodes to the Heat Transfer in Fluids feature.

Heat Transfer by Free Convection: Model Library path


COMSOL_Multiphysics/Multiphysics/free_convection

DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups are added, the model inputs appear
here.
There are also two standard model inputsAbsolute pressure and Velocity field. The
absolute pressure is used in some predefined quantities that include the enthalpy (the
energy flux, for example).

Absolute pressure is also used if the ideal gas law is applied. See
Thermodynamics; Solid.

Absolute Pressure
This section controls both the variable as well as any property value (reference
pressures) used when solving for pressure. There are usually two ways to calculate the
pressure when describing fluid flow and mass and heat transfer. Solve for the absolute

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C H A P T E R 3 : T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R B R A N C H

pressure or a pressure (often denoted gauge pressure) that relates back to the absolute
pressure through a reference pressure.
Using one or the other option usually depends on the system and the
equations being solved for. For example, in a straight incompressible flow
problem, the pressure drop over the modeled domain is probably many
orders of magnitude less than atmospheric pressure, which, if included,
reduces the chances for stability and convergence during the solving
process for this variable. In other cases, the absolute pressure may be
required to be solved for, such as where pressure is a part of an expression
for gas volume or diffusion coefficients.
The default Absolute pressure pA (SI unit: Pa) is User defined and is 1 atm (101,325
Pa). When additional physics interfaces are added to the model, the pressure variables
solved can also be selected from the list. For example, if a fluid-flow interface is added
you can select Pressure (spf/fp) from the list.
When a Pressure variable is selected, the Reference pressure check box is selected by
default and the default value of pref is 1[atm] (1 atmosphere).
This makes it possible to use a system-based (gauge) pressure as the
pressure variable while automatically including the reference pressure in
places where it is required, such as for gas flow governed by the gas law.
While this check box maintains control over the pressure variable and
instances where absolute pressure is required within this respective physics
interface, it may not with physics interfaces that it is being coupled to. In
such models, check the coupling between any interfaces using the same
variable.

Velocity Field
The default Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s) is User defined. When User defined is selected,
enter values or expressions for the components based on space dimension. The defaults
are 0 m/s. Or select an existing velocity field in the model (for example, Velocity field
(spf/fp1) from a Laminar Flow interface).
COORDINATE SYSTEM SELECTION

The Global coordinate system is selected by default. The Coordinate system list contains
any additional coordinate systems that the model includes (except boundary

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

91

coordinate systems). The coordinate system is used for interpreting directions of


orthotropic and anisotropic thermal conductivity.
HEAT CONDUCTION, FLUID

The default Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) is taken From material. If User
defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on the
characteristics of the thermal conductivity, and enter another value or expression.
The thermal conductivity describes the relationship between the heat flux
vector q and the temperature gradient T as in q = kT which is
Fouriers law of heat conduction. Enter this quantity as power per length
and temperature.
THERMODYNAMICS, FLUID

The default Density (SI unit: kg/m3), Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)), and Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless) for a general gas or
liquid use values From material. Select User defined to enter other values or expressions.
Select a Fluid typeGas/Liquid, Moist air, or Ideal gas.

Gas/Liquid
Select Gas/Liquid to specify the Density, the Heat capacity at constant pressure, and the
Ratio of specific heats for a general gas or liquid. The default settings are to use data
From material. Select User defined to enter another value for the density, heat capacity,
or ratio of specific heats.

Ideal Gas
Select Ideal gas to use the ideal gas law to describe the fluid. Then:
Select a Gas constant typeSpecific gas constant Rs (SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Mean
molar mass Mn (SI unit: kg/mol). For both properties, the default setting is to use
the property value from the material. Select User defined to enter another value for
either of these material properties.

If Mean molar mass is selected, the software uses the universal gas constant
R 8.314 J/(molK), which is a built-in physical constant.

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From the list under Specify Cp or , select Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless). For both properties,
the default setting is to use the property value From material. Select User defined to
define another value for either of these material properties.

For an ideal gas, specify either Cp or the ratio of specific heats, , but not
both since these, in that case, are dependent.

Moist Air
If Moist air is selected, the thermodynamics properties are defined as a function of the
quantity of vapor in the moist air. Four different options are available from the Input
quantity list to define the amount of vapor in the moist air:
Select Vapor mass fraction (the default) to define the vapor mass fraction (SI unit:
kg/kg).
Select Concentration to define the concentration of vapor (SI unit: mol/m3). Once
this option is selected a Concentration model input is automatically added in the
Models Inputs section.
Select Moisture content to define the moisture content of the moist air (SI unit: kg/
kg).
Select Relative humidity to define the quantity of vapor from a Reference relative
humidity (SI unit: 1), a Reference temperature (SI unit: K), and a Reference pressure
(SI unit: Pa). These three reference values are used to estimate the mass fraction of
vapor, which is used to define the thermodynamic properties of the moist air.

Moist Air Theory

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds an initial value for the temperature that can serve as an
initial condition for a transient simulation or as an initial guess for a nonlinear solver.
Right-click to add additional Initial Values nodes.

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93

DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
INITIAL VALUES

Enter a value or expression for the initial value of the Temperature T (SI unit: K). The
default value is approximately room temperature, 293.15 K (20 C).

Heat Source
The Heat Source describes heat generation within the domain. You express heating and
cooling with positive and negative values, respectively. Add one or more nodes as
requiredall heat sources within a domain contribute to the total heat source. Specify
the heat source as the heat per volume in the domain, as a linear heat source, or as a
total heat source (power).
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to add the heat source to.
HEAT SOURCE

Click the General source (the default), Linear source, or Total power button.
If General source is selected, enter a value for the distributed heat source Q
(SI unit: W/m3) when the default option, User defined, is selected. The default is 0
W/m3(that is, no heat source). See also Additional General Source Options.
If Linear source (QqsT) is selected, enter the Production/absorption coefficient qs
(SI unit: W/(m3K)). The default is 0 W/(m3K).
If Total power is selected, enter the total heat source, Ptot, (SI unit: W). The default
is 0 W. In this case Q = Ptot/V, where V is the total volume of the selected domains.

In 3D and 2D axial symmetry, V =

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1 .

In 2D and 1D axial symmetry:

V = dz 1
where dz is the out-of-plane thickness. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz.

In 1D:

V = Ac 1
where Ac is the cross-sectional area. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define Ac.

The advantage of writing the source in this second form is that it can be
stabilized by the streamline diffusion. The theory covers qs that is
independent of the temperature, but some stability can be gained as long
as qs is only weakly dependent on the temperature.

Additional General Source Options


For the general heat source Q, there are predefined heat sources available (in addition
to a User defined heat source) when simulating heat transfer together with electrical or
electromagnetic physics user interfaces. Such sources represent, for example, ohmic
heating and induction heating.

The following options are also available from the General source list above
but require additional interfaces and/or licenses as indicated.

With the addition of an Electric Currents physics interface, the Total power
dissipation density (ec/cucn1) heat source is available from the General source list.
With the addition of any version of the Electromagnetic Waves user interface (which
requires the RF Module), the Total power dissipation density (emw/wee1) and
Electromagnetic power loss density (emw/wee1) heat sources are available from the
General source list.

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With the addition of a Magnetic Fields user interface (a 3D model requires the AC/
DC Module), the Electromagnetic heating (mf/al1) heat source is available from the
General source list.
With the addition of a Magnetic and Electric Fields user interface (which requires
the AC/DC Module), the Electromagnetic heating (mef/alc1) heat source is available
from the General source list.
For the Heat Transfer in Porous Media user interface, with the addition of physics
interfaces from the Batteries & Fuel Cells Module, Corrosion Module, or
Electrodeposition Module, heat sources from the electrochemical current
distribution interfaces are available.
FRAME SELECTION

To display this section, add both a Heat Transfer (ht) and a Moving Mesh (ale) user
interface (found under the Mathematics>Deformed Mesh branch in the Model Wizard).
Then click the Show button (
) and select Advanced Physics Options.
When the model contains a moving mesh, the Enable conversions between material and
spatial frame check box is selected by default on the Heat Transfer interface, which in
turn enables this section. Use Frame Selection to select the frame where the input
variables are defined. If Spatial is selected, the variables take their values from the edit
fields. If Material (the default) is selected, a conversion from the material to the spatial
frame is applied to the edit field values.
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
The Heat Transfer Interface
Stabilization Techniques in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual

Heat Transfer with Phase Change


The Heat Transfer with Phase Change node is used to solve the heat equation after
specifying the properties of a phase change material according to the apparent heat
capacity formulation.
Right-click to add Viscous Heating (for heat generated by viscous friction),
Opaque, or Pressure Work nodes to the Heat Transfer with Phase Change
node.

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DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define where heat transfer with phase
change occurs.
MODEL INPUTS

This section is the same as for Heat Transfer in Fluids.


NUMBER OF TRANSITIONS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Choose the Number of phase transitions to model. The default value is 1 and the
maximum value is 5.
In most cases, only one phase transition is needed to simulate solidification, melting,
or evaporation. If you want to model successive melting and evaporation, or any couple
of successive phase transformations, choose 2 in the Number of phase transitions list.
It is useful to choose 3 or more transitions to handle extra changes of
material properties such as in mixtures of compounds, metal alloys,
composite materials, or allotropic varieties of a substance. For example, ,
, and -iron are allotropes of solid iron that can be considered as phases
with distinct phase change temperatures.
PHASE CHANGE

Enter a Phase change temperature between phase 1 and phase 2 Tpc,12 (SI unit: K).
The default is 273.15 K. Enter any additional phase change temperatures as per the
Number of phase transitions.
Enter a Transition interval between phase 1 and phase 2 T12 (SI unit: K). The default
is 10 K. Enter any additional transition intervals as per the Number of phase transitions.
The value of T12 must be strictly positive. A value near 0K corresponds to a
behavior close to a pure substance.
Enter a Latent heat from phase 1 and phase 2 L12 (SI unit: J/kg). The default is
333 kJ/kg. Enter any additional latent heat values as per the Number of phase
transitions.

About the Phases


The different phases are ordered according to the temperatures of fusion. Hence, the
material properties of phase 1 are valid when TTpc,12 while the material
properties of phase 2 hold for TTpc,12.

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97

When more than one transition is modeled, the number of phases exceeds 2 and new
variables are created (for example, Tpc,23, T23 or L23). The phase change
temperatures Tpc,jj1 are increasing and satisfy
T pc 1 2 T pc 2 3
This defines distinct domains of temperature bounded by Tpc,j1j and Tpc,jj1
where the material properties of phase j only apply.
In addition, the values of Tjj1 are chosen so that the ranges between
Tpc,jj1Tjj12 and Tpc,jj1Tjj12 do not overlap. If this
condition is not satisfied, unexpected behaviors may occur because some phases would
never form completely. The values of Tjj1 must all be strictly positive.
PHASE

For each Phase section (based on the Number of phase transitions) select or enter the
following:
Select a Material, phase [1,2...], which can point to any material in the model. The
default uses the Domain material.
The defaults for the following use values From material. Or select User defined to enter
a different value or expression for each:
The default Thermal conductivity kphase[1,2,...] (SI unit: W/(mK)) uses the material
values for phase i. If User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric,
or Anisotropic based on the characteristics of the thermal conductivity, and enter
another value or expression. The default is 1 W/(mK).
Density phase[1,2,...] (SI unit: kg/m3). The default is 1000 kg/m3.
Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp,phase[1,2,...] (SI unit: J/(kgK)). The default is
4200 J/(kgK).
Ratio of specific heats phase[1,2,...] (dimensionless). The default is 1.1

About Heat Transfer with Phase Change

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Thermal Insulation
The Thermal Insulation node is the default boundary condition for all Heat Transfer
interfaces. This boundary condition means that there is no heat flux across the
boundary:
n kT = 0
This condition specifies where the domain is well insulated. Intuitively this equation
says that the temperature gradient across the boundary must be zero. For this to be
true, the temperature on one side of the boundary must equal the temperature on the
other side. Because there is no temperature difference across the boundary, heat
cannot transfer across it.
An interesting numerical check for convergence is the numerical
evaluation of the thermal insulation condition along the boundary.
Another check is to plot the temperature field as a contour plot. Ideally
the contour lines are perpendicular to any insulated boundary.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific boundaries or select All boundaries as required.

Temperature
Use the Temperature node to specify the temperature somewhere in the geometry, for
example, on boundaries.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define. For The Heat Transfer in Thin
Shells User Interface, this condition can also be applied to edges and pairs.
TE M P E R A T U R E

The equation for this condition is T = T0 where T0 is the prescribed temperature on


the boundary. Enter the value or expression for the Temperature T0 (SI unit: K). The
default is 293.15 K.

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99

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Advanced Physics Options.

By default Classic constraints is selected. To Apply reaction terms on all dependent


variables, select All physics (symmetric). Otherwise, select Current physics (internally
symmetric) or Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as
required.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to replace the standard constraints with a
weak implementation.
Select the Discontinuous Galerkin constraints button when Classic constraints do not
work satisfactorily.
The Discontinuous Galerkin constraints option is especially useful to
prevent oscillations on inlet boundaries where convection dominates.
Unlike the Classic constraints, these constraints do not enforce the
temperature on the boundary extremities. This is relevant on fluid inlets
where the temperature may not be enforced on the walls at the inlet
extremities.

Show More Physics Options

Outflow
The Outflow node provides a suitable boundary condition for convection-dominated
heat transfer at outlet boundaries. In a model with convective heat transfer, this
condition states that the only heat transfer over a boundary is by convection. The
temperature gradient in the normal direction is zero, and there is no radiation. This is
usually a good approximation of the conditions at an outlet boundary in a heat transfer
model with fluid flow.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

In most cases, the Outflow node does not require any user input. If
required, select the boundaries that are convection-dominated outlet
boundaries.

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Symmetry
The Symmetry node provides a boundary condition for symmetry boundaries. This
boundary condition is similar to a Thermal Insulation condition, and it means that
there is no heat flux across the boundary.
The symmetry condition only applies to the temperature field. It has no
effect on the radiosity (surface-to-surface radiation) and on the radiative
intensity (radiation in participating media).
BOUNDARY SELECTION

In most cases, the node does not require any user input. If required,
define the symmetry boundaries.

Heat Flux
Use the Heat Flux node to add heat flux across boundaries and edges. A positive heat
flux adds heat to the domain. This feature is not applicable to inlet boundaries.

For inlet boundaries, use the Inflow Heat Flux condition instead.

BOUNDARY OR EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries or edges to define.


PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
HEAT FLUX

Click to select the General inward heat flux (the default), Inward heat flux, or Total heat
flux button.

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101

General Inward Heat Flux


If General inward heat flux q0 (SI unit: W/m2) is selected, it adds to the total flux across
the selected boundaries. Enter a value for q0 to represent a heat flux that enters the
domain. For example, any electric heater is well represented by this condition, and its
geometry can be omitted. The default is 0 W/m2.

Inward Heat Flux


If Inward heat flux is selected, enter the Heat transfer coefficient h (SI unit: W/(m2K)).
The default is 0 W/(m2K). Also enter an External temperature Text (SI unit: K). The
default is 293.15 K. The value depends on the geometry and the ambient flow
conditions. Inward heat flux is defined by q0 hText T.

For a thorough introduction about how to calculate heat transfer


coefficients, see Incropera and DeWitt in Ref. 1.

Total Heat Flux


If Total heat flux is selected, enter the total heat flux qtot (SI unit: W) for the total heat
flux across the boundaries where the Heat Flux node is active. The default is 0 W. In
this case q0 = qtot/A, where A is the total area of the selected boundaries.

In 3D and 2D axial symmetry, A =

1 .

In 2D and 1D axial symmetry:

A = dz 1
where dz is the out-of-plane thickness. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz.

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In 1D:

A = Ac 1
where Ac is the cross-sectional area. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define Ac.
FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Source node and described under the Frame
Selection section.

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer


The Heat Transfer Interface

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation
Use the Surface-to-Ambient Radiation condition to add surface-to-ambient radiation to
boundaries. The net inward heat flux from surface-to-ambient radiation is
4

q = T amb T
where is the surface emissivity, is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a predefined
physical constant), and Tamb is the ambient temperature.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.
SURFACE-TO-AMBIENT RADIATION

The default Surface emissivity (a dimensionless number between 0 and 1) is taken


From material. An emissivity of 0 means that the surface emits no radiation at all and
an emissivity of 1 means that it is a perfect blackbody.

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103

Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.

Continuous Casting: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Thermal_Processing/continuous_casting

Periodic Heat Condition


Use the Periodic Heat Condition to add a periodic heat condition to boundaries.
Right-click to add a Destination Selection node.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Periodic Condition and Destination Selection
Periodic Boundary Conditions

Boundary Heat Source


The Boundary Heat Source models a heat source (or heat sink) that is embedded in the
boundary. When selected as a Pair Boundary Heat Source, it also prescribes that the
temperature field is continuous across the pair.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


PAIR SELECTION

When Pair Boundary Heat Source is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to
define. An identity pair has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
BOUNDARY HEAT SOURCE

Click the General source (the default) or Total boundary power button.
If General source is selected, enter a value for the boundary heat source Qb (SI unit:
W/m2) when the default option, User defined, is selected. A positive Qb is heating
and a negative Qb is cooling. The default is 0 W/m2. For the general boundary heat

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source Qb, there are predefined heat sources available when simulating heat transfer
together with electrical or electromagnetic physics user interfaces. Such sources
represent, for example, ohmic heating and induction heating.
If Total boundary power is selected, enter the total power (total heat source) Pb, tot
(SI unit: W). The default is 0 W. In this case Qb = Pb, tot/A, where A is the total area
of the selected boundaries.

In 3D and 2D axial symmetry, A =

1 .

In 2D and 1D axial symmetry:

A = dz 1
where dz is the out-of-plane thickness. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz.

In 1D:

A = Ac 1
where Ac is the cross-sectional area. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define Ac.
FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Source node and described under the Frame
Selection section.

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer


The Heat Transfer Interface

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105

Continuity
The Continuity node can be added to pairs. It prescribes that the temperature field is
continuous across the pair. Continuity is only suitable for pairs where the boundaries
match.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

The selection list in this section shows the boundaries for the selected pairs.
PAIR SELECTION

When this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity
pair has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Continuity on Interior Boundaries
Identity and Contact Pairs

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer


Use the Thin Thermally Resistive Layer node to define the thickness and thermal
conductivity of a resistive material located on boundaries. This material can be formed
of one or more layers. It can be added to pairs by selecting Pair Thin Thermally Resistive
Layer from the Pairs menu. The resistive material can also be defined through the
Thermal Resistance:
ds
R s = ----ks
The heat flux across the Thin Thermally Resistive Layer is defined by
Tu Td
n d k d T d = k s -------------------ds
Td Tu
n u k u T u = k s -------------------ds

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where the u and d subscripts refer to the upside and the downside of the slit,
respectively.
When using the Pair Thin Thermally Resistive Layer node, then the u and
d subscripts refer to the upside and the downside of the pair, respectively,
instead of the slit.

Like any pair feature, the Pair Thin Thermally Resistive Layer condition
contributes with any other pair feature. However, do not use two
conditions on the same pair. In order to model a thin resistive layer made
of several materials, use the Multiple layers option, which is available with
the Heat Transfer Module.
When the material has a multilayer structure ks and ds in the expressions above are
replaced by dtot and ktot, which are defined according to Equation 3-3 and
Equation 3-4:
nl

d tot =

dsj

(3-3)

j=1

d tot
k tot = ----------------nl
d sj
------k sj

(3-4)

j=1

where nl is the number of layers.


BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.
PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

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THIN THERMALLY RESISTIVE LAYER

By default the Multiple layers check box is not selected.


To define multiple sandwiched thin layers with different thermal conductivities, click
to select the check box. Then select the Number of layers to define (1 to 5) and set the
properties for each layer selected.
Select an option from the Solid material (Solid material 1, Solid material 2, and so on)
list to assign a material to each layer. The default setting, Boundary material, takes
the material from the boundary.
For each layer, enter the Layer thickness ds (SI unit: m). The default is 0.0050 m.
The default Thermal conductivity ks (SI unit: W/(mK)) is taken From material,
which is then taken from the material selected in Solid material (1, 2, ...). Select User
defined to enter another value or expression. The default is 0.01 W/(mK).

Thermal Contact
The Thermal Contact node defines correlations for the conductance h at the interface
of two bodies in contact. It can be added to pairs by selecting Pair Thermal Contact from
the Pairs menu.
The conductance h is involved in the heat flux across the surfaces in contact according
to:
n d k d T d = h T u T d + rQ fric
n u k u T u = h T d T u + 1 r Q fric
where u and d subscripts refer respectively to the upside and downside of the slit.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to add a thermal contact condition.
MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.
PAIR SELECTION

When Pair Thermal Contact is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define.
An identity pair has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

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CONTACT

Constriction Conductance Correlation


Choose the Constriction conductance correlationCooper-Mikic-Yovanovich correlation
(the default), Mikic elastic correlation, or User defined. If User defined is selected, enter
a value or expression for the Constriction conductance hc (SI unit: W/(m2K)). The
default is 0 W/(m2K).

Gap Conductance Correlation


Choose the Gap conductance correlationUser defined or Parallel-plate gap gas
conductance (the second option is only available if Cooper-Mikic-Yovanovich correlation
or Mikic elastic correlation is chosen as the Constriction conductance correlation).
If User defined is selected, enter a value for the Gap conductance hg (SI unit: W/
(m2K)). The default is 0 W/(m2K).

Radiative Conductance Correlation


When the Surface-to-surface radiation check box is selected under the Physical Model
section on a physics interface, choose the Radiative conductance correlationUser
defined or Gray-diffuse parallel surfaces (the default).
If User defined is selected, enter a value for the Radiative conductance hT (SI unit: W/
(m2K)). The default is 0 W/(m2K).
CONTACT SURFACE PROPERTIES

This section displays if Cooper-Mikic-Yovanovich correlation or Mikic elastic correlation


are chosen under Contact.
Enter values for the:
Asperities average height asp (SI unit: m). The default is 1 m.
Asperities average slope masp (dimensionless). The default is 0.4.
Contact pressure p (SI unit: Pa). The default is 0 Pa.
When Cooper-Mikic-Yovanovich correlation is selected, choose a Hardness definition
Microhardness (the default), Vickers hardness, or Brinell hardness.
If Microhardness is selected, enter a value for Hc (SI unit: Pa). The default is 3 GPa.

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If Vickers hardness is selected, enter a value for the Vickers correlation coefficient c1
(SI unit: Pa) and Vickers size index c2 (dimensionless). The defaults are 5 GPa and
0.1, respectively.
If Brinell hardness is selected, enter a value for HB (SI unit: Pa). The default is 3 GPa.
HB should be between 1.30 and 7.60 GPa.
When Mikic elastic correlation is selected, choose the Contact interface Youngs modulus
definitionWeighted harmonic mean (the default) or User defined.
If Weighted harmonic mean is selected, enter values or expressions for the Youngs
modulus E (SI unit Pa) and Poissons ratio (dimensionless). The defaults are 0.
If User defined enter another value or expression for the Contact interface Youngs
modulus Econtact (SI unit: Pa). The default is 1 GPa.
GAP PROPERTIES

This section is available when Parallel-plate gap gas conductance is selected as the Gap
conductance correlation under Contact.
The default Gas thermal conductivity kgap (SI unit: W/(mK)) is taken From material.
If User defined is selected, also choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic
based on the characteristics of the gas thermal conductivity, and enter another value or
expression. The default is 0.025 W/(mK).
Also enter the following:
Gas pressure pgap (SI unit: Pa). The default value is 1 atm.
Gas thermal accommodation parameter (dimensionless). The default is 1.7.
Gas fluid parameter and (dimensionless). The default is 1.7.
Gas particles diameter D (SI unit: m). The default value is 0.37 nm.
RADIATIVE CONDUCTANCE

This section is available when Gray-diffuse parallel surfaces is selected as the Radiative
conductance correlation under Contact.

By default the Surface emissivity (dimensionless) is taken From material. Select User
defined to enter another value or expression. The default is 1.
THERMAL FRICTION

Select a Heat partition coefficient definitionCharrons relation (the default) or User


defined. If User defined is selected, enter a value for the Heat partition coefficient r

(dimensionless). The default is 0.5.

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Enter a Frictional heat source Qfric (SI unit: W/m2). The default is 0 W/m2.

Theory for the Thermal Contact Feature

Line Heat Source


The Line Heat Source node models a heat source (or sink) that is so thin that it has no
thickness in the model geometry. Select this node from the Edges submenu.

The Line Heat Source node is only available in 3D. This is because in 2D it
is a boundary and in 1D it is a domain.

In theory, the temperature in a line source in 3D is plus or minus infinity (to


compensate for the fact that the heat source does not have any volume). The finite
element discretization used in COMSOL Multiphysics returns a finite temperature
distribution along the line, but that distribution must be interpreted in a weak sense.
EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


LINE HEAT SOURCE

Click the General source (the default) or Total line power button.
When General source is selected, enter a value for the distributed heat source, Ql
(SI unit: W/m) in unit power per unit length. Positive Ql is heating while a negative
Ql is cooling. The default is 0 W/m.
If Total line power is selected, enter the total power (total heat source) Pl,tot
(SI unit: W). The default is 0 W.

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111

FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Source node and described under the Frame
Selection section.

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer


The Heat Transfer Interface

Point Heat Source


The Point Heat Source node models a heat source (or sink) that is so small that it can
be considered to have no spatial extension. Select this node from the Points menu.

The Point Heat Source is available in 3D and 2D. In 1D it is not available


because points are boundaries there (possibly interior boundaries).

In theory, the temperature in a point source in 2D or 3D is plus or minus infinity (to


compensate for the fact that the heat source does not have a spatial extension). The
finite element discretization used in COMSOL Multiphysics returns a finite value, but
that value must be interpreted in a weak sense.
POINT SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the points to define.


POINT HEAT SOURCE

Enter the Point heat source Qp (SI unit: W) in unit power. Positive Qp is heating while
a negative Qp is cooling. The default is 0 W.

Pressure Work
Right-click the Heat Transfer in Solidsor Heat Transfer in Fluids node to add the
Pressure Work subnode.
When added under Heat Transfer in Solidsnode, the Pressure Work node adds the
following term to the right-hand side of the Heat Transfer in Solids equation:

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T ----- S el
t

(3-5)

where Sel is the elastic contribution to entropy.


When added under Heat Transfer in Fluids node, the Pressure Work feature adds the
following contribution to the right-hand side of the Heat Transfer in Fluids equation:
T p
---- ------- ------ + u p

T p t

(3-6)

The software computes the pressure work using the absolute pressure.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define. By default, the selection is the
same as for the parent node (Heat Transfer in Solidsor Heat Transfer in Fluids) it is
attached to.
P RE S S U RE WO R K

For the Heat Transfer in Solids model, enter a value or expression for the Elastic
contribution to entropy Ent (SI unit: Jm3K)). The default is 0 Jm3K).

For the Heat Transfer in Fluids model, select a Pressure work formulationFull
formulation (the default) or Low Mach number formulation. The low Mach number
formulation excludes the term u p from Equation 3-6, which is small for most flows
with a low Mach number.

Viscous Heating
Right-click the Heat Transfer in Fluids to add the Viscous Heating node, which adds the
following term to the right-hand side of the heat transfer in fluids equation:
:S

(3-7)

where is the viscous stress tensor and S is the strain-rate tensor. Equation 3-7
represents the heating caused by viscous friction within the fluid.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define. By default, the selection is the
same as for the Heat Transfer in Fluids feature that it is attached to.

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

113

DYNAMIC VISCOSITY

The Dynamic viscosity (SI unit: Pas) uses the value of the viscosity From material.
Select User defined to enter another value or expression. The default is 0 Pas.
COMSOL uses the dynamic viscosity together with the velocity expressions to
compute the viscous stress tensor, .

Inflow Heat Flux


Use the Inflow Heat Flux node to model inflow of heat through a virtual domain with
a heat source. The temperature at the outer boundary of the virtual domain is known.
This boundary condition estimates the heat flux through the system boundary

1
n kT = q 0 u n ------------------- + h in h ext u n
un

(3-8)

where
h in h ext =

T in

ext

1
-
--- 1 + T
---- ----- dp

T
ext
p

pA

C p dT +

(3-9)

A positive heat flux adds heat to the domain. This feature is applicable to inlet
boundaries. The second integral in Equation 3-5 is neglected if the feature is applied
to the boundary of a solid domain.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


INFLOW HEAT FLUX

Select the Inward heat flux (the default) or Total heat flux buttons.
When Inward heat flux is selected, define q0 (SI unit: W/m2) to add to the total flux
across the selected boundaries. The default value is 0 W/m2.
When Total heat flux is selected, define qtot. In this case q0qtot/A, where A is the
total area of the selected boundaries. The default is 0 W.

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For either selection, enter a value or expression for the External temperature Text (SI
unit: K) (the default is 273.15 K) and the External absolute pressure pext (SI unit: Pa)
(the default is 1 atm).

In 3D and 2D axial symmetry, A =

1 .

In 2D and 1D axial symmetry

A = dz 1
where dz is the out-of-plane thickness. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz or Ac.

In 1D

A = Ac 1
where Ac is the cross-sectional area. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz or Ac.

Open Boundary
The Open Boundary node adds a boundary condition for modeling heat flux across an
open boundary; the heat can flow out of the domain or into the domain with a
specified exterior temperature. Use this node to limit a modeling domain that extends
in an open fashion.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


OPEN BOUNDARY

Enter the exterior Temperature T0 (SI unit: K) outside of the open boundary.

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

115

Convective Heat Flux

This feature was previously called Convective Cooling.

The Convective Heat Flux node adds the following heat flux contribution to its
boundaries:
h T ext T
where the heat transfer coefficient, h, can be user defined or by using a library of
predefined coefficients described in About the Heat Transfer Coefficients.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


HEAT FLUX

Select a Heat transfer coefficient h (SI unit: W/(m2K)) to control the type of
convective heat flux to modelUser defined (the default), External natural convection,
Internal natural convection, External forced convection, or Internal forced convection.
For all options, enter an External temperature, Text (SI unit: K). The default is
293.15 K.
For all options (except User defined), follow the individual instructions below and
select an External fluidAir (the default), Transformer oil, or water. If Air is selected,
also enter an Absolute pressure, pA (SI unit: Pa). The default is 1 atm.

External Natural Convection


If External natural convection is selected, choose Vertical wall, Inclined wall, Horizontal
plate, upside, or Horizontal plate, downside from the list under Heat transfer coefficient.
If Vertical wall is selected, enter a Wall height L (SI unit: m). The default is 0 m.
If Inclined wall is selected, enter a Wall height L (SI unit: m) and the Tilt angle (SI
unit: rad). The tilt angle is the angle between the wall and the vertical direction,
for vertical walls. The default is 0 rad.
If Horizontal plate, upside or Horizontal plate, downside is selected, define the Plate
diameter (area/perimeter) L (SI unit: m). L is approximated by the ratio between the
surface area and its perimeter. The default is 0 m.

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Internal Natural Convection


If Internal natural convection is selected, choose Narrow chimney, parallel plates or
Narrow chimney, circular tube from the list under Heat transfer coefficient.
If Narrow chimney, parallel plates is selected, enter a Plate distance L (SI unit: m) and
a Chimney height H (SI unit: m). The defaults are each 0 m.
If Narrow chimney, circular tube is selected, enter a Tube diameter D (SI unit: m) and
a Chimney height H (SI unit: m). The defaults are each 0 m.

External Forced Convection


If External forced convection is selected, choose Plate, averaged transfer coefficient or
Plate, local transfer coefficient from the list under Heat transfer coefficient.
If Plate, averaged transfer coefficient is selected, enter a Plate length L (SI unit: m)
and a Velocity, external fluid Uext (SI unit: m/s). The defaults are each 0 m.
If Plate, local transfer coefficient is selected, enter a Position along the plate xpl
(SI unit: m) and a Velocity, external fluid Uext (SI unit: m/s). The defaults are each
0 m.

Internal Forced Convection


If Internal forced convection is selected, the only option is Isothermal tube. Enter a Tube
diameter D (SI unit: m); the default is 0 m, and a Velocity, external fluid Uext (SI unit:

m/s); the default is 0 m/s.


Power Transistor: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/
Power_Electronics_and_Electronic_Cooling/ power_transistor

Free Convection in a Water Glass: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Tutorial_Models_Forced_and_Natural_Convection/
cold_water_glass

T H E H E A T TR A N S F E R I N T E R F A C E

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Highly Conductive Layer Nodes


In this section:
Highly Conductive Layer
Layer Heat Source
Edge Heat Flux
Point Heat Flux
Temperature
Point Temperature
Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation
Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

About Highly Conductive Layers

Heat Transfer in a Surface-Mount Package for a Silicon Chip: Model


Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/Electronics_and_Power_Systems/
surface_mount_package

Copper Layer on Silica Glass: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Tutorial_Models/copper_layer

Highly Conductive Layer

Use the Highly Conductive Layer node to model heat transfer in thin highly
conductive layers on boundaries in 2D and 3D. This feature can also be
added to 2D axisymmetric models.

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About Highly Conductive Layers

Right-click the Highly Conductive Layer node to add these additional features:
Layer Heat Sourceto add a layer internal heat source, Qs, within the highly
conductive layer.
Edge (3D) or Point (2D and 2D axisymmetric) Heat Fluxadds a heat flux through a
specified set of boundaries of a highly conductive layer. See Edge Heat Flux and
Point Heat Flux.

If you also have the Microfluidics Module, the Edge Heat Flux and Point
Heat Flux nodes are not available with the Slip Flow interface.

Edge (3D) or Point (2D and 2D axisymmetric) Temperaturesets a prescribed


temperature condition on a specified set of boundaries of a highly conductive layer.
See Temperature and Point Temperature.
Edge (3D) or Point (2D and 2D axisymmetric) Surface-to-Ambient Radiationadds a
surface-to-ambient radiation for the highly conductive layer. See Edge
Surface-to-Ambient Radiation and Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined property groups are added, the model inputs
appear here. The Layer thickness ds, displays in this section. The default value is
0.01 m.
COORDINATE SYSTEM SELECTION

The Global coordinate system is selected by default. The Coordinate system list contains
any additional coordinate systems that the model includes (except boundary
coordinate systems). The coordinate system is used for interpreting directions of
orthotropic and anisotropic thermal conductivity.

HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYER NODES

119

HEAT CONDUCTION

The default Layer thermal conductivity ks (SI unit: W/(mK)) is taken From material
and describes the layers ability to conduct heat. If User defined is selected, choose
Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on the characteristics of the thermal
conductivity, and enter another value or expression.
THERMODYNAMICS

The default Layer density s (SI unit: kg/m3) and Layer heat capacity Cs (SI unit: J/
(kgK)) are taken From material. Select User defined to enter other values or
expressions. The defaults are 0 kg/m3 and 0 J/ (kgK), respectively.
Enter a value or expression for the Layer thickness ds (SI unit: m). The default is
0.01 m.

If the thickness is zero, the highly conductive layer does not take effect.

About Highly Conductive Layers

Layer Heat Source


Use a Layer Heat Source node to add an internal heat source, Qs, within the highly
conductive layer. Add one or more heat sources. Right-click the Highly Conductive
Layer node to add this feature.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define. By default, the selection is the
same as for the Highly Conductive Layer node.

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LAYER HEAT SOURCE

Select the General source (the default) or Total power button to define Qs.
When the General source button is selected, enter a value or expression for Qs
(SI unit: W/m3) as a heat source per volume. The default is 0 W/m3.
If the Total power button is selected, define the total power Ps,tot (SI unit: W). In
this case Qs = Ps,tot/V where V=Ads with A equal to the area of the boundary
selection. The default is 0 W.

In 3D and 2D axial symmetry, A =

1 .

In 2D,

A = dz 1
where dz is the out-of-plane thickness. If the out-of-plane property is not
active, a text field is available to define dz.

Edge Heat Flux


Use the Edge Heat Flux node for 3D models to add heat flux across
boundaries of a highly conductive layer. A positive heat flux adds heat to
the layer. Right-click the Highly Conductive Layer node to add this
feature.

If you also have the Microfluidics Module, the Edge Heat Flux node is
not available with the Slip Flow interface.

EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.

HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYER NODES

121

EDGE HEAT FLUX

Select either the General inward heat flux (the default), Inward heat flux, or Total heat
flux buttons.

When General inward heat flux q0 (SI unit: W/m2) is selected, it adds to the total
flux across the selected edges. Enter a value for q0 to represent a heat flux that enters
the layer. For example, any electric heater is well represented by this condition, and
its geometry can be omitted. The default is 0 W/m2.
If Inward heat flux is selected (in the form q0hTextT, enter the Heat transfer
coefficient h (SI unit: W/(m2K)). The default value is 0 W/(m2K). Enter an
External temperature Text (SI unit: K). The default value is 293.15 K. The value
depends on the geometry and the ambient flow conditions.
If Total heat flux is selected, enter the total heat flux qtot (SI unit: W). In this case
q0 = qtot/A where A=Lds with L equal to the length of the edge selection. The
default is 0 W.
FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Source node and described under the Frame
Selection section.

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

Point Heat Flux

Use the Point Heat Flux node for 2D and 2D axisymmetric models to add
heat flux across boundaries of a highly conductive layer. A positive heat
flux adds heat to the layer. Right-click the Highly Conductive Layer node
to add this feature.

If you also have the Microfluidics Module, the Point Heat Flux node is
not available with the Slip Flow interface.

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POINT S EL EC TION

From the Selection list, choose the points to define.


HEAT FLUX

Select either the General inward heat flux (the default) or Inward heat flux buttons.
When General inward heat flux q0 (SI unit: W/m2) is selected, it adds to the total
flux across the selected points. Enter a value for q0 to represent a heat flux that
enters the layer. For example, any electric heater is well represented by this
condition, and its geometry can be omitted. The default is 0 W/m2.
If Inward heat flux is selected (in the form q0hTextT, enter the Heat transfer
coefficient h (SI unit: W/(m2K)). The default value is 0 W/(m2K). Enter an
External temperature Text (SI unit: K). The default value is 293.15 K. The value
depends on the geometry and the ambient flow conditions.

Temperature
Use the Temperature node to specify the temperature on a set of edges that
represent thin boundary surfaces of the highly conductive layer.
Right-click the Highly Conductive Layer node to add this feature.

Only edges adjacent to the boundaries can be selected in the parent node.

EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
TE M P E R A T U R E

Enter the value or expression for the Temperature T0 (SI unit: K). The equation for this
condition is T = T0 where T0 is the prescribed temperature on the edges. The default
is 293.15 K.

HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYER NODES

123

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
To Apply reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric).
Otherwise, select Current physics (internally symmetric) or Individual dependent
variables to restrict the reaction terms as required. Select the Use weak constraints check
box to replace the standard constraints with a weak implementation.

Point Temperature

Use the Point Temperature node to specify the temperature on a set of


points that represent thin boundary surfaces of the highly conductive
layer. Right-click the Highly Conductive Layer node to add this feature.

Only points adjacent to the boundaries can be selected in the parent node.

POINT SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the points to define.


PO I N T TE M P E R A T U RE

Enter the value or expression for the Temperature T0 (SI unit: K). The equation for this
condition is T = T0 where T0 is the prescribed temperature on the points. The default
is 293.15 K.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
To Apply reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric).
Otherwise, select Current physics (internally symmetric) or Individual dependent
variables to restrict the reaction terms as required. Select the Use weak constraints check
box to replace the standard constraints with a weak implementation.

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Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation


Use the Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation node to add surface-to-ambient
radiation to edges representing boundaries of a highly conductive layer.
Right-click the Highly Conductive Layernode to add this feature.
The net inward heat flux from surface-to-ambient radiation is
4

q = T amb T
where is the surface emissivity, is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a predefined
physical constant), and Tamb is the ambient temperature.
EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


SURFACE-TO-AMBIENT RADIATION

Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.
The default Surface emissivity (a dimensionless number between 0 and 1) is taken
From material. An emissivity of 0 means that the surface emits no radiation at all and

an emissivity of 1 means that it is a perfect blackbody. The default is 0.

Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Use the Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation node to add


surface-to-ambient radiation to points representing boundaries of a highly
conductive layer. Right-click the Highly Conductive Layernode to add
this feature.
4

The net inward heat flux from surface-to-ambient radiation is q = T amb T


where is the surface emissivity, is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a predefined
physical constant), and Tamb is the ambient temperature.
POINT S EL EC TION

From the Selection list, choose the points to define.

HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE LAYER NODES

125

SURFACE-TO-AMBIENT RADIATION

Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.
The default Surface emissivity (a dimensionless number between 0 and 1) is taken
From material. An emissivity of 0 means that the surface emits no radiation at all and

an emissivity of 1 means that it is a perfect blackbody. The default is 0.

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Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes


The following nodes are available for 1D and 2D Heat Transfer models and in 3D for
the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells interface.
In this section:
Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux
Out-of-Plane Radiation
Out-of-Plane Heat Flux
Change Thickness

Theory of Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer

Select the Out-of-plane heat transfer check box on a Heat Transfer


interface to add these nodes to 2D and 1D models.

For the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells interface, these features are available
for 3D models.

Surface Resistor: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Thermal_Stress/surface_resistor

Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux


Use the Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux node to model upside and downside cooling
or heating caused by the presence of an ambient fluid.

O U T - O F - P L A N E H E A T TR A N S F E R N O D E S

127

This feature adds the following contribution


h u T ext,u T + h d T ext,d T
to the right-hand side of Equation 3-10 or Equation 3-11
T
d z C p ------- d z kT = d z Q
t

(3-10)

T
C p d z ------- + u T = d z kT + d z Q
t

(3-11)

Select the Out-of-plane heat transfer check box on a Heat Transfer


interface to add these nodes to 2D and 1D models. For the Heat Transfer
in Thin Shells interface these features are available in 3D.
DOMAIN SELECTION

Select the domains where you want to add an out-of-plane convective heart flux
contribution.
UPSIDE HEAT FLUX

About the Heat Transfer Coefficients

Select a Heat transfer coefficient hu (SI unit: W/(m2K)) to control the type of
convective heat flux to modelUser defined (the default), External natural convection,
Internal natural convection, External forced convection, or Internal forced convection. If
only convective flux is required on the downside, use the default, which sets hu0.
For all of the options, enter an External temperature, Text,u (SI unit: K).
For all of the options (except User defined), follow the individual instructions in the
Heat Flux section described for the Convective Heat Flux feature, then select an
External fluidAir, Transformer oil, or water. If Air is selected, also enter an Absolute
pressure, pA (SI unit: Pa). The default is 1 atm.

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DOWNSIDE HEAT FLUX

The controls in the Downside Heat Flux section are the same as those in the Upside Heat
Flux section except that it is applied to the downside instead of the upside, for example,
the Heat transfer coefficient is hd.

Out-of-Plane Radiation
The Out-of-Plane Radiation node models surface-to-ambient radiation on the upside
and downside. The feature adds the following contribution to the right-hand side of
Equation 3-10 or Equation 3-11:
4
4
4
4
u T amb
u T + d T amb d T

Compare to the equation in the section Surface-to-Ambient Radiation.

Select the Out-of-plane heat transfer check box on a Heat Transfer


interface to add these nodes to 2D and 1D models. For the Heat Transfer
in Thin Shells interface these features are available in 3D.
DOMAIN SELECTION

Select the domains where you want to add an out-of-plane surface-to-ambient heat
transfer contribution.
UPSIDE PARAMETERS

The default Surface emissivity u (a dimensionless number between 0 and 1) is taken


From material. Select User defined to enter another value. An emissivity of 0 means that
the surface emits no radiation at all while a emissivity of 1 means that it is a perfect
blackbody. The default is 0.
Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb,u (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.
DOWNSIDE PARAMETERS

Follow the instructions for the Upside Parameters section to define the downside
parameters d and Tamb,d.

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129

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux


The Out-of-Plane Heat Flux node adds a heat flux q0,u as an upside heat flux and a heat
flux q0,d as a downward heat flux to the right-hand side of Equation 3-10 or
Equation 3-11:
d s q 0 u + d s q 0 d

Select the Out-of-plane heat transfer check box on a Heat Transfer


interface to add these nodes to 2D and 1D models. For the Heat Transfer
in Thin Shells interface these features are available in 3D.
DOMAIN SELECTION

Select the domains where you want to add an out-of-plane heat flux.
UPSIDE INWARD HEAT FLUX

Select between specifying the upside inward heat flux directly or as a convective term
using a heat transfer coefficient. The General inward heat flux button is selected by
default. Enter a value or expression for the inward (or outward, if the quantity is
negative) heat flux through the upside (SI unit: W/m2) in the q0,u field. The default
is 0 W/m2.
Click the Inward heat flux button to specify an inward (or outward, if the quantity is
negative) heat flux through the upside (SI unit: W/m2) as hu(Text,uT). Enter a value
or expression for the heat transfer coefficient in the hu field (SI unit: W/(m2K) and a
value or expression for the external temperature in the Text,u field (SI unit: K). The
default value for the external temperature is 293.15 K.
DOWNSIDE INWARD HEAT FLUX

The controls in the Downside Inward Heat Flux section are identical to those in the
Upside Inward Heat Flux section except that they apply to the downside instead of the
upside.

Change Thickness
The Change Thickness node makes it possible model domains with another thickness
than the overall thickness that is specified in the Heat Transfer interface Physical Model
section.

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DOMAIN SELECTION

Select the domains where you want to use a different thickness.


CHANGE THICKNESS

Specify a value for the Thickness dz (SI unit: m). The default value is 1 m. This value
replaces the overall thickness in the domains that are selected in the Domain Selection
section.

O U T - O F - P L A N E H E A T TR A N S F E R N O D E S

131

T h e B i o h e a t T r a ns f e r I n t e r f a c e
When Bioheat Transfer is selected under the Heat Transfer branch (
) in the Model
Wizard, Biological tissue is automatically selected as the default physical model and a
Heat Transfer (ht) (
) interface is added to the Model Builder.
When this version of the interface is added, these default nodes are added to the Model
BuilderBiological Tissue (with a default Bioheat node), Thermal Insulation (the default
boundary condition), and Initial Values. All functionality to include both solid and fluid
domains is also available.
Right-click the Heat Transfer node to add other features that implement boundary
conditions and sources.
PHYSICAL MODEL

The Heat transfer in biological tissue check box is automatically selected.

The rest of the settings as well as the interior and exterior boundary
conditions are the same as for The Heat Transfer Interface.

The Heat Transfer Interface


Theory for the Bioheat Transfer User Interface
Biological Tissue
Bioheat
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer
User Interfaces

Hepatic Tumor Ablation: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Medical_Technology/tumor_ablation

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Biological Tissue
The Biological Tissue node adds the bioheat equation as the mathematical model for
heat transfer in biological tissue. See Equation 2-41. Right-click the node to add a
Bioheat node.
When parts of the model (for example, a heat source) are moving, also
right-click to add a Translational Motion node, which includes the effect
of the movement by translation that requires a moving coordinate system.

The Opaque subnode is automatically added to the entire selection when


the Surface-to-surface radiation check box is selected on the Bioheat
Transfer interface settings window. The selection can be edited.
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.
COORDINATE SYSTEM SELECTION

The Global coordinate system is selected by default. The Coordinate system list contains
any additional coordinate systems that the model includes (except boundary
coordinate systems). The coordinate system is used for interpreting directions of
orthotropic and anisotropic thermal conductivity.
HEAT CONDUCTION

The default Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) uses values From material. If
User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on
the characteristics of the thermal conductivity and enter another value or expression in
the field or matrix. The defaults are 0 W/(mK).

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THERMODYNAMICS

The default Density (SI unit: kg/m3) and Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) are taken From material. The heat capacity describes the amount of
heat energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass. If User
defined is selected, enter other values or expressions. The defaults are 0 kg/m3 and
0 J/(kgK), respectively.

Bioheat
A default Bioheat node is added to the Biological Tissue node. This feature provides
the source terms that represent blood perfusion and metabolism to model heat transfer
in biological tissue using the bioheat equation:
b Cb b (TbT)
Right-click the Biological Tissue node to add more Bioheat subnodes.
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
BIOHEAT

Enter values or expressions for these properties and source terms:


Arterial blood temperature Tb (SI unit: K), which is the temperature at which blood
leaves the arterial blood veins and enters the capillaries. T is the temperature in the
tissue, which is the dependent variable that is solved for and not a material property.
The default tis 310.15 K.
Specific heat, blood Cb (SI unit: J/(kgk)), which describes the amount of heat
energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass of blood. The
default is 0 J/(kgk).
Blood perfusion rate b (SI unit: 1/s, which in this case means (m3/s)/m3),
describes the volume of blood per second that flows through a unit volume of tissue.
The default is 0 1/s.

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Density, blood b (SI unit: kg/m3), which is the mass per volume of blood. The
default is 0 kg/m3.
Metabolic heat source Qmet (SI unit: W/m3), which describes heat generation from
metabolism. Enter this quantity as the unit power per unit volume. The default is
0 W/m3.

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T he He a t T r a n sfer i n Porou s Med i a


Interface
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media user interface (
), found under the Heat Transfer
branch (
) in the Model Wizard, is an extension of the generic Heat Transfer interface
that includes modeling heat transfer through convection, conduction and radiation,
conjugate heat transfer, and non-isothermal flow.
When this interface is added, default nodes are added to the Model BuilderHeat
Transfer in Porous Media, Thermal Insulation (the default boundary condition), and
Initial Values. Right-click the main node to open a context menu and add as many
physics features as required to define the equations, properties and boundary
conditions.
The ability to define material properties, boundary conditions, and more for porous
media heat transfer is activated by selecting the Heat transfer in porous media check box.
(Figure 3-1).

Figure 3-1: The ability to model porous media heat transfer is activated by selecting the
Heat transfer in porous media check box in any Heat Transfer (ht) settings window under
Physical Model.

The rest of the settings for this interface are the same as for the Heat
Transfer interface.

Phase Change: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/Phase_Change/


phase_change

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Show More Physics Options


Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer
in Porous Media User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer in Porous Media User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat
Transfer in Porous Media User Interface
The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface has these nodes described in this section:
Heat Transfer in Porous Media
Thermal Dispersion
These domain, boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes are described forThe Heat
Transfer Interface (listed in alphabetical order):
To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,
select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

Boundary Heat Source

Periodic Heat Condition

Continuity

Point Heat Source

Heat Flux

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Heat Source

Symmetry

Heat Transfer with Phase Change

Temperature

Heat Transfer in Solids

Thermal Contact

Line Heat Source

Thermal Insulation

Outflow

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer

Heat Transfer in Porous Media


The Heat Transfer in Porous Media node is used to specify the thermal properties of a
porous matrix. Right-click to add a Thermal Dispersion subnode. The Heat Transfer

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in Porous Media model uses the following version of the heat equation as the
mathematical model for heat transfer in fluids:
T
C p ------- + Cp u T = kT + Q
t

(3-12)

For a steady-state problem the temperature does not change with time and the first
term disappears. It has these material properties:
Density (SI unit: kg/m3)
Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp (SI unit: J/(kgK)): This describes the amount
of heat energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass.
Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)): A scalar or a tensor if the thermal
conductivity is anisotropic.
Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s): Either an analytic expression or a velocity field from
a fluid-flow interface.
The heat source (or sink) Q: One or more heat sources can be added separately.
The Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless): The ratio of heat capacity at constant
pressure, Cp, to heat capacity at constant volume, Cv.
When using the ideal gas law to describe a fluid, specifying is enough to
evaluate Cp. For common diatomic gases such as air, 1.4 is the
standard value. Most liquids have 1.1 while water has 1.0. is used
in the streamline stabilization and in the variables for heat fluxes and total
energy fluxes. It is also used if the ideal gas law is applied. See
Thermodynamics, Porous Matrix.

If you have the Heat Transfer Module, the Opaque subnode is


automatically added to the entire selection when Surface-to-surface
radiation is activated. The selection can be edited.
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.

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MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups are added, the model inputs appear
here.
There are also two standard model inputsAbsolute pressure and Velocity field. The
absolute pressure is used in some predefined quantities that include the enthalpy (the
energy flux, for example).

Absolute pressure is also used if the ideal gas law is applied. See
Thermodynamics, Porous Matrix.

Absolute Pressure
This section controls both the variable as well as any property value (reference
pressures) used when solving for pressure. There are usually two ways to calculate the
pressure when describing fluid flow and mass and heat transfer. Solve for the absolute
pressure or a pressure (often denoted gauge pressure) that relates back to the absolute
pressure through a reference pressure.
Using one or the other option usually depends on the system and the
equations being solved for. For example, in a straight incompressible flow
problem, the pressure drop over the modeled domain is probably many
orders of magnitude less than atmospheric pressure, which, if included,
reduces the chances for stability and convergence during the solving
process for this variable. In other cases, the absolute pressure may be
required to be solved for, such as where pressure is a part of an expression
for gas volume or diffusion coefficients.
The default Absolute pressure pA (SI unit: Pa) is User defined and is 1 atm (101,325
Pa). When additional physics interfaces are added to the model, the pressure variables
solved can also be selected from the list. For example, if a fluid-flow interface is added
you can select Pressure (spf/fp) from the list.

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When a Pressure variable is selected, the Reference pressure check box is selected by
default and the default value of pref is 1[atm] (1 atmosphere).
This makes it possible to use a system-based (gauge) pressure as the
pressure variable while automatically including the reference pressure in
places where it is required, such as for gas flow governed by the gas law.
While this check box maintains control over the pressure variable and
instances where absolute pressure is required within this respective physics
interface, it may not with physics interfaces that it is being coupled to. In
such models, check the coupling between any interfaces using the same
variable.

Velocity Field
The default Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s) is User defined. When User defined is selected,
enter values or expressions for the components based on space dimension. The defaults
are 0 m/s. Or select an existing velocity field in the model (for example, Velocity field
(spf/fp1) from a Laminar Flow interface).
HEAT CONDUCTION, FLUID

The default Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) is taken From material. If User
defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on the
characteristics of the thermal conductivity, and enter another value or expression.
The thermal conductivity describes the relationship between the heat flux
vector q and the temperature gradient T as in q = kT which is
Fouriers law of heat conduction. Enter this quantity as power per length
and temperature.
THERMODYNAMICS, FLUID

The default Density (SI unit: kg/m3), Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)), and Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless) for a general gas or
liquid use values From material. Select User defined to enter other values or expressions.
Select a Fluid typeGas/Liquid, Moist air, or Ideal gas.

Gas/Liquid
Select Gas/Liquid to specify the Density, the Heat capacity at constant pressure, and the
Ratio of specific heats for a general gas or liquid. The default settings are to use data

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From material. Select User defined to enter another value for the density, heat capacity,

or ratio of specific heats.

Ideal Gas
Select Ideal gas to use the ideal gas law to describe the fluid. Then:
Select a Gas constant typeSpecific gas constant Rs (SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Mean
molar mass Mn (SI unit: kg/mol). For both properties, the default setting is to use
the property value from the material. Select User defined to enter another value for
either of these material properties.

If Mean molar mass is selected, the software uses the universal gas constant
R 8.314 J/(molK), which is a built-in physical constant.
From the list under Specify Cp or , select Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless). For both properties,
the default setting is to use the property value From material. Select User defined to
define another value for either of these material properties.

For an ideal gas, specify either Cp or the ratio of specific heats, , but not
both since these, in that case, are dependent.

Moist Air
If Moist air is selected, the thermodynamics properties are defined as a function of the
quantity of vapor in the moist air. Four different options are available from the Input
quantity list to define the amount of vapor in the moist air:
Select Vapor mass fraction (the default) to define the vapor mass fraction (SI unit:
kg/kg).
Select Concentration to define the concentration of vapor (SI unit: mol/m3). Once
this option is selected a Concentration model input is automatically added in the
Models Inputs section.
Select Moisture content to define the moisture content of the moist air (SI unit: kg/
kg).
Select Relative humidity to define the quantity of vapor from a Reference relative
humidity (SI unit: 1), a Reference temperature (SI unit: K), and a Reference pressure

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(SI unit: Pa). These three reference values are used to estimate the mass fraction of
vapor, which is used to define the thermodynamic properties of the moist air.

Moist Air Theory

IMMOBILE SOLIDS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. The Solid material list can point to any material in the model. Enter
a Volume fraction p (dimensionless) for the solid material.
HEAT CONDUCTION, POROUS MATRIX

The default Thermal conductivity kp (SI unit: W/(mK)) uses values From material. If
User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on
the characteristics of the thermal conductivity and enter another value or expression in
the field or matrix.
The thermal conductivity of the material describes the relationship
between the heat flux vector q and the temperature gradient T as in a
solid material and q = kpT, which is Fouriers law of heat conduction.
THERMODYNAMICS, POROUS MATRIX
3

The default Density p (SI unit: kg/m ) uses values From material. If User defined is
selected, enter another value or expression.
The default Specific heat capacity Cp,p (SI unit: J/(kgK)) uses values From material. If
User defined is selected, enter another value or expression.

The specific heat capacity describes the amount of heat energy required to
produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass of the solid material.

The equivalent volumetric heat capacity of the solid-liquid system is calculated from
C p eq = p p C p p + L C p

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Thermal Dispersion
Right-click the Heat Transfer in Porous Media node to add the Thermal Dispersion
node. This adds an extra term kdT to the right-hand side of
T
C p eq ------- + C p u T = k eq T + Q
t
and specifies the values of the longitudinal and transverse dispersivities.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define.


DISPERSIVITIES

Define the Longitudinal dispersivity lo (SI unit: m) and Transverse dispersivity tr (SI
unit: m).
For the Transverse vertical dispersivity the Thermal Dispersion node defines the tensor
of dispersive thermal conductivity
d = C
k ij
L p L D ij

where Dij is the dispersion tensor


uk ul
D ij = ijkl -----------u
and ijkl is the fourth order dispersivity tensor
lo tr
ijkl = tr ij kl + -------------------- ik jl + il jk
2

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Heat Transfer in Thin Shells


This chapter describes the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells interface found under the
Heat Transfer branch (

) in the Model Wizard.

In this chapter:
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface

145

T he H e a t T r a nsfer i n Th i n Sh el l s U ser
Interface
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells (htsh) user interface (
), found under the Heat
) in the Model Wizard, is suitable for solving thermal-conduction
problems in thin structures and has the equations, edge and point conditions, and heat
sources for modeling heat transfer in thin conductive shell, solving for the temperature.
It is available for 3D models

Transfer branch (

The Thin Conductive Layer is the main node. It adds the equation for the temperature
and provides a settings window for defining the thermal conductivity, the heat capacity
and the density (see Equation 4-1).
When this interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model Builder
Thin Conductive Layer, Insulation/Continuity (a default boundary condition), and Initial
Values. Right-click the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells node to add other features that

implement, for example, edge or point conditions, and heat sources.


INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables
belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first interface in the model) is htsh.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

The default setting is to include All boundaries in the model to define the dependent
variables and the equations. To choose specific boundaries, select Manual from the
Selection list.
SHELL THICKNESS

Define the Shell thickness ds (SI unit: m) (see Equation 4-1). The default is 0.01 m.
SURFACE-TO-SURFACE RADIATION

Select the Surface-to-surface radiation check box to add a Radiation Settings section.

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RADIATION SETTINGS

See The Heat Transfer Interface for details about the Surface-to-surface
radiation method and Radiation resolution settings.

Modify the Transparent media refractive index it is different from 1 that corresponds to
vacuum refractive index and that is a good approximation for air refractive index.
Select the Number of wavelength intervals. Default is one which correspond to a diffuse
gray radiation model. It is possible to define up to 5 wavelength intervals. When the
Number of wavelength intervals is greater than one, a diffuse spectral model is used. It
is then possible to define the surface emissivity per spectral band.
Select the Surface-to-surface radiation methodHemicube or Direct area integration.
If Direct area integration is selected, select the Radiation integration order. Sharp
angles and small gaps between surfaces may require a higher integration order for
accuracy but also more time to evaluate the irradiation.
If Hemicube is selected, select the Radiation resolution. The default is 256.
Select the Use radiation groups check box to enable the ability of defining radiation
groups. This can speed up the radiation calculations in many cases.
Select Linear (the default), Quadratic, Cubic, Quartic or Quintic to define the
Discretization level used for the surface radiosity shape function.
DEPENDENT VA RIA BLES

The dependent variable (field variable) is for the Temperature T. The variable name can
be changed, but the names of dependent variables must be unique within a model.
ADVANCED SETTINGS

Add both a Heat Transfer in Thin Shells (htsh) and Moving Mesh (ale) interface (found
under the Mathematics>Deformed Mesh branch in the Model Wizard) then click the
Show button (
) and select Advanced Physics Options to display this section.
When the model contains moving mesh, the Enable conversions between material and
spatial frame check box is selected by default.

This option has no effect when the model does not contain a moving frame since the
material and spatial frames are identical in this case. With moving mesh, and when this
option is active, the heat transfer physics automatically account for deformation effects

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on heat transfer properties. In particular the effects for volume changes on the density
are considered. Rotation effects on thermal conductivity of an anisotropic material
and, more generally, deformation effects on arbitrary thermal conductivity, are also
covered. When the Enable conversions between material and spatial frame check box is
not selected, the feature inputs (for example, Heat Source, Heat Flux, Boundary Heat
Source, and Line Heat Source) are not converted and all are defined on the Spatial
frame.
DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


) on the Model Builder and then select
Discretization. Select Quadratic (the default), Linear, Cubic, or Quartic for the
Temperature. Specify the Value type when using splitting of complex variablesReal (the
default) or Complex for each of the variables in the table.
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
Show More Physics Options
Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer in Thin
Shells User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface

Shell Conduction: Model Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/


Tutorial_Models_Thin_Structure/shell_conduction

Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Heat Transfer in Thin
Shells User Interface
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface has the following boundary, edge,
point and pair nodes described (listed in alphabetical order):

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The following are described in this section:


Change Effective Thickness

Heat Flux

Change Thickness

Heat Source

Edge Heat Source

Point Heat Source

Initial Values

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Insulation/Continuity

Thin Conductive Layer

These nodes are described for the Heat Transfer interfaces:


External Radiation Source

Prescribed Radiosity

Opaque

Radiation Group

Out-of-Plane Heat Flux


Out-of-Plane Convective Heat Flux

Surface-to-Surface Radiation
(Boundary Condition)

Out-of-Plane Radiation

Temperature

When nodes are described for other interfaces, the difference for this
interface is that Boundaries are selected instead of Domains.

To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,


select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

Heat Flux
Use the Heat Flux node to add heat flux across boundaries. A positive heat flux adds
heat to the domain. The Heat Flux feature adds a heat source (or sink) to edges. It adds
a heat flux qdeq0.
BOUNDARY OR EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries or edges to define.

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PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
HEAT FLUX

See the Heat Flux node, Heat Flux settings section for The Heat Transfer Interface,
which are the same for this interface.
FRAME SELECTION

To display this section add both a Heat Transfer in Thin Shells (htsh) and Moving
Mesh (ale) interface (found under the Mathematics>Deformed Mesh branch in the Model

Wizard). Then click the Show button (

) and select Advanced Physics Options.

The rest of the settings are the same for the Heat Source node as described under the
Frame Selection section.

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

Thin Conductive Layer


The Thin Conductive Layer node adds the heat equation for conductive heat transfer in
shells (see Equation 4-1).
BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific boundaries or select All boundaries as required.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups have been added, the model inputs
are included here.

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HEAT CONDUCTION

Thermal Conductivity Tensor Components

By default, the Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) uses values From material. If
User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on
the characteristics of the thermal conductivity and enter other values or expressions in
the field or matrix.
THERMODYNAMICS

Specify the Density (SI unit: kg/m3) and the Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) to describe the amount of heat energy required to produce a unit
temperature change in a unit mass. The default settings use values From material for
both. If User defined is selected, enter other values or expressions.

Heat Source
The Heat Source node adds a thermal source Q. It adds the following contributions to
the right-hand side of Equation 4-1: d s Q .
The Heat Source describes heat generation within the shell. Express heating and cooling
with positive and negative values, respectively. Add one or more nodes as required; all
heat sources within a boundary contribute to the total heat source. Specify the heat
source as the heat per volume in the domain, as linear heat source, or as a total heat
source (power).
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


HEAT SOURCE

See the Heat Source node, Heat Source settings section for The Heat Transfer
Interface, which are the same for this interface.

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FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Flux node Frame Selection section

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds an initial value for the temperature that can serve as an
initial condition for a transient simulation or as an initial guess for a nonlinear solver.
If more than one set of initial values is needed, right-click the Initial Values node.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific boundaries or select All boundaries as required.
INITIAL VALUES

Enter a value or expression for the initial value of the Temperature T. The default is
approximately room temperature, 293.15 K (20 C). Also enter a Surface radiosity J
(SI unit: W/m2). The default is htsh.Jinit W/m2. This variable is defined under the
4 .
Surface-to-Surface Radiation boundary condition as r T 04 1 r T amb

Change Thickness
Use the Change Thickness node to give parts of the shell a different thickness than that
what is specified on the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells interface Shell Thickness section.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


CHANGE THICKNESS

Specify a value for the Shell thickness ds (SI unit: m). The default value is 0.01 m. This
value replaces the overall thickness for the boundaries that are selected.

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Surface-to-Ambient Radiation
Use the Surface-to-Ambient Radiation condition to add surface-to-ambient radiation to
edges. The net inward heat flux from surface-to-ambient radiation is
4

n d s k T T = T amb T
where is the surface emissivity, is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a predefined
physical constant), and Tamb is the ambient temperature.
EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


MODEL INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here. Initially, this section is empty.
PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
SURFACE-TO-AMBIENT RADIATION

The default Surface emissivity (a dimensionless number between 0 and 1) is taken


From material. An emissivity of 0 means that the surface emits no radiation at all and
an emissivity of 1 means that it is a perfect blackbody.
Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.

Insulation/Continuity
The Insulation/Continuity node is the default edge condition. On external edges, this
edge condition means that there is no heat flux across the edge:
n k g T = 0
On internal edges, this edge condition means that the temperature field and its flux is
continuous across the edge.

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EDGE SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific edges or select All edges as required.
PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

Change Effective Thickness


The Change Effective Thickness node models edges with another thickness than the
overall thickness that is specified in the Heat Transfer in Thin Shells interface Shell
Thickness section. It defines the height of the part of the edge that is exposed to the
ambient surroundings.
EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
CHANGE EFFECTIVE THICKNESS

Enter a value for the Effective thickness de (SI unit: m). The default is 0.01 m. This
value replaces the overall thickness in the edges selected in the Edges section.

Edge Heat Source


The Edge Heat Source node models a linear heat source (or sink). It adds a heat source
qQl or qdeQb. A positive q means heating while a negative q means cooling.
EDGE SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the edges to define.


PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

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EDGE HEAT SOURCE

From the Edge heat source type list, select Heat source defined per unit of length (the
default) or Heat source defined per unit of area.
If Heat source defined per unit of length is selected, click the General source (the default)
or Total line power button.
When General source is selected, enter a value for the distributed heat source, Ql
(SI unit: W/m) in unit power per unit length. Positive Ql is heating while a negative
Ql is cooling. The default is 0 W/m.
If Total line power is selected, enter the total power (total heat source) Pl,tot (SI
unit: W). The default is 0 W.
If Heat source defined per unit of area is selected, click the General source (the default)
or Total boundary power button.
If General source is selected, enter the boundary heat source Qb (SI unit: W/m2). A
positive Qb is heating and a negative Qb is cooling. The default is 0 W/m2.
If Total boundary power is selected, enter the total power (total heat source) Pb, tot
(SI unit: W). The default is 0 W.
FRAME SELECTION

The settings are the same for the Heat Flux node Frame Selection section

About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer

Point Heat Source


The Point Heat Source node models a point heat source (or sink).
POINT S EL EC TION

From the Selection list, choose the points to define.


POINT HEAT SOURC E

Enter a value or expression for the Point heat source Qp (SI unit: W). A positive Qp
means heating while a negative Qp means cooling. The added heat source is equal to
Qp. The default is 0 W.

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T he o r y f o r the H eat Tran sfer i n Th i n


Shells User Interface
The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface theory is described in this section:
About Heat Transfer in Thin Shells
Heat Transfer Equation in Thin Conductive Shell
Thermal Conductivity Tensor Components

About Heat Transfer in Thin Shells


The Heat Transfer in Thin Shells User Interface supports two types of heat transfer:
conduction and out-of-plane heat transfer and is suitable for solving
thermal-conduction problems in thin structures. Because the thermal conductivity
across the shell thickness is very large or the shell is so thin, assume constant
temperature through the shell thickness.
The Thin Conductive Layer node is the main feature. It adds the equation for the
temperature and provides a settings window for defining the thermal conductivity, the
heat capacity and the density:
d s C p

T
+ T d s k g T T = 0
t

(4-1)

Heat Transfer Equation in Thin Conductive Shell


The dependent variable is the temperature T. The interface is defined on 3D faces. The
governing equation for heat transfer in thin shells is:
d s C p

T
+ T d s k g TT = d s Q + d s h u T ext, u T + d s h d T ext, d T
t
(4-2)
4

+ d s u T 4 amb, u T + d s d T 4 amb, d T + d s q u + d s q d
Where T is the tangential derivative along the shell and
is the density (SI unit: kg/m3)
ds is the shell thickness (SI unit: m)

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Cp is the heat capacity (SI unit: J/(kgK)


kg is the thermal conductivity (SI unit: W/(mK)
Q is the heat source (SI unit: W/m3)
hu and hd are the out-of-plane heat transfer coefficients, upside and downside
(SI unit: W/(m2K))
Text, u and Text, d are the out-of-plane external temperatures, upside and downside
(SI unit: K)
u and d are the out-of-plane surface emissivities, upside and downside (SI unit: 1),
Tamb, u and Tamb, d are the out-of-plane ambient temperatures, upside and
downside (SI unit: K)
qu and qd are the out-of-plane inward heat fluxes, upside and downside (SI unit: W/
m2)

Thermal Conductivity Tensor Components


The thermal conductivity k describes the relationship between the heat flux vector q
and the temperature gradient TT as in
q = k g TT
which is Fouriers law of heat conduction (see also The Heat Equation).
The tensor components are specified in the shell local coordinate system, which is
defined from the geometric tangent and normal vectors. The local x direction, exl, is
the surface tangent vector t1 and the local z direction, ezl, is the normal vector n.
Their cross product defines the third orthogonal direction such that:
e xl =

t1

e yl =

e xl e zl

e zl =

= n t1

From this, a transformation matrix between the shells local coordinate system and the
global coordinate system can be constructed in the following way:
e xlx e ylx e zlx
A = e xly e yly e zly
e xlz e ylz e zlz

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The thermal conductivity tensor, kg, can be expressed as


k g = AkA t

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R a d i a t i o n H eat Transfer
This chapter describes the interfaces for modeling radiative heat transfer. The
physics interface for modeling radiative heat transfer are available under the Heat
Transfer>Radiation branch (
) and described in the About the Heat Transfer
Interfaces section.
In this chapter:
The Radiation Branch Versions of the Heat Transfer User Interface
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface
Theory for the Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface
The Radiation in Participating Media User Interface
Theory for the Radiation in Participating Media User Interface
References for the Radiation User Interfaces

159

The Radiation Branch Versions of the


Heat Transfer User Interface
The Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface
The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media User Interface

About the Heat Transfer Interfaces


The Heat Transfer Interface

The Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface


Use the Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation (ht) user interface (
), found
under the Radiation branch (
), to model heat transfer that includes
surface-to-surface radiation. It is a Heat Transfer interface with the Surface-to-surface
radiation check box selected under Physical Model, which enables the Radiation Settings
section.
The following default nodes are also added to the Model BuilderHeat Transfer in Solids
(with a default Opaque node), Thermal Insulation, and Initial Values. Right-click the
node to add other boundary conditions and features.

Except for the Radiation Settings section, the rest of the settings are the
same as for The Heat Transfer Interface.

RADIATION SETTINGS

See the Radiation Settings section for The Surface-To-Surface Radiation


User Interface.

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The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media User


Interface
The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media (ht) user interface (
), found
under the Heat Transfer>Radiation branch (
) in the Model Wizard, combines features
from the Radiation in Participating Media and Heat Transfer interfaces. This enables
the modeling of radiative heat transfer inside a participating medium combined with
heat transfer in solids and fluids. This interface solves for radiative intensity and
temperature fields.
When this interface is added, the Radiation in participating media check box is selected
in the Physical Model section of the main Heat Transfer settings window. The following
default nodes are also added to the Model BuilderHeat Transfer in Solids, Thermal
Insulation, Opaque Surface, Continuity on Interior Boundary, and Initial Values.
Right-click the node to add other boundary conditions and features.
Except for the Participating Media Settings section (described for the The
Radiation in Participating Media User Interface), the rest of the settings
are the same as for The Heat Transfer Interface.

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation
Branch Versions of the Heat Transfer User Interface
Both The Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface and The
Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media User Interface are versions of the
Heat Transfer interface. This means all the nodes are shared with, and described for,

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161

The Heat Transfer Interface, including nodes described for the Highly Conductive
Layer Nodes and Out-of-Plane Heat Transfer Nodes.
The Heat Transfer with Surface-to-Surface Radiation (ht) interface also
has the following nodes available and described for the Surface-to-Surface
Radiation interface:
External Radiation Source
Opaque
Prescribed Radiosity
Radiation Group
Diffuse Mirror
Surface-to-Surface Radiation (Boundary Condition)

The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media (ht) interface


also has the following nodes available:
Continuity on Interior Boundary
Incident Intensity
Opaque Surface
Radiation in Participating Media

To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,


select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

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The following are links to the domain, boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes and
subnodes (listed in alphabetical order):
Boundary Heat Source

Outflow

Continuity

Periodic Heat Condition

Convective Heat Flux

Point Heat Flux

Edge Heat Flux

Point Heat Source

Edge Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Point Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Temperature

Point Temperature

Heat Flux

Pressure Work

Heat Source

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Heat Transfer in Fluids

Symmetry

Heat Transfer in Solids

Temperature

Heat Transfer with Phase Change

Thermal Contact

Highly Conductive Layer

Thermal Insulation

Inflow Heat Flux

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer

Initial Values

Translational Motion

Line Heat Source

Viscous Heating

Open Boundary

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The Surface-To-Surface Radiation


User Interface
The Surface-to-Surface Radiation (rad) user interface (
), found under the Heat
) in the Model Wizard, treats thermal radiation as an
Transfer>Radiation branch (
energy transfer between boundaries and external heat sources where the medium does
not participate in the radiation (radiation in transparent media). The process transfers
energy directly between boundaries and external radiation sources. The radiation
therefore contributes to the boundary conditions rather than to the heat equation
itself.
Right-click the node to add a Surface-to-Surface Radiation boundary condition or other
nodes.
For the Surface-to-Surface Radiation user interface, select a Stationary or Time Dependent
study as a preset study type. The surface-to-surface radiation is always stationary (that
is, the radiation time scale is assumed to be shorter than any other time scale), but the
interface is compatible with all standard study types.
Absolute (thermodynamical) temperature units must be used. See
Specifying Model Equation Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

For this user interface, COMSOL Multiphysics works under the


assumption that the domain medium does not participate in the radiation
process. If the media participate in the radiation, then select The
Radiation in Participating Media User Interface.
This physics user interface solves only for the surface radiosity. To solve
for surface radiosity and temperature, use The Heat Transfer with
Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface instead.
INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables

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belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first user interface in the model) is rad.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

The default setting is to include All boundaries in the model to define the dependent
variables and the equations. To choose specific boundaries, select Manual from the
Selection list.
RADIATION SETTINGS

This section is alway visible in the Surface-to-Surface Radiation interface. To display this
section for any version of the Heat Transfer interface, select the Surface-to-surface
radiation check box under Physical Model settings window.
Define the Wavelength dependence of emissivity.
Keep the default value, Constant, to define a diffuse gray radiation model. In this
case, the surface emissivity has the same definition for all wavelength. Still the
surface emissivity can depend on other quantities, in particular it can be temperature
dependent.
Select Solar and ambient to define a diffuse spectral radiation model with two
spectral bands, one for short wavelengths, [,1], (solar radiation) and one for large
wavelengths, [1,[, (ambient radiation). It is then possible to define the Intervals
endpoint (SI unit m), 1, to adjust the wavelength intervals corresponding to the
solar and ambient radiation. The surface properties can then be defined for each
spectral band. In particular it is possible to define the solar absorptivity for short
wavelengths and the surface emissivity for large wavelengths.
Choose Multiple Spectral Bands and set the Number of wavelength intervals value (2
to 5), to define a diffuse spectral radiation model. It is then possible to provide a
definition of the surface emissivity for each spectral band. Update Intervals endpoint
(SI unit m), 1, 2, ... to define the wavelength intervals [i-1,i[ for i from 1 to
Number of wavelength intervals. Note that the first and the last endpoints, 0 and N
(with N equal to the value selected to define of Number of wavelength intervals), are
predefined and equal to 0 and respectively.
Modify the Transparent media refractive index if it is different from 1 that corresponds
to vacuum refractive index and that is usually a good approximation for air refractive
index.

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Also select the Use radiation groups check box to enable the ability to define radiation
groups, which can, in many cases, speed up the radiation calculations.
Select a Surface-to-surface radiation methodHemicube (the default) or Direct area
integration. See below for descriptions of each method.

If Hemicube is selected, select a Radiation resolution256 is the default.


If Direct area integration is selected, select a Radiation integration order4 is the
default.
Select Linear (the default), Quadratic, Cubic, Quartic or Quintic to define the
Discretization level used for the surface radiosity shape function.

Hemicube
Hemicube is the default method for the heat transfer interfaces. The more
sophisticated and general hemicube method uses a z-buffered projection on the sides
of a hemicube (with generalizations to 2D and 1D) to account for shadowing effects.
Think of it as rendering digital images of the geometry in five different directions (in
3D; in 2D only three directions are needed), and counting the pixels in each mesh
element to evaluate its view factor.
Its accuracy can be influenced by setting the Radiation resolution of the virtual
snapshots. The number of z-buffer pixels on each side of the 3D hemicube equals the
specified resolution squared. Thus the time required to evaluate the irradiation
increases quadratically with resolution. In 2D, the number of z-buffer pixels is
proportional to the resolution property, and thus the time is, as well.
For an axisymmetric geometry, Gm and Famb must be evaluated in a corresponding
3D geometry obtained by revolving the 2D boundaries about the axis. COMSOL
Multiphysics creates this virtual 3D geometry by revolving the 2D boundary mesh into
a 3D mesh. The resolution can be controlled in the azimuthal direction by setting the
number of azimuthal sectors, which is the same as the number of elements to a full
revolution. Try to balance this number against the mesh resolution in the rz-plane.

Direct Area Integration


COMSOL Multiphysics evaluates the mutual irradiation between surface directly,
without considering which face elements are obstructed by others. This means that
shadowing effects (that is, surface elements being obstructed in nonconvex cases) are
not taken into account. Elements facing away from each other are, however, excluded
from the integrals.

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Direct area integration is fast and accurate for simple geometries with no shadowing,
or where the shadowing can be handled by manually assigning boundaries to different
groups.
If shadowing is ignored, global energy is not conserved. Control the
accuracy by specifying a Radiation integration order. Sharp angles and small
gaps between surfaces may require a higher integration order for accuracy
but also more time to evaluate the irradiation.
DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Discretization.

This section is empty for Surface-to-Surface Radiation (rad) interface which define the
shape functions discretization in Radiation Settings.
About the Heat Transfer Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interface
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation
Branch Versions of the Heat Transfer User Interface
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces

Thermo-Photo-Voltaic Cell: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Thermal_Radiation/tpv_cell

Free Convection in a Light Bulb: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Thermal_Radiation/light_bulb

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the


Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface has these domain, boundary, edge,
point, and pair nodes available (listed in alphabetical order):
External Radiation Source
Diffuse Mirror
Opaque

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Prescribed Radiosity
Radiation Group
Surface-to-Surface Radiation (Boundary Condition)

Surface-to-Surface Radiation (Boundary Condition)


The Surface-to-Surface Radiation boundary condition feature handles radiation with
view factor calculation. The feature adds one radiosity shape function per spectral
interval to its selection and uses it as surface radiosity.
Surface-to-Surface Radiation boundary condition adds radiative heat source

contribution
q = G e b T
on the side of the boundary where the radiation is defined. Where the radiation is
defined on both sides the radiative heat source is defined on both sides too.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries where the boundary condition is
applied.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups have been added, the model inputs
are included here.
There is one standard model inputthe Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default is the
temperature variable in the Heat Transfer interface or 293.15 K in the
Surface-to-Surface Radiation interface. This model input is used in the expression for
the blackbody radiation intensity and, when multiple wavelength intervals are used, for
the fractional emissive power. The temperature model input is also used to determine
the variable that receives the radiative heat source. When the model input does not
contain a dependent variable, the radiative heat source is ignored.
RADIATION SETTINGS

When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the interface settings,


select a Radiation direction based on the geometric normal (nx, ny, nz)Opacity

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controlled (the default), Negative normal direction, Positive normal direction, or Both
sides.

Opacity controlled requires that each boundary is adjacent to exactly one opaque
domain. Opacity is controlled by the Opaque boundary condition.
Select Negative normal direction to specify that the surface radiates in the negative
normal direction.
Select Positive normal direction if the surface radiates in the positive normal
direction.
Select Both sides if the surface radiates on both sides.
When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple
spectral bands in the interface settings, select a Radiation direction for each spectral
bandOpacity controlled (the default), Negative normal direction, Positive normal
direction, or Both sides, or None. The Radiation direction defines the radiation direction
for each spectral band similarly as when Wavelength dependence of emissivity is
Constant. Defining a radiation direction for each spectral band make it possible to build
models where the transparency/opacity properties defer between spectral bands. This
is useful for example to represent that glass is opaque to radiation outside of the
0.3-2.5 m wavelength range.
The additional choice, None is used when adjacent domains are either both transparent
or both opaque for a given spectral band.

The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

AMBIENT

Select Define ambient temperature on each side when the ambient temperature differs
between the sides of a boundary. This is needed to define ambient temperature for a
surface that radiates on both side and that is exposed to a hot temperature on one side
(for example, fire) and to a cold temperature on the other side (for example, external
temperature). By default Define ambient temperature on each side is not selected.
Enter an Ambient temperature Tamb (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K. When Define
ambient temperature on each side is selected, define the Ambient temperature Tamb, u

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and Tamb, d on the up and down side respectively. The geometric normal points from
the down side to the up side.
Set Tamb to the far-away temperature in directions where no other
boundaries obstruct the view. Inside a closed cavity, the ambient view
factor, Famb, is theoretically zero and the value of Tamb therefore should
not matter. It is, however, good practice to set Tamb to T or to a typical
temperature value for the cavity surfaces in such cases because that
minimizes errors introduced by the finite resolution of the view factor
evaluation.
SURF ACE FRA CTIONAL EMISS IVE POWER

This section is available only when Wavelength dependence of emissivity is


Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral bands.

When the Fractional emissive power is Blackbody/Graybody, the fractional emissive


power is automatically computer for each spectral band as a function of the band
endpoints and surface temperature.

The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

When the Fractional emissive power is User defined, define the Fractional emissive power,
FEPBi for each spectral band. All fractional emissive powers are expected to be in [0,1]
and their sum is expected to be equal to 1.
SURFACE EMISSIVITY

In diffuse gray and diffuse spectral radiation models, the surface emissivity
and the absorptivity must be equal. For this reason it is equivalent to
define the surface emissivity or the absorptivity.
The surface emissivity settings are defined per spectral interval.

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When the Radiation direction is Opacity controlled, Negative normal direction, or Positive
normal direction for a spectral band, by default, the Surface emissivity (dimensionless)
uses values From material. This is a property of the material surface that depends both
on the material itself and the structure of the surface. Make sure that a material is
defined at the boundary level (by default materials are defined at the domain level).
When the Radiation direction is set to Both sides for a spectral band, define the Material
on upside and Material on downside:

The default for both Material on upside and Material on downside use Boundary
material. The list contains other options based on the materials defined in the
model.
Define the Surface emissivity on the upside and downside, respectively. The
geometric normal points from the down side to the up side. Set the surface
emissivity to a number between 0 and 1, where 0 represents diffuse mirror and 1 is
appropriate for a perfect blackbody. The proper value for a physical material lies
somewhere in-between and can be found from tables or measurements.
When the Radiation direction is set to None for a spectral band, no information is
needed for this spectral band in the Surface Emissivity section.

The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

INIT IA L VA LUES

The surface radiosity initial values are defined per spectral interval.
When the Radiation direction is Opacity controlled, Negative normal direction, or Positive
normal direction for a spectral band Bi, the default Surface radiosity, JBi,init (SI unit:
W/m2) is defined as
J Bi init = Bi e b T init + 1 Bi e b T amb
When Both sides is selected as the Radiation direction,
Enter initial values for the Surface radiosity JBi, init, u and JBi, init, d (SI unit: W/m2).
The default Surface radiosity is ht.JBiinitU and ht.JBiinitD (SI unit: W/m2).
J Bi init u = Bi u e b T init + 1 Bi u e b T amb u

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J Bi init d = Bi d e b T init + 1 Bi d e b T amb d


When None is selected as the Radiation direction, no surface radiosity is defined hence
no initial value is needed.
The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface
settings, in the Radiation Settings section.
In the notation used here, Bi stands for B1, B2,... up to the maximum
number of spectral intervals.
When the model contains one spectral interval, JBi, init, JBi, init, u and
JBi, init, d are named, respectively, Jinit, Jinit, u and Jinit, d

Guidelines for Solving Surface-to-Surface Radiation Problems


Radiation Group Boundaries
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the
Surface-to-Surface Radiation User Interface

Opaque

In the Surface-to-Surface Radiation interface, right-click the


Surface-to-Surface Radiation (rad) node to add an Opaque node.

The Opaque node enables to define the surface-to-surface radiation direction on


boundaries surrounding the domains where the Opaque node is defined. When the
Radiation direction is defined by Opacity controlled in surface-to-surface boundary
features, surface-to-surface radiation propagates in non-opaque domains. Alternatively
the Radiation direction can be defined using the normal orientation or on both sides of
boundaries. In this case the Opaque node is ignored.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define as opaque.

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OPAQUE

When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the user interface


settings, this section is empty. The opacity is then defined for all wavelengths.
When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple
spectral bands in the interface settings, select the spectral bands for which the opacity

is defined by selecting corresponding Opaque on spectral band i check box. By default


the Opaque feature is active for all spectral bands.

The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

Diffuse Mirror
The Diffuse Mirror node is a variant of the surface-to-surface radiation node with a
surface emissivity equal to zero. Diffuse mirror surfaces are common as approximations
of a surface that is well insulated on one side and for which convection effects can be
neglected on the opposite (radiating) side. It resembles a mirror that absorbs all
irradiation and then radiates it back in all directions. The node adds radiosity shape
function for each spectral band to its selection and uses it as surface radiosity.
The radiative heat flux on a diffuse mirror boundary is zero.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries where this boundary condition is
applied.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups have been added, the model inputs
are included here.
There is one standard model inputthe Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default is the
temperature variable in the heat transfer physic interface or 293.15 K in the

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surface-to-surface physic interface. It is used in the blackbody radiation intensity


expression.

The Radiation Settings, Ambient, and Initial Values sections are the same as
for the Surface-to-Surface Radiation (Boundary Condition).

Prescribed Radiosity
Use the Prescribed Radiosity node to specify radiosity on the boundary for each spectral
band. Radiosity can be defined as blackbody or graybody radiation. A user-defined
surface radiosity expression can also be defined.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries where this boundary condition is
applied.
MODEL INPUTS

This section has fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define material
properties. If such user-defined property groups have been added, the model inputs
are included here.
There is one standard model inputthe Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default is the
temperature variable in the Heat Transfer interface or 293.15 K in the Surface-to-Surface
Radiation interface. It is used in the blackbody radiation intensity expression.
RADIATION DIRECTION

When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the interface settings,


select a Radiation direction based on the geometric normal (nx, ny, nz)Opacity
controlled (the default), Negative normal direction, Positive normal direction, or Both
sides.
Opacity controlled requires that each boundary is adjacent to exactly one opaque
domain. Opacity is controlled by the Opaque boundary condition.
Select Negative normal direction to specify that the surface radiates in the negative
normal direction.

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Select Positive normal direction if the surface radiates in the positive normal
direction.
Select Both sides if the surface radiates on both sides.
When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple
spectral bands in the interface settings, select a Radiation direction for each spectral
bandOpacity controlled (the default), Negative normal direction, Positive normal
direction, or Both sides, or None. The Radiation direction defines the radiation direction
for each spectral band similarly as when Wavelength dependence of emissivity is
Constant.

The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

RADIOSITY

Radiosity does not directly affect the boundary condition on the boundary

where it is specified, but rather how that boundary affects others through
radiation.
Select a Radiosity expressionGraybody radiation (the default), Blackbody radiation, or
User defined.

Blackbody Radiation
When Blackbody radiation is selected it sets the surface radiosity expression
corresponding to a blackbody.
When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the interface settings,
it defines J = eb(T) when radiation is defined on one side
or
Ju = eb(Tu) and Jd = eb(Td) when radiation is defined on both sides.
When Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple
spectral bands, it defines for each spectral band
JBi = FEPBi(T)eb(T) when radiation is defined on one side
or

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JBi,d = FEPBi,d(T)eb(Tu) and Jd = FEPBi,d(T)eb(Td) when radiation is defined on


both sides.
When the temperature varies across a pair (for example with a Thin
Thermally Resistive Layer condition is active on the same boundary),
the temperature used to define the radiosity is evaluated on the side
were the surface radiation is defined.
The blackbody hemispherical total emissive power is defined by
ebTn2T4

Graybody Radiation
When Graybody radiation is selected it sets the surface radiosity expression
corresponding to a graybody.
By default, the Surface emissivity (dimensionless) is defined From material. In this
case, make sure that a material is defined at the boundary level (materials are defined
by default at the domain level). If User defined is selected for the Surface emissivity, enter
another value for .
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the interface settings,
when radiation is defined on one side, define the Surface emissivity to set
J = eb(T), or
when radiation is defined on both sides, define the Material on upside, the Surface
emissivity u, Material on downside and the Surface emissivity d on the upside and
downside, respectively. The surface radiosity on upside and downside is then defined
by Ju = ueb(Tu) and Jd = deb(Td) respectively.
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral
bands, for all spectral bands,

when radiation is defined on one side for Bi spectral band, define the Surface
emissivity Bito set JBi = FEPBiBieb(T), or
when radiation is defined on both sides for Bi spectral band, define the Material on
upside, the Surface emissivity Bi,u, Material on downside and the Surface emissivity
Bi, d on the upside and downside, respectively. The surface radiosity on upside and

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downside is then defined by Ju = FEPBi(T)Bi,ueb(Tu) and


Jd = FEPBi(T)Bi,deb(Td) respectively.
The surface emissivity to a number between 0 and 1, where 0 represents
diffuse mirror and 1 is appropriate for a perfect blackbody. The proper
value for a physical material lies somewhere in-between and can be found
from tables or measurements.

User Defined
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Constant in the interface settings and
Radiosity expression is set to User defined, it sets the surface radiosity expression to
J = J0, which specifies how the radiosity of a boundary is evaluated when that boundary
is visible in the calculation of the irradiation onto another boundary in the model.
Enter a Surface radiosity expression, J0 (SI unit: W/m2). The default is 0 W/m2. When
the Radiation direction is set to Both sides (under Radiation Settings) also define the
surface Radiosity expression J0,u and J0,d on the upside and downside, respectively.
The geometric normal points from the downside to the upside.
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral bands,
similar settings are available for each spectral band.

Radiation Group
Add a Radiation Group to a Surface-to-Surface Radiation (rad) interface or
any version of a Heat Transfer (ht) interface where the Surface-to-surface
radiation check box is selected.
Select the Use radiation groups check box under Radiation Settings. By
default the check box is not selected, which means that all radiative
boundaries belong to the same radiation group.
The Radiation Group node enables you to specify radiation groups to speed up the
radiation calculations and gather boundaries in a radiation problem that have a chance
to see one another.
When the Use radiation groups check box is selected, the node is automatically added
to the Model Builder and contains all boundaries selected in the Surface-to-Surface
Radiation (Boundary Condition), or a Prescribed Radiosity feature.

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When the Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral
bands, the radiation groups are defined per spectral band.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries that belong to the same radiation group.
This selection should contain any boundary that is selected in a Surface-to-Surface
Radiation, a Diffuse Mirror, or a Prescribed Radiosity node and that has a chance to see
one of the boundary that is already selected in the Radiation Group.
RADIATION GROUP

When the Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Constant, the radiation group is valid
for all wavelengths, this is empty.
When the Wavelength dependence of emissivity is set to Solar and ambient or Multiple
spectral bands, the radiation group is define for all spectral bands by default. Clear
Radiation group defined on spectral band i check boxes to remove Bi spectral band from
this radiation group.

Radiation Group Boundaries

External Radiation Source


The External Radiation Source node is selected from the Global submenu
and is available for 2D and 3D models in the Surface-to-Surface Radiation
(rad) interface or in any version of a Heat Transfer (ht) interface where
the Surface-to-surface radiation check box is selected.
Add an External Radiation Source to define an external radiation source as a point or
directional radiation source with view factor calculation. Each External Radiation Source
feature contributes to the incident radiative heat flux on all spectral bands, GBi, on all
the boundaries where a Surface-to-surface or Diffuse mirror boundary condition is
active. The source contribution, Gext,Bi, is equal to the product of the view factor of

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the source by the source radiosity. For radiation sources located on a point,
Gext,Bi=Fext,Bi Ps,Bi. For directional radiative source Gext,Bi = Fext,Bi q0,s.
The number of spectral bands is defined in the interface settings, in the
Radiation Settings. When only one spectral band is defined, the Bi
subscript in variable names is removed.

The external radiation sources are ignored on the boundaries when


neither Surface-to-Surface Radiation nor Diffuse Mirror is active. In
particular they are not contributing on boundaries where
Surface-to-Surface Ambient is active.

Because the Surface-to-surface radiation check box cannot be selected with


Out-of-plane heat transfer in 2D, External Radiation Source is not available

in this case.
SOURCE

Select a Source positionPoint coordinate (the default) or Infinite distance. In 3D, Solar
position is also available as an option

Point Coordinate
If Point coordinate is selected, define the Source location xs (SI unit: m) and the Source
power Ps (SI unit: W, default is 0 W). The source radiates uniformly in all directions.
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral bands,
set the Source power definition to Blackbody or User defined. When Blackbody is selected,
enter the Source temperature, Ts (SI unit: K, default is 5780K), to define the source
power on the spectral band Bi as Ps,Bi= FEPBi(Ts)Ps where FEPBi(Ts) is the
fractional black body emissive power over Bi interval at Ts. When User defined is
selected, enter an expression to define the source power on each spectral band Bi, Ps,Bi
(SI unit: W, default is 0 W).

xs should not belong to any surface where a Surface-to-surface or Diffuse


Mirror boundary condition is active.

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The Wavelength dependence of emissivity is defined in the interface


settings, in the Radiation Settings section.

Infinite Distance
If Infinite distance is selected, define the Incident radiation direction is (dimensionless)
and the Source heat flux q0,s (SI unit: W/m2). The default is 0 W/m2.
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral bands,
set the Source heat flux definition to Blackbody or User defined. When Blackbody is
selected, enter the Source temperature, Ts (SI unit: K, default is 5780K), to define the
source heat flux on the spectral band Bi as q0,s,Bi= q0,sFEPBi(Ts) where FEPBi(Ts)
is the fractional black body emissive power over Bi interval at Ts. When User defined is
selected, enter an expression to define the source heat flux on each spectral band Bi,
q0,s,Bi (SI unit: W, default is 0 W).

Solar Position
Solar position is available for 3D models. When this option is selected use

it to estimate the external radiative heat source due to the sun. North,
West, and the up directions correspond to the x, y, and z directions,
respectively.
In the Location table define the:
Latitude, a decimal value, positive in the northern hemisphere; the default is
Greenwich UK latitude, 51.479; as the value is expected to represent degrees and
as the models unit for angles maybe different (SI unit for angle is radian), the value
should be enter without any unit to avoid double conversion;
Longitude, a decimal value, positive at the East of the Prime Meridian; the default is
Greenwich UK longitude, 0.01064; as the value is expected to represent degrees
and as the models unit for angles maybe different (SI unit for angle is radian), the
value should be enter without any unit to avoid double conversion; and
Time zone, the number of hours to add to UTC to get local time; the default is
Greenwich UK time zone, 0.

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In the Date table, enter the:


Day, the default is 01; as the value is expected to represent days and as the models
unit for time maybe different (SI unit for time is second), the value should be enter
without any unit to avoid double conversion;
Month, the default is 6, which is June; as the value is expected to represent months
and as the models unit for time maybe different (SI unit for time is second), the
value should be enter without any unit to avoid double conversion; and
Year, the default is 2012. As the value is expected to represent years and as the
models unit for time maybe different (SI unit for time is second), the value should
be enter without any unit to avoid double conversion. The solar position is accurate
for a date between 2000 and 2199.
In the Local time table, enter the:
Hour, the default is 12; as the value is expected to represent hours and as the models
unit for time maybe different (SI unit for time is second), the value should be enter
without any unit to avoid double conversion;
Minute, the default is 0; as the value is expected to represent minutes and as the
models unit for time maybe different (SI unit for time is second), the value should
be enter without any unit to avoid double conversion; and
Second, the default is 0.
The sun position is updated if the location, date, or local time changes
during a simulation. In particular for transient analysis, if the unit system
for the time is in seconds (the default), the time change can be taken into
account by adding t to the Second field in the Local time table.
In the Solar irradiance field Is (SI unit: W/m2) define the incident radiative intensity
coming from the sun. The default is 1000 W/m2. Is represents the heat flux received
from the sun by a surface perpendicular to the sun rays. When surfaces are not
perpendicular to the sun rays the heat flux received from the sun depends on the
incident angle.
If Wavelength dependence of emissivity is Solar and ambient or Multiple spectral bands,
the solar irradiance is divided among all spectral bands Bi as q0,s,Bi= q0,sFEPBi(Tsun)
where FEPBi(Tsun) is the fractional black body emissive power over Bi interval at
Tsun=5780K.

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Theory for the Surface-to-Surface


Radiation User Interface
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface theory is described in this section:
Wavelength Dependence of Surface Emissivity and Absorptivity
The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Gray Surfaces
The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Spectral Surfaces
View Factor Evaluation
About Surface-to-Surface Radiation
Guidelines for Solving Surface-to-Surface Radiation Problems
Radiation Group Boundaries
References for the Radiation User Interfaces

Wavelength Dependence of Surface Emissivity and Absorptivity


The surface properties for radiation, the emissivity and absorptivity can be dependent
on the angle of emission/absorption, surface temperature or radiation wavelength.
The surface-to-surface radiation feature in the Heat Transfer module implements the
radiosity method that enable arbitrary temperature dependence and assumes that the
emissivity and absorptivity is independent of the angle of emission.absorption. It is also
possible to account for wavelength dependency of the surface emissivity and
absorptivity.
PLANK SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION

The Plancks distribution of emissive power for a blackbody in vacuum is given as a


function of the surface temperature and of wavelength.
The blackbody hemispherical emissive power is noted eb,(,T) and defined as
2n 2 C 1
e b T = -----------------------------C2
------
5 T
e 1

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(5-1)

were
is the wavelength in vacuum
2

C 1 = hc0
C 2 = hc0 k
h is the Planck's constant
k is the Boltzmann constant
c0 is the speed of the light in vacuum
The graphs below show the hemispherical spectral emissive power for a blackbody at
5780K (sun black body temperature) and for a black body at 300K. The dotted vertical
lines delimit the visible wavelength (0.4 to 0.7m).

Figure 5-1: Planck distribution of a blackbody at 5780K

THEORY FOR THE SURFACE-TO-SURFACE RADIATION USER INTERFACE

183

Figure 5-2: Planck distribution of a blackbody at 300K


The integral of eb,(,T) over a spectral band represents the power radiated on the
spectral band and is defined by

eb T d = F T T 0 eb T d = F T T n2 T4
1

where F 1 T 2 T is the fractional black body emissive power,


2

F 1 T 2 T =

e T d
--------------------------------------- b

0 b
1

One can notice that and that


F 1 T 2 T = F 0 2 T F 0 1 T and F 0 = 1

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Note also that


eb T =

0 eb T d =

n 2 T 4

as defined for a black surface by the Stefan-Boltzmann law.


DIFFUSE-GRAY SURFACES

Diffuse-gray surfaces correspond to the hypothesis that surface properties are


independent of the radiation wavelength and of the angle between the surface normal
and the radiation direction.
The assumption that the surface emissivity is independent of the radiation wavelength
is often valid when most of the radiative power is concentrated on a relatively narrow
spectral band. This is likely the case when the radiation is emitted by surface at
temperatures in limited range.

This setting is rarely applicable if there is a solar radiation.

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185

SOLAR AND AMBIENT SPECTRAL BANDS

When solar radiation is part of the model, it is possible to enhance diffuse-gray surface
model by considering two spectral bands: one for short wavelengths and one for large
wavelengths.
It is interesting to notice that about 97% of the radiated power
from a blackbody at 5800K is at wavelengths of 2.5m or shorter.
from a blackbody at 700K is at wavelengths of 2.5m or longer.

Figure 5-3: Normalized Planck distribution of blackbodies at 700K and 5800K


Many problems have a solar load, but the peak temperatures are below 700K.
In such cases, it is appropriate to use a two-band approach with a solar band (for
wavelengths shorter than 2.5m) and a ambient band (for wavelengths above 2.5m).
For each surface, properties are then described in terms of a solar absorptivity and an
emissivity.

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Solar irradiation,
< 2.5 m

Re-radiation to
surroundings,
> 2.5 m

Figure 5-4: Absorption of solar radiation and emission to surroundings


By splitting the bands at the default of 2.5um, the fraction of absorbed solar radiation
on each surface is defined primarily by the solar absorptivity.
The re-radiation at longer wavelengths (objects below ~700K) and the re-absorption
of this radiation is defined primarily via the emissivity
Emissivity

Wavelength

Figure 5-5: Solar and ambient spectral band approximation of the surface emissivity by a
constant per band emissivity

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187

GENERAL DIFFUSE-SPECTRAL SURFACES

Diffuse-spectral surfaces correspond to the hypothesis that surface properties are


wavelength dependent but independent of the angle between the surface normal and
the radiation direction.
The heat transfer module enables to define constant surface properties per spectral
bands (with up to 5 spectral bands) and to adjust spectral intervals endpoints.
Emissivity

Wavelength

The multiple spectral bands approach is used in cases when the surface emissivity varies
significantly over the bands of interest.

The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Gray Surfaces


The radiation interacts with convective and conductive heat transfer through the
source term in the Heat Flux and Boundary Heat Source boundary conditions. By
definition, this source must be the difference between incident radiation and radiation
leaving the surface. According to Equation 2-9 it is given by
q = GJ
where
G is the incoming radiative heat flux, or irradiation (SI unit: W/m2).
J is the total outgoing radiative flux, or radiosity (SI unit: W/m2).
The irradiation, G, at a point can in general be written as a sum according to:
G = G m + G ext + G amb
where
Gm is the mutual irradiation, coming from other boundaries in the model
(SI unit: W/m2).

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(5-2)

Gext is the irradiation from external radiation sources (SI unit: W/m2). Gext is the
sum of the products, for each external source, of the external heat sources view
factor by the corresponding source radiosity. For radiation sources located on a
point, Gext=Fext(xs) Ps. For directional radiative source Gext=Fext(is) q0,s.
G ext =

Gext Ps + Gext q0 s

G amb = n 2 F amb T amb is the ambient irradiation. Famb is an ambient view factor
whose value is equal to the fraction of the field of view that is not covered by other
boundaries. Therefore, by definition, 0Famb1 must hold at all points. Tamb is
the assumed far-away temperature in the directions included in Famb.
The radiosity, J, is the sum of the reflected irradiation and the emitted irradiation. For
diffuse-gray surface, J is defined by:
J = G + e b T
where
is the surface reflectivity which is equal to 1- for diffuse-gray surfaces.
is the surface emissivity, a dimensionless number in the range 01.
Diffuse-gray surface hypothesis corresponds to surfaces where is independent on
the radiation wavelength.
4

e b T = n 2 T is the blackbody hemispherical total emissive power.


n is the transparent media refractive index.
is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (a predefined physical constant equal to
5.670400108 W/(m2T4)).
T is the surface temperature (SI unit: K)
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface includes these radiation types:
Surface-to-Surface Radiation is the default radiation type. It requires accurate
evaluation of the mutual irradiation, Gm. The incident radiation at one point on the
boundary is a function of the exiting radiation, or radiosity, J (W/m2), at every
other point in view. The radiosity, in turn, is a function of Gm, which leads to an
implicit radiation balance:
J = 1 G + e b T = 1 G m J + G ext + G amb + e b T

(5-3)

Diffuse mirror is a variant of the Surface-to-Surface Radiation radiation type with


= 0. Reradiation surfaces are common as an approximation of a surface that is well

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189

insulated on one side and for which convection effects can be neglected on the
opposite (radiating) side (see Ref. 4). It resembles a mirror that absorbs all
irradiation and then radiates it back in all directions.
Prescribed radiosity makes it possible to specify graybody radiation. The radiosity
expressions is then eb(T). A user-defined surface radiosity expression can also be
defined.
The Surface-to-Surface Radiation interface treats the radiosity J as a shape function
unless J is prescribed.

The Radiosity Method for Diffuse-Spectral Surfaces


For a general diffuse spectral surface:
J =

=0 T eb T d

where
(,T) is the hemispherical spectral surface emissivity, a dimensionless number in
the range 01. Diffuse-spectral surface corresponds to a surface where is
dependent on the radiation wavelength and surface temperature.
T is the surface temperature (SI unit: K)
eb,(,T) is the black body hemispherical emissive power defined by Equation 5-1.
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface assumes that the surface emissivity
and opacity properties are constant per spectral band. It defines N spectral band (N=2
when solar and ambient radiation model is used),
B i = i 1 i i 1..N with 0 = 0 and N =
The surface properties can then be defined per spectral band:
Surface emissivity on Bi: i T = T i 1 i
Ambient irradiation on Bi, assuming that the ambient fractional emissive power
corresponds to these of a blackbody at Tamb:
G amb i =

i1

G amb d = F i 1 T i T F amb e b T amb

External radiation sources on Bi with q 0 s i and P s i the external radiation source


heat flux and source power over Bi i 1..N :

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G ext i =

i1

G ext d = F ext i i s q 0 s i

or
G ext i =

i1

G ext d = F ext i i s P s i

When the external source fractional emissive power corresponds to these of a


blackbody at Text, external radiation sources can be defined on Bi from the external
radiation source heat flux and source power over all wavelengths, q 0 s and P s :
G ext i = F ext i F i 1 T i T i s q 0 s
or
G ext i = F ext i F i 1 T i T i s P s
The Surface-To-Surface Radiation User Interface includes these radiation types:
Surface-to-Surface Radiation is the default radiation type. The incident radiation
over Bi spectral band at one point on the boundary is a function of the existing
radiation, or radiosity, Ji (W/m2), at every other point in view. The radiosity, in
turn, is a function of Gm,i, which leads to an implicit radiation balance:
J i = 1 i G i + i e b T = 1 i G m i J i + G ext i + G amb i + i e b T (5-4)
Diffuse mirror is a variant of the Surface-to-Surface Radiation radiation type with
i = 0. Reradiation surfaces are common as an approximation of a surface that is well
insulated on one side and for which convection effects can be neglected on the
opposite (radiating) side (see Ref. 4). It resembles a mirror that absorbs all
irradiation and then radiates it back in all directions.
Prescribed radiosity makes it possible to specify the surface radiation for each
spectral band. Using graybody radiation definition, the radiosity is then
F 1 T 2 T e b T . A user-defined surface radiosity expression can also be defined.
The Surface-to-Surface Radiation interface treats the radiosity Ji as a shape function
unless Ji is prescribed.

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191

View Factor Evaluation


The strategy for evaluating view factors is central to any radiation simulation. Loosely
speaking, a view factor is a measure of how much influence the radiosity at a given part
of the boundary has on the irradiation at some other part.
The quantities Gm and Famb in Equation 5-3 are not strictly view factors in the
traditional sense. Famb is the view factor of the ambient portion of the field of view,
which is considered to be a single boundary with constant radiosity
J amb = e b T amb
Gm, on the other hand, is the integral over all visible points of a differential view factor
times the radiosity of the corresponding source point. In the discrete model, think of
it as a product of a view factor matrix and a radiosity vector. This is, however, not
necessarily the way the calculation is performed.
A separate evaluation is performed for each unique point where Gm or Famb is
requested, typically for each quadrature point during solution. Differential view factors
are normally computed only once, the first time they are needed, and then stored in
memory until next time the model definition or the mesh is changed.
The Heat Transfer Module supports two surface-to-surface radiation methods, which
are selected in the Radiation Settings section from the Heat Transfer interface.
View factors are always calculated directly from the mesh, which is a
polygonal, flat-faceted representation of the geometry. To improve the
accuracy of the radiative heat transfer simulation, the mesh must be
refined rather than raising the element order.
VIEW FACTOR FOR EXTERNAL RADIATION SOURCES

In 3D, the view factor for a point at finite distance is given by


2

cos 4r
where is the angle between the normal to the irradiated surface and the direction of
the source, and r is the distance from the source. For a source at infinity, the view factor
is given by cos .
In 2D the view factor for a point at finite distance is given by
cos 2r

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and the view factor for a source at infinity is cos .


SOLA R POSITION

The sun is the most common example of an external radiation source. The position of
the sun is necessary to determine the direction of the corresponding external radiation
source. The direction of sunlight (zenith angle and the solar elevation) is automatically
computed from the latitude, longitude, time zone, date, and time using similar
method as described in Ref. 6. The estimated solar position is accurate for a date
between year 2000 and 2199, due to an approximation used in the Julian Day
calculation.
The zenith angle (zen) and the azimuth (azi) angles of the sun are converted into a
direction vector (isx, isy, isz) in Cartesian coordinates assuming that the North, the
West, and the up directions correspond to the x, y, and z directions, respectively, in the
model. The relation between azi, zen and (isx, isy, isz) is given by:
is x = cos azi sin zen
is y = sin azi sin zen
is z = cos zen
RADIATION IN AXISYMMETRIC GEOMETRIES

For an axisymmetric geometry, Gm and Famb must be evaluated in a corresponding


3D geometry obtained by revolving the 2D boundaries about the axis. COMSOL
Multiphysics creates this virtual 3D geometry by revolving the 2D boundary mesh into
a 3D mesh. The resolution can be controlled in the azimuthal direction by setting the
number of azimuthal sectors, which is the same as the number of elements to a full
revolution. Try to balance this number against the mesh resolution in the rz-plane.
This number, Azimuthal sectors, is accessible from the Radiation Settings section in
physics interfaces for heat transfer.
Select between the hemicube and the direct area integration methods also in axial
symmetry. Their settings work the same way as in 3D.
While Gm and Famb are in fact evaluated in a full 3D, the number of
points where they are requested is limited to the quadrature points on the
boundary of a 2D geometry. The savings compared to a full 3D
simulation are therefore substantial despite the full 3D view factor code
being used.

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193

About Surface-to-Surface Radiation


Surface-to-surface radiation is more complex than those topics discussed in the section
Radiative Heat Transfer in Transparent Media. It includes radiation from both the
ambient surroundings and from other surfaces. A generalized equation for the
irradiative flux is:
G = G m + G ext + G amb

(5-5)

where
Gm is the mutual irradiation (SI unit: W/m2) arriving from other surfaces in the
modeled geometry,
Gext is irradiation from external sources (SI unit: W/m2).
G amb = F amb e b T amb is the ambient irradiation (SI unit: W/m2), Famb is the
ambient view factor and Tamb is the assumed far-away temperature in the directions
included in Famb. Famb describes the portion of the view from each point that is
covered by ambient conditions. n is the transparent media refractive index. Gm on
the other hand is determined from the geometry and the local temperatures of the
surrounding boundaries.
The following sections derive the equations for Gm, Gext and Gamb for a general 3D
case.
Consider a point x on a surface as in Figure 5-6. Point x can see points on other
surfaces as well as the ambient surrounding. Assume that the points on the other
surfaces have a local radiosity, J', while the ambient surrounding has a constant
temperature, Tamb.

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Figure 5-6: Example geometry for surface-to-surface radiation.


The mutual irradiation at point x is given by the following surface integral:
Gm =

n' r n r

- J' dS
----------------------------------4
r

S'

The heat flux that arrives from x' depends on the local radiosity J' projected onto x .
The projection is computed using the normal vectors n and n' along with the vector
r , which points from x to x' .
The irradiation from external radiation sources is the sum of the ###
The ambient view factor, Famb, is determined from the integral of the surrounding
surfaces S', here denoted as F', determined from the integral below:
F amb = 1 F ' = 1

n' r n r

- dS
----------------------------------4
r

S'

The two last equations plug into Equation 5-5 to yield the final equation for irradiative
flux.

THEORY FOR THE SURFACE-TO-SURFACE RADIATION USER INTERFACE

195

The equations used so far apply to the general 3D case. 2D geometries results in
simpler integrals. For 2D the resulting equations for the mutual irradiation and
ambient view factor are
Gm =

n' r n r

- J' dS
----------------------------------------3
2r

F amb = 1

(5-6)

S '

n' r n r

- dS
----------------------------------------3
2r

S '

where the integral over S ' denotes the line integral along the boundaries of the 2D
geometry.
In axisymmetric geometries, the irradiation and ambient view factor cannot be
computed directly from a closed-form expression. Instead, a virtual 3D geometry must
be constructed, and the view factors evaluated according to Equation 5-6.

Guidelines for Solving Surface-to-Surface Radiation Problems


The following guidelines are helpful when selecting solver settings for models that
involve surface-to-surface radiation:
Surface-to-surface radiation makes the Jacobian matrix of the discrete model partly
filled as opposed to the usual sparse matrix. The additional nonzero elements in the
matrix appear in the rows and columns corresponding to the radiosity degrees of
freedom. It is therefore common practice to keep the element order of the radiosity
variable, J, low. By default, linear Lagrange elements are used irrespective of the
shape-function order specified for the temperature. When you need to increase the
resolution of your temperature field, it might be worth considering raising the order
of the temperature elements instead of refining the mesh.
The Assembly block size parameter (found in the Advanced section of the solver
feature) can have a major influence on memory usage during the assembly of
problems where surface-to-surface radiation is enabled. It may be useful to consider
a block size as small as 100. Using a smaller block size also leads to more frequent
updates of the progress bar.

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Radiation Group Boundaries


The Radiation Group node is only available when the Use radiation
groups check box is selected under Radiation Settings. By default this
check box is not selected, which means that all radiative boundaries
belong to the same radiation group.
For radiation problems, a boundary grouping can be applied to save computational
time. A radiation group can be defined using a Radiation Group node; see Radiation
Group for details.
A default group contains all boundaries selected in a Surface-to-Surface Radiation,
Diffuse Mirror, or Prescribed Radiosity node. When a node is added to another
radiation group, it is overridden in the default group. Then this boundary can be
added to other radiation groups without being overridden by the manually added
radiation groups.
Be careful when grouping boundaries in axisymmetric geometries. The
grouping cannot be based on which boundaries have a free view toward
each other in the 2D geometry. Instead, consider the full 3D geometry,
obtained by revolving the model geometry about the z axis, when
defining groups.
For example, parallel vertical boundaries must typically belong to the
same group in 2D axisymmetric models, but to different groups in a
planar model using the same 2D geometry.
Figure 5-7 shows four examples of possible boundary groupings. On boundaries that
have no number, the user has NOT set a node among the Surface-to-Surface
Radiation, Diffuse Mirror, and Prescribed Radiosity nodes. These boundaries do not
irradiate other boundaries, neither do other boundaries irradiate them.
On boundaries that belong to one or more radiation group, the user has set a node
among the Surface-to-Surface Radiation, Diffuse Mirror, and Prescribed Radiosity
nodes. The numbers on each boundary specify different groups to which the boundary
belongs.
To obtain optimal computational performance, it is good practice to specify as many
groups as possible as opposed to specifying few but large groups. For example, in

THEORY FOR THE SURFACE-TO-SURFACE RADIATION USER INTERFACE

197

Figure 5-7, case (b) is more efficient than case (d).

B
1

12

2
123

2
3

inefficient boundary grouping

1
1

1
1

1
2

Figure 5-7: Examples of radiation group boundaries.

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1
1

T he R a di a t i o n i n Part i ci p at i n g Med i a
U s e r Inte r f a c e
The Radiation in Participating Media (rpm) user interface (
), found under the Heat
) in the Model Wizard, enables the modeling of radiative
heat transfer inside a participating medium. This interface solves for radiative intensity
field. Solves only for radiation variables. In order to solve for radiation and
temperature, use a Heat Transfer interface.

Transfer>Radiation branch (

When the interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model Builder
Radiation in Participating Media, Wall, Continuity on Interior Boundary, and Initial Values.

Right-click the main node to add boundary conditions or other features.


To display this section select the Radiation in participating media check box under
Physical Model on any version of the Heat Transfer interface settings window.
INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables
belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first interface in the model) is rpm.
DOMAIN SELECTION

The default setting is to include All domains in the model to define the dependent
variables and the equations. To choose specific domains, select Manual from the
Selection list.

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199

PARTICIPATING MEDIA SETTINGS

Refractive Index
Define the Refractive index nr (dimensionless) of the participating media.

The same refractive index is used for the whole model.

Performance Index
Select a Performance index Pindex from the list. Select a value between 0 and 1 that
modifies the strategy used to define automatic solver settings. The default is 0.4. With
small values, a robust setting for the solver is expected. With large values (up to 1), less
memory is needed to solve the model.

Discrete Ordinates Method


Select the Discrete ordinates method order from the list. This order defines the
discretization of the radiative intensity direction.

In 3D, S2, S4, S6, and S8 generate 8, 24, 48, and 80 directions,
respectively. The default is S4.

In 2D, S2, S4, S6, and S8 generate 4, 12, 24, and 40 directions,
respectively.

Discretization Level
Select Linear (the default), Quadratic, Cubic, Quartic, or Quintic to define the
Discretization level.
DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

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C H A P T E R 5 : R A D I A T I O N H E A T TR A N S F E R

) and select Discretization.

This section is empty for Radiation in Participating Media (rpm) interface which define
the shape functions discretization in Discretization Level..
About the Heat Transfer Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interface
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
Theory for the Heat Transfer User Interfaces
Theory for the Radiation in Participating Media User Interface
Show More Physics Options
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation in
Participating Media User Interface

Radiative Heat Transfer in Finite Cylindrical Media: Model Library


path Heat_Transfer_Module/Tutorial_Models/cylinder_participating_media
Radiative Heat Transfer in a Utility Boiler: Model Library path
Heat_Transfer_Module/Thermal_Radiation/boiler

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the Radiation
in Participating Media User Interface
The Radiation in Participating Media User Interface has these domain, boundary,
edge, point, and pair nodes available and described here:
Radiation in Participating Media
Continuity on Interior Boundary
Incident Intensity
Opaque Surface
These nodes are described for other interfaces:
Opaque
To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,
select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

201

Radiation in Participating Media


The Radiation in Participating Media node uses the radiative transfer equation
s
I = I b T I + -----4

I d

where
I) is the radiative intensity in the direction
T is the temperature
, s and s are absorption, extinction, and scattering coefficients
Ib is the blackbody radiative intensity
is the scattering phase function
The following equation is the blackbody radiation intensity and n is the refractive
index:
2

n T
I b T = ----------------

It also adds the radiative heat source term in the heat transfer equation:
Q r = q r = G 4T 4
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define.


MODELS INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here.
There is one standard model inputthe Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default is to
use the heat transfer dependent variable.
ABSORPTION

The default Absorption coefficient (SI unit: 1/m) uses the value From material. The
absorption coefficient defines the amount of radiation, I, that is absorbed by the
medium. If User defined is selected, enter another value or expression.

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SCATTERING

The default Scattering coefficient s (SI unit: 1/m) uses the value From material. If User
defined is selected, enter another value or expression. The default is 0.
Select the Scattering typeIsotropic, Linear anisotropic, or Polynomial anisotropic. This
provides three options to define the scattering phase function using the cosine of the
scattering angle, 0:
Isotropic (the default) corresponds to the scattering phase function 0 = 1 .
If Linear anisotropic is selected, it defines the scattering phase function as
0 = 1 + a 1 0 . Enter the Legendre coefficient a1.
If Polynomial anisotropic is selected, it defines the scattering phase function
12

0 = 1 +

am Pm 0

m=1

Enter the Legendre coefficients a1, , a12 as required.


INIT IA L VA LUES

For The Heat Transfer with Radiation in Participating Media User


Interface, an Initial Values section is added, which has a default Radiative
intensity of ht.Ibinit (SI unit: W/m2).

Opaque Surface
The Opaque Surface node is available for The Heat Transfer with Radiation
in Participating Media User Interface version of the Heat Transfer
interface. It is also available for The Radiation in Participating Media User
Interface.
The Opaque Surface node defines a boundary opaque to radiation. The Opaque Surface
node prescribes incident intensities on a boundary and accounts for the net radiative
heat flux, qw, that is absorbed by the surface.

THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

203

BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific boundaries or select All boundaries as required.
PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.
MODELS INPUTS

This section contains fields and values that are inputs to expressions that define
material properties. If such user-defined materials are added, the model inputs appear
here.
There is one standard model inputthe Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default is
293.15 K and is used in the black-body radiative intensity expression.

The boundary temperature definition can differ from the that of the
temperature in the adjacent domain.

WA LL SE TTIN GS

Select a Wall type to define the behavior of the wallGray wall or Black wall.

Gray Wall
If Gray wall is selected the default Surface emissivity e value is taken From material (a
material defined on the boundaries). Select User defined to enter another value or
expression. Enter a Diffusive reflectivity d.
Both are dimensionless numbers between 0 and 1 that satisfy the relation dw1.
By default d1w. In this case, an emissivity of 0 means that the surface emits no
radiation at all and that all outgoing radiation is diffusely reflected by this boundary.
An emissivity of 1 means that the surface is a perfect black body, outgoing radiation is
fully absorbed on this boundary. If d1w, it means that the wall is not opaque
and that a part of the outgoing radiative intensity goes through the wall without being
reflected nor absorbed.
Radiative intensity (W/m2 in SI units) along incoming discrete directions on this
boundary is defined by

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C H A P T E R 5 : R A D I A T I O N H E A T TR A N S F E R

d
I i bnd = w I b T + ------ q out

Black Wall
If Black wall is selected, no user input is required and the radiative intensity along the
incoming discrete directions on this boundary is defined by
I i bnd = I b T
Values of radiative intensity along outgoing discrete directions are not prescribed.

Incident Intensity
The Incident Intensity node is available for The Heat Transfer with
Radiation in Participating Media User Interface version of the Heat
Transfer interface. It is also available for The Radiation in Participating
Media User Interface.
Use an Incident Intensity node to specify the radiative intensity along incident
directions on a boundary.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


PAIR SELECTION

If this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity pair
has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

205

INCIDENT INTENSITY

Enter a Boundary radiation intensity Iwall (SI unit: W/m2). This represents the value
of radiative intensity along incoming discrete directions. Values of radiative intensity
on outgoing discrete directions are not prescribed.
The components of each discrete ordinate vector can be used in this
expression. The syntax is interfaceIdentifier.sx,
interfaceIdentifier.sy, interfaceIdentifier.sz where
interfaceIdentifier is the physics interface identifier. By default, the
Heat Transfer interface identifier is ht so ht.sx, ht.sy, and ht.sz
correspond to the components of discrete ordinate vectors.

Continuity on Interior Boundary


The Continuity on Interior Boundary node enables intensity conservation across internal
boundaries. It is the default boundary condition for all internal boundaries.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface.
PAIR SELECTION

When this node is selected from the Pairs menu, choose the pair to define. An identity
pair has to be created first. Ctrl-click to deselect.

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Theory for the Radiation in


Participating Media User Interface
Radiation and Participating Media Interactions

Figure 5-8: Example of interactions between participating media and radiation.


In some applications the medium is not completely transparent and the radiation rays
interact with the medium.
Let I denote the radiative intensity traveling in a given direction, . Different kinds
of interactions are observed:
Absorption: The medium absorbs a fraction of the incident radiation. The amount
of absorbed radiation is I where is the absorption coefficient.
Emission: The medium emits radiation in all directions. The amount of emitted
radiative intensity is equal to Ib, where Ib is the blackbody radiation intensity.
Scattering: A part of the radiation coming from a given direction is scattered in other
directions. The scattering properties of the medium are described by the scattering
phase function ij, which gives the probability that a ray coming from one
direction i is scattered into the direction j. The phase function (i, j) satisfies

THEORY FOR THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

207

1
-----4

i d i =

Radiative intensity in a given direction is attenuated and augmented by scattering:


- It is attenuated because a part of incident radiation in this direction is scattered
into other directions. The amount of radiation attenuated by scattering is sI.
- It is augmented because a part of radiative intensity coming from other directions
is scattered in all direction, including the direction we are looking at. The amount
of radiation augmented by scattering is obtained by integrating scattering coming
form all directions i:

------s
4

I i i di
4

Radiative Transfer Equation


The balance of the radiative intensity including all contributions (propagation,
emission, absorption, and scattering) can now be formulated. The general radiative
transfer equation can be written as (see Ref. 1)
s
I = I b T I + -----4

I d

where
I is the radiative intensity at a given position following the direction
T is the temperature
, s, s are absorption, extinction, and scattering coefficients, respectively
2

n T
I b T = ----------------

(5-7)

Equation 5-7 is the blackbody radiation intensity, and n is the refractive index of the
media
' is the phase function that gives the probability that a ray from the
direction is scattered into the direction. The phase functions definition is material
dependent and its definition can be complicated. It is common to use approximate

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C H A P T E R 5 : R A D I A T I O N H E A T TR A N S F E R

scattering phase functions that are defined using the cosine of the scattering angle, 0.
The current implementation handles:
Isotropic phase function:
' = 0 = 1
Linear anisotropic phase function:
0 = 1 + a1 0
Polynomial anisotropic up to the 12th order:
12

0 = 1 +

an Pn 0
n=1

where Pn are nth-order Legendre polynomials.


Legendre polynomials can be defined by the Rodriguez formula:
k
1 dk 2
P k x = ----------x 1
k
k
2 k! d x

A quantity of interest is the incident radiation, denoted G and defined by


4

G =

Boundary Condition for the Transfer Equation


For gray walls, corresponding to opaque surfaces reflecting diffusively and emitting,
the radiative intensity Ibnd entering participating media along the direction is
d
I bnd = w I b T + ------ q out

for all such that n 0

where
2

n T
I b T = ----------------

(5-8)

Equation 5-8 is the blackbody radiation intensity and n is the refractive index
w is the surface emissivity, which is in the range [0, 1]

THEORY FOR THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

209

d1w is the diffusive reflectivity


n is the outward normal vector
qout is the heat flux striking the wall:
q out =

wj Ij n j

n j 0

For black walls w1 and d0. Thus IbndIbT.

Heat Transfer Equation in Participating Media


Heat flux in gray media is defined by
qr n =

I n

Heat flux divergence can be defined as a function of G and T (see Ref. 1):
Q r = q r = G 4nT 4
In order to couple radiation in participating media, radiative heat flux is taken into
account in addition to conductive heat flux: qqcqr. The heat transfer equation
reads
T p
T
C p ------- + u T = q c + q r + :S ---- ------- ------ + u p + Q
t

T p t
and is implemented using following form:
T p
T
C p ------- + u T = q c + G 4nT 4 + :S ---- ------- ------ + u p + Q
t

T p t

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Discrete Ordinates Method

The discrete ordinates method is implemented for 3D and 2D


geometries.

Radiative intensity is defined for any direction , because the angular space is
continuous. In order to treat radiative intensity equation numerically, the angular space
is discretized.
The SN approximation provides a discretization of angular space into nNN2 in
3D (or nNN22 in 2D) discrete directions. It consists of a set of directions and
quadrature weights. Several sets are available in the literature. A set should satisfy first,
second, and third moments (see Ref. 1); it is also recommended that the quadrature
fulfills the half moment for vectors of Cartesian basis. Since it is not possible to fulfill
exactly all these conditions, accuracy should be improved when N increases.
Following the conclusion of Ref. 3, the implementation uses LSE symmetric
quadrature for S2, S4, S6, and S8. LSE symmetric quadrature fulfills the half, first,
second, and third moments.
Thanks to angular space discretization, integrals over directions are replaced by
numerical quadratures of discrete directions:
4

I d

wj Ij
j=1

Depending on the value of N, a set of n dependent variables has to be defined and


solved for I1, I2, , In.
Each dependent variable obeys the equation
s
i I i = I b T I i + -----4

w j I j j i
j=1

with the boundary condition

THEORY FOR THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

211

d
I i bnd = w I b T + ------ q out

for all i such that n i 0

Discrete Ordinates Method Implementation in 2D


For a given index i, lets define 2 indexes, i+ and i-, so that
i+ and i- have the same components in the (x, y) plane and
i+ and i- have opposite component in z direction.
Assuming that a model is invariant in the z direction, we can write the DOM form of
the radiative transfer equation in two directions, i+ and i-:
i + I i +

s
= I b T I i+ + -----4

wj Ij j i
+

j=1

s
i- I i- = I b T I i- + -----4

w j I j j i
-

j=1

By summing the two above equations and introducing Ii which is equal to I i- and
I i + (which are equal in 2D) we get:
n

s
2 i Ii = 2I b T 2Ii + -----4

w j I j j i + j i
+

j=1

which can be rewritten as:


s
i Ii = I b T Ii + -----8

w j I j j i + j i
+

j=1

In addition if i j can be rewritten as a function of i j , as it is in COMSOL


Multiphysics implementation, then
j+ i+ = j- i- and j- i+ = j+ i-
In addition
I j- j- i+ + I j+ j+ i- = 2Ij j+ i- = 2Ij j- i+

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so we can simplify above equation:


n

s
i Ii = I b T Ii + -----4

wj Ii j i

(5-9)

j=1

with
1
i = i 1
0
since the z component of Ii is null in 2D.
One can also notice that
4

n2

I d

wj Ij
j=1

n2

wj Ij + wj Ij
-

j=1

wi Ii

(5-10)

j=1

with w i = 2w i .
Using results from Equation 5-9 and Equation 5-10 we can formulate DOM in 2D
using only radiative intensities, Ii , on half of the 3D DOM directions, i , except for
the scattering term. In other expressions than the scattering term, the z component of
the radiative intensities Ii and of the discrete directions i can by ignored (or set to
zero) and the weight wi, multiplied by 2.

THEORY FOR THE RADIATION IN PARTICIPATING MEDIA USER INTERFACE

213

References for the Radiation User


Interfaces
1. M.F. Modest, Radiative Heat Transfer, 2nd ed., Academic Press, San Diego,
California, 2003.
2. R. Sieger, J. Howell, Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer, 4th ed., Taylor & Francis,
New York, 2002.
3. W.A. Fiveland, The Selection of Discrete Ordinate Quadrature Sets for Anisotropic
Scattering, Fundamentals of Radiation Transfer, HTD, vol. 160, ASME, 1991.
4. F.P. Incropera and D.P. DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 5th
ed., John Wiley and Sons, 2002.
5. J.R. Welty, C.E. Wicks, and R.E. Wilson, Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat, and
Mass Transfer, 3rd ed., John Wiley and Sons, 1983.
6. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc

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The Single-Phase Flow Branch


The Heat Transfer Module extends the CFD capability of COMSOL

Multiphysics by adding turbulence modeling and support for low Mach number
compressible flows. This enables modeling of forced or temperature
gradient-driven flows in both laminar and turbulent regimes. This chapter describes
) in the
the fluid flow groups under the Fluid Flow>Single-Phase Flow branch (
Model Wizard.
In this chapter:
The Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
Theory for the Laminar Flow User Interface
Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
References for the Single-Phase Flow, User Interfaces

215

The Laminar Flow and Turbulent


Flow User Interfaces
In this section:
The Laminar Flow User Interface
The Turbulent Flow, k- User Interface
The Turbulent Flow, Low Re k- User Interface
For 2D axisymmetric models, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial
symmetry boundaries (at r0) into account and automatically adds an
Axial Symmetry node to the model that is valid on the axial symmetry
boundaries only.

Domain, Boundary, Pair, and Point Nodes for Single-Phase Flow


Theory for the Laminar Flow User Interface

The Laminar Flow User Interface


The Laminar Flow (spf) user interface (
), found under the Single-Phase Flow
branch (
) in the Model Wizard, has the equations, boundary conditions, and volume
forces for modeling freely moving fluids using the Navier-Stokes equations, solving for
the velocity field and the pressure. The main node is Fluid Properties, which adds the
Navier-Stokes equations and provides an interface for defining the fluid material and
its properties.
When this interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model Builder
Fluid Properties, Wall (the default boundary condition is No slip), and Initial Values.

Right-click the Laminar Flow node to add other nodes that implement, for example,
boundary conditions and volume forces.
INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables

belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first interface in the model) is spf.
PHYSICAL MODEL

By default the interface uses the Compressible flow (Ma<0.3) formulation of the
Navier-Stokes equations. Select Incompressible flow to use the incompressible (constant
density) formulation.

Turbulence Model Type


By default, None is selected as the Turbulence model type. The flow state in a fluid flow
model, however, is not always known beforehand.
Selecting an option in this section switches between available Single-Phase Flow (spf)
interfaces. For example, this interface changes to The Turbulent Flow, k- User
Interface when the Turbulence model type selected is RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier
Stokes).
DEPENDENT VA RIA BLES

These dependent variables (fields) are defined for this interfaceVelocity field u
(SI unit: m/s) and its components, and Pressure p (SI unit: Pa).
If required, edit the field, component, and dependent variable names. Editing the
name of a scalar dependent variable changes both its field name and the dependent
variable name. If a new field name coincides with the name of another field of the same
type, the fields will share degrees of freedom and dependent variable names. A new
field name must not coincide with the name of a field of another type, or with a
component name belonging to some other field. Component names must be unique
within a model except when two fields share a common field name.
CONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Stabilization.

The consistent stabilization methods are applicable to the Navier-Stokes equations


Streamline diffusion and Crosswind diffusion. These check boxes are selected by default.
If required, click to clear one or both of the Streamline diffusion and Crosswind diffusion
check boxes. Observe that P1+P1 elements require Streamline diffusion to be active. If

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you deactivate Streamline diffusion, make sure that your model uses P2+P1 elements or
higher.
INCONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Stabilization. By default,
the Isotropic diffusion check box is not selected for the Navier-Stokes equations. Click to
select as required.
ADVANCED SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Normally these settings do not need to be changed.
Select the Use pseudo time stepping for stationary equation form check box to add
pseudo time derivatives to the equation when the Stationary equation form is used.
When selected, also choose a CFL number expressionAutomatic (the default) or
Manual. Automatic sets the local CFL number (from the CourantFriedrichsLewy
condition) to the built-in variable CFLCMP which in turns trigger a PID regulator for
the CFL number. If Manual is selected, enter a Local CFL number CFLloc
(dimensionless).

Pseudo Time Stepping for Laminar Flow Models and About Pseudo Time
Stepping in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Discretization. It controls
the discretization (the element types used in the finite element formulation). From the
Discretization of fluids list select the element order for the velocity components and the
pressure: P1+P1 (the default), P2+P1, or P3+P2.
P1+P1 (the default) means linear elements for both the velocity components and the
pressure field. This is the default element order for the Laminar Flow and Turbulent
Flow interfaces. Linear elements are computationally cheaper than higher-order
elements and are also less prone to introducing spurious oscillations, thereby
improving the numerical robustness. P1+P1 elements require streamline diffusion
to be a numerically valid discretization. Make sure that Streamline Diffusion in the
Consistent Stabilization section is selection when using P1+P1 elements.

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P2+P1 means second-order elements for the velocity components and linear
elements for the pressure field.
P3+P2 means third-order elements for the velocity components and second-order
elements for the pressure field. This can add additional accuracy but it also adds
additional degrees of freedom compared to P2+P1 elements.
Specify the Value type when using splitting of complex variablesReal (the default) or
Complex for each of the variables in the table.
Show More Physics Options
Domain, Boundary, Pair, and Point Nodes for Single-Phase Flow
Theory for the Laminar Flow User Interface

Flow Past a Cylinder: Model Library path COMSOL_Multiphysics/


Fluid_Dynamics/cylinder_flow

Terminal Falling Velocity of a Sand Grain: Model Library path


COMSOL_Multiphysics/Fluid_Dynamics/falling_sand

The Turbulent Flow, k- User Interface


The Turbulent Flow, k-(spf)user interface (
), found under the Single-Phase
) in the Model Wizard, has the equations, boundary
Flow>Turbulent Flow branch (
conditions, and volume forces for modeling turbulent flow using the Reynolds
averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, solving for the mean velocity field, the
pressure, and the standard k- model, solving for the turbulent kinetic energy k and
the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy .
The main feature is Fluid Properties, which adds the Navier-Stokes equations and the
transport equations for k and , and provides an interface for defining the fluid material
and its properties. When this interface is added, these default nodes are also added to
the Model BuilderFluid Properties, Wall (the default boundary condition is Wall
functions), and Initial Values.

Except where included below, see The Laminar Flow User Interface for
all the other settings.

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PHYSICAL MODEL

For this interface, the Turbulence model type defaults to RANS and the Turbulence model
defaults to k-. This enables the Turbulence Model Parameters section.
TU R B U L E N C E M O D E L P A R A M E T E R S

Turbulence model parameters are optimized to fit as many flow types as possible, but
for some special cases, better performance can be obtained by tuning the model
parameters.
For this interface the parameters are Ce1, Ce2, C, k, e, v, and B.
DEPENDENT VARIABLES

These dependent variables (fields) are defined for this interface:


Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s) and its components
Pressure p (SI unit: Pa)
Turbulent kinetic energy k (SI unit: m2/s2)
Turbulent dissipation rate ep (SI unit: m2/s3)
ADVANCED SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
The Turbulence variables scale parameters subsection is available when the Turbulence
model type is set to RANS.
In addition to the settings described for the Laminar Flow interface, enter a value for
Uscale (SI unit: m/s) (the default is 1 m/s) and Lfact (dimensionless) (the default is
0.035) under the Turbulence variables scale parameters subsection.
The Uscale and Lfact parameters are used to calculate absolute tolerances for the
turbulence variables. The scaling parameters must only contain numerical values, units
or parameters defined under Global Definitions. The scaling parameters cannot contain
variables. The parameters are used when a new default solver for a transient study step

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is generated. If you change the parameters, the new values take effect the next time you
generate a new default solver
The Laminar Flow User Interface
About Pseudo Time Stepping in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual
Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
Show More Physics Options

Turbulent Flow Over a Backward Facing Step: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Verification_Models/turbulent_backstep

The Turbulent Flow, Low Re k- User Interface


The Turbulent Flow, Low Re k-(spf) user interface (
), found under the Single-Phase
Flow>Turbulent Flow branch, has the equations, boundary conditions, and volume
forces for modeling turbulent flow using the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes
(RANS) equations, solving for the mean velocity field, the pressure, and the AKN
low-Reynolds number k- model, solving for the turbulent kinetic energy k and the
rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy . The interface also includes a wall
distance equation that solves for the reciprocal wall distance.
The Low Reynolds number k- interface requires a Wall Distance
Initialization study step in the study previous to the stationary or time

dependent study step.


For study information, see Stationary with Initialization, Transient with
Initialization, and Wall Distance Initialization in the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.
PHYSICAL MODEL

For this interface, the Turbulence model type defaults to RANS and the Turbulence model
defaults to Low Reynolds number k-. This enables the Turbulence Model Parameters
section.

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221

TU R B U L E N C E M O D E L P A R A M E T E R S

Turbulence model parameters are optimized to fit as many flow types as possible, but
for some special cases, better performance can be obtained by tuning the model
parameters.
For this interface the parameters are Ce1, Ce2, C, k, e, and v.
DEPENDENT VARIABLES

These dependent variables (fields) are defined for this interface:


Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s) and its components
Pressure p (SI unit: Pa)
Turbulent kinetic energy k (SI unit: m2/s2)
Turbulent dissipation rate ep (SI unit: m2/s3)
Reciprocal wall distance G (SI unit: 1/m)

See The Laminar Flow User Interface and The Turbulent Flow, k- User
Interface for all the other settings.

The Laminar Flow User Interface


About Pseudo Time Stepping in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual
Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
Show More Physics Options

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Domain, Boundary, Pair, and Point Nodes for Single-Phase Flow


The following nodes are for all interfaces found under the Fluid Flow>Single-Phase Flow
branch (
) in the Model Wizard. Other interfaces also share many of these domain,
boundary, pair, and point nodes (listed in alphabetical order):
Boundary Stress

Interior Wall

Fan

Open Boundary

Flow Continuity

Outlet

Fluid Properties

Periodic Flow Condition

Grille

Pressure Point Constraint

Initial Values

Symmetry

Inlet

Volume Force

Interior Fan

Wall

For 2D axisymmetric models, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial


symmetry boundaries (at r0) into account and adds an Axial Symmetry
node to the model that is valid on the axial symmetry boundaries only.

The theory about most boundary conditions is found in P.M. Gresho and
R.L. Sani, Incompressible Flow and the Finite Element Method, Volume
2: Isothermal Laminar Flow, John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL, select


Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search term

or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.

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Fluid Properties
The Fluid Properties node adds the momentum equations solved by the interface,
except for volume forces which are added by the Volume Force feature. The node also
provides an interface for defining the material properties of the fluid.

For the Turbulent Flow interfaces, the Fluid Properties node also adds the
equations for the turbulence transport equations.

MODEL INPUTS

Edit input variables to the fluid-flow equations if required. For fluid flow, these are
typically introduced when a material requiring inputs has been applied.

Absolute Pressure
This input appears when a material requires the absolute pressure as model input. The
absolute pressure input controls the pressure used to evaluate material properties, but
it also relates to the value of the pressure field. There are usually two ways to calculate
the pressure when describing fluid flow. Solve for the absolute pressure or a pressure
(often denoted gauge pressure) that relates back to the absolute pressure through a
reference pressure.
Using one or the other option usually depends on the system and the equations being
solved for. For example, in a straight incompressible flow problem, the pressure drop
over the modeled domain is probably many orders of magnitude less than atmospheric
pressure, which, if included, reduces the chances for stability and convergence during
the solving process for this variable. In other cases, the absolute pressure may be
required to be solved for, such as where pressure is a part of an expression for gas
volume or diffusion coefficients.
The default Absolute pressure pA (SI unit: Pa) is ppref where p defaults to the pressure
variable from the Navier-Stokes equations and pref to 1[atm] (1 atmosphere
101,325 Pa). The default setting is hence consistent with solving for a gauge pressure.
If the pressure field instead is an absolute pressure field, clear the Reference pressure
check box.

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To model an incompressible fluid, set Absolute pressure pA is set to User defined and
enter the desired pressure level in the edit field. The default value is 1[atm].
This makes it possible to use a system-based (gauge) pressure as the
pressure variable while automatically including the reference pressure in
places where it is required, such as for gas flow governed by the gas law.
While this check box maintains control over the pressure variable and
instances where absolute pressure is required within this respective physics
interface, it may not with physics interfaces that it is being coupled to. In
such models, check the coupling between any interfaces using the same
variable.

To define the Absolute Pressure, see the settings for the Heat Transfer in
Fluids node.

FLUID PROPERTIES

The default Density (SI unit: kg/m3) uses the value From material. Select User defined
to enter a different value or expression.
The default Dynamic viscosity (SI unit: Pas) uses the value From material and
describes the relationship between the shear rate and the shear stresses in a fluid.
Intuitively, water and air have a low viscosity, and substances often described as thick
(such as oil) have a higher viscosity. Select User defined to define a different value or
expression.
Using a built-in variable for the shear rate magnitude, spf.sr, makes it
possible to define arbitrary expressions of the dynamics viscosity as a
function of the shear rate.
MIXING LENGTH LIMIT

This section is available for the Turbulent Flow, k-interface, because an


upper limit on the mixing length is required.

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Select how the Mixing length limit lmix,lim (SI unit: m) is definedAutomatic (default)
or Manual:
If Automatic is selected, the mixing length limit is automatically evaluated as the
shortest side of the geometry bounding box. If the geometry is, for example, a
complicated system of slim entities, this measure can give too big a result. In this
case, it is recommended that it is defined manually.
Select Manual to define a different value or expression. The default is 1 (that is, one
unit length of the model unit system).
DISTANCE EQUATION

This section is available for a Turbulent Flow, Low Reynolds number k-


interface since a Wall Distance interface is included.
Select how the Reference length scale lref (SI unit: m) is definedAutomatic (default)
or Manual:
If Automatic is selected, the wall distance is automatically evaluated to one tenth of
the shortest side of the geometry bounding box. This is usually quite accurate but
it can sometimes give too great a value if the geometry consists of several slim
entities. In this case, it is recommended that it is defined manually.
Select Manual to define a different value or expression for the wall distance. The
default is 1 m.
lref controls the result of the distance equation. Objects that are much smaller than lref
will effectively be diminished while the distance to objects much larger than lref will be
accurately represented.

Volume Force
The Volume Force node specifies the volume force F on the right-hand side of the
incompressible flow equation. Use it, for example, to incorporate the effects of gravity
in a model.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

If several volume force nodes are added to the same domain, then the sum of all
contributions are added to the momentum equations.
VO L U M E F O R C E

Enter the components of the Volume force F (SI unit: N/m3). The defaults for all
components are 0 N/m3.

The Boussinesq Approximationin the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference


Manual

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds initial values for the velocity field and the pressure that can
serve as an initial condition for a transient simulation or as an initial guess for a
nonlinear solver.
COORDINATE SYSTEM SELECTION

The Global coordinate system is selected by default. The Coordinate system list contains
any additional coordinate systems that the model includes.
INIT IA L VA LUES

Enter values or expressions for the initial value of the Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s) and
the Pressure p (SI unit: Pa). The default values are 0 m/s and 0 Pa, respectively.
In the Turbulent Flow interfaces, initial values for the turbulence variables
are also specified. By default these are specified using the predefined
variables defined by the expressions in Initial Values.
For the k- and Low Reynolds number k- turbulence models, also define the Turbulent
kinetic energy k (SI unit: m2/s2) and the Turbulent dissipation rate ep (SI unit: m2/
s3). The default values are spf.kinit and spf.epinit.
For the Low Reynolds number k- turbulence model, define the Reciprocal wall distance
G (SI unit: 1/m). The default is spf.G0.

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Wall
The Wall node includes a set of boundary conditions describing the fluid flow
condition at a wall.
No Slip (the default for laminar flow, and the Low Reynolds number k- turbulence
model)
Slip
Sliding Wall
Moving Wall
Leaking Wall
In addition to the Slip condition, the following are also available for a k- turbulence
model:
Wall Functions (the default for turbulent flow with a k- turbulence model)
Sliding Wall (Wall Functions)
Moving Wall (Wall Functions)
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Slip
Sliding Wall
Moving Mesh User Interface
BOUNDARY SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific boundaries or select All boundaries as required.
BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select a Boundary condition for the wall.

No Slip
No slip is the default boundary condition for a stationary solid wall (and for the Low

Reynolds number k-turbulence model). The condition prescribes u = 0, that is, that
the fluid at the wall is not moving.

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Slip
The Slip condition prescribes a no-penetration condition, un. It hence implicitly
assumes that there are no viscous effects at the slip wall and hence, no boundary layer
develops. From a modeling point of view, this may be a reasonable approximation if
the important effect of the wall is to prevent fluid from leaving the domain.

Sliding Wall
The Sliding wall boundary condition is appropriate if the wall behaves like a conveyor
belt; that is, the surface is sliding in its tangential direction. The wall does not have to
actually move in the coordinate system.
For 3D models, enter the components of the Velocity of the sliding wall uw
(SI unit: m/s). If the velocity vector entered is not in the plane of the wall,
COMSOL Multiphysics projects it onto the tangential direction. Its
magnitude is adjusted to be the same as the magnitude of the vector
entered.

For 2D models, the tangential direction is unambiguously defined by the


direction of the boundary, but the situation becomes more complicated in
3D. For this reason, this boundary condition has slightly different
definitions in the different space dimensions. Enter the components of the
Velocity of the tangentially moving wall Uw (SI unit: m/s).

Moving Wall
If the wall moves, so must the fluid. Hence, this boundary condition prescribes
u = uw. Enter the components of the Velocity of moving wall uw (SI unit: m/s).
Specifying this boundary condition does not automatically cause the
associated wall to move. An additional Moving Mesh interface needs to
be added to physically track the wall movement in the spatial reference
frame.

Leaking Wall
Use this boundary condition to simulate a wall where fluid is leaking into or leaving
through a perforated wall u = ul. Enter the components of the Fluid velocity ul
(SI unit: m/s).

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Wall Functions
The Wall functions boundary condition applies wall functions to solid walls in a
turbulent flow. Wall functions are used to model the thin region near the wall with
high gradients in the flow variables.

Sliding Wall (Wall Functions)


The Sliding wall (wall functions) boundary condition applies wall functions to a wall in
a turbulent flow where the velocity magnitude in the tangential direction of the wall is
prescribed. The tangential direction is determined in the same manner as in the Sliding
Wall feature. Enter the component values or expressions for the Velocity of sliding wall
uw (SI unit: m/s). The defaults are 0 m/s.

Moving Wall (Wall Functions)

Specifying this boundary condition does not automatically cause the


associated wall to move.

The Moving wall (wall functions) boundary condition applies wall functions to a wall in
a turbulent flow with prescribed velocity uw. Enter the component values or
expressions for the Velocity of moving wall uw (SI unit: m/s). The defaults are 0 m/s.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Advanced Physics Options.

For the No Slip, Moving Wall, and Leaking Wall boundary conditions, select an option
from the Apply reaction terms on: listAll physics (symmetric) or Individual dependent
variables. The other types of wall boundary conditions with constraints use Individual
dependent variables constraints only.
Select the Use weak constraints check box (not available for the Sliding Wall condition)
to use weak constraints and create dependent variables for the corresponding Lagrange
multipliers.

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Inlet
The Inlet node includes a set of boundary conditions describing the fluid flow
condition at an inlet. The Velocity boundary condition is the default.
In most cases the inlet boundary conditions are available, some of them
slightly modified, in the Outlet type as well. This means that there is
nothing in the mathematical formulations to prevent a fluid from leaving
the domain through boundaries where the Inlet type is specified.

Theory for the Inlet Boundary ConditionIn the COMSOL Multiphysics


Reference Manual:
Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition
Theory for the Normal Stress Boundary Condition
BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select a Boundary condition for the inletVelocity (the default), Pressure, No Viscous
Stress, Laminar Inflow, or Normal Stress.
After selecting a Boundary Condition from the list, a section with the same
name displays underneath. For example, if Velocity is selected, a Velocity
section displays where further settings are defined for the velocity.

For the Velocity, Pressure, no viscous stress, and Normal stress sections, also
enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary
Condition Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.

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VE L O C I T Y

The Velocity boundary condition is available for the Inlet and Outlet boundary nodes.
Select Normal inflow velocity (the default) to specify a normal inflow velocity
magnitude u = nU0 where n is the boundary normal pointing out of the domain.
Enter the velocity magnitude U0 (SI unit: m/s). The default is 0 m/s.
If Velocity field is selected, it sets the velocity equal to a given velocity vector u0 when
u = u0. Enter the velocity components u0 (SI unit: m/s) to set the velocity equal to
a given velocity vector.
Also enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary Condition
Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
PRESSURE, NO VISCOUS STRESS

The Pressure, no viscous stress boundary condition is available for the Inlet and Outlet
boundary nodes. It specifies vanishing viscous stress along with a Dirichlet condition
on the pressure. Enter the Pressure p0 (SI unit: Pa) at the boundary. The default is 0 Pa.

Depending on the pressure field in the rest of the domain, an inlet


boundary with this condition can become an outlet boundary.

Also enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary Condition
Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
NORMAL STRESS

The Normal stress boundary condition is available for the Inlet, Outlet, Open
Boundary, and Boundary Stress nodes. Enter the magnitude of Normal stress f0 (SI
unit: N/m2). This implicitly specifies that p f 0 . The default is 0 N/m2.
Also enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary Condition
Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
LAMINAR INFLOW

The Laminar inflow boundary condition is available for the Inlet node.
Select a flow quantity for the inletAverage velocity (the default), Flow rate, or
Entrance pressure.
When Average velocity is selected, enter an Average velocity Uav (SI unit: m/s). The
default is 0 m/s.

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If Flow rate is selected, enter the Flow rate V0 (SI unit: m3/s). The default is 0 m3/s.
If Entrance pressure is selected, enter the Entrance pressure pentr (SI unit: Pa) at the
entrance of the fictitious channel outside of the model. The default is 0 Pa.
Then for any selection, specify the entrance length and constraints:
Enter the Entrance length Lentr (SI unit: m) to define the length of the inlet channel
outside the model domain.
The Entrance length value must be large enough so that the flow can reach
a laminar profile. For a laminar flow, Lentr should be significantly greater
than 0.06ReD, where Re is the Reynolds number and D is the inlet length
scale (this formula is exact if D is the diameter of a cylindrical pipe and
approximate for other geometries). For turbulent flow the equivalent
expression is 4.4Re1/6D. The default is 1 m.
Select the Constrain outer edges to zero (for 3D models) or Constrain endpoints to
zero (for 2D and 2D axisymmetric models) check box to force the laminar profile to
go to zero at the bounding points or edges of the inlet channel. Otherwise the
velocity is defined by the boundary condition of the adjacent boundary in the
model. For example, if one end of a boundary with a laminar inflow condition
connects to a slip boundary condition, then the laminar profile has a maximum at
that end.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.
When Velocity or Pressure, No Viscous Stress are selected as the Boundary condition,
and to Apply reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric). Or
select Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as required.

Outlet
The Outlet node includes a set of boundary conditions describing fluid flow conditions
at an outlet. The Pressure, no viscous stress boundary condition is the default. Other
options are based on individual licenses. Selecting appropriate outlet conditions for the
Navier-Stokes equations is not a trivial task. Generally, if there is something interesting

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233

happening at an outflow boundary, extend the computational domain to include this


phenomenon.
All of the formulations for the Outlet type are also available, possibly
slightly modified, in other boundary types as well. This means that there
is nothing in the mathematical formulations to prevent a fluid from
entering the domain through boundaries where the Outlet boundary type
is specified.

Additional Theory for the Outlet Boundary Condition

BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select a Boundary condition for the outletPressure, No Viscous Stress (the default),
Velocity, No Viscous Stress, Pressure, Laminar Outflow, or Normal Stress.

The Pressure, no viscous stress, Velocity, and Normal stress boundary


conditions are described for the Inlet node.

Pressure
The Pressure boundary condition prescribes only a Dirichlet condition for the pressure
p = p0. Enter the Pressure p0 (SI unit: Pa) at the boundary.
While this boundary condition is flexible and seldom produces artifacts
on the boundary (compared to Pressure, no viscous stress), it can be
numerically unstable. Theoretically, the stability is guaranteed by using
streamline diffusion for a flow with a cell Reynolds number Recuh
21 (h is the local mesh element size). It does however work well in
most other situations as well.

No Viscous Stress
The No Viscous Stress condition specifies vanishing viscous stress on the outlet. This
condition does not provide sufficient information to fully specify the flow at the outlet
and must at least be combined with pressure constraints on adjacent points.

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If No viscous stress is selected, it prescribes vanishing viscous stress:


u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0

3
u + u T n = 0
using the compressible and the incompressible formulation respectively.
This condition can be useful in some situations because it does not impose
any constraint on the pressure. A typical example is a model with volume
forces that give rise to pressure gradients that are hard to prescribe in
advance. To make the model numerically stable, combine this boundary
condition with a point constraint on the pressure.

Laminar Outflow
This section displays when Laminar outflow is selected as the Boundary condition. Select
a flow quantity to specify for the inlet:
If Average velocity is selected, enter an Average velocity Uav (SI unit: m/s).
If Flow rate is selected, enter the Flow rate V0 (SI unit: m3/s).
If Exit pressure is selected, enter the Exit pressure pexit (SI unit: Pa) at the end of the
fictitious channel following the outlet.
Then specify the Exit length and Constrain endpoints to zero parameters:
Enter the Exit length Lexit (SI unit: m) to define the length of the fictitious channel
after the model domain.
The Exit length value must be large enough so that the flow can reach a
laminar profile. For a laminar flow, Lexit should be significantly greater
than 0.06ReD, where Re is the Reynolds number and D is the outlet
length scale (this formula is exact if D is the diameter of a cylindrical pipe
and approximate for other geometries). For turbulent flow the equivalent
expression is 4.4Re1/6D. The default is 1 m.
Select the Constrain outer edges to zero (3D models) or Constrain endpoints to zero (2D
models) check box to force the laminar profile to go to zero at the bounding points or
edges of the inlet channel. Otherwise the velocity is defined by the boundary condition
of the adjacent boundary in the model. For example, if one end of a boundary with a

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Laminar inflow condition connects to a Slip boundary condition, then the laminar
profile has a maximum at that end.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.
When Velocity, Pressure, No Viscous Stress, or Pressure are selected as the Boundary
condition, and to Apply reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics
(symmetric). Or select Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as

required.

Symmetry
The Symmetry node adds a boundary condition that describes symmetry boundaries in
a fluid flow simulation. The boundary condition for symmetry boundaries prescribes
no penetration and vanishing shear stresses. The boundary condition is a combination
of a Dirichlet condition and a Neumann condition:
u n = 0,

pI + u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0

u n = 0,

pI + u + u T n = 0

for the compressible and the incompressible formulation respectively. The Dirichlet
condition takes precedence over the Neumann condition, and the above equations are
equivalent to the following equation for both the compressible and incompressible
formulation:
u n = 0,

K K n n = 0

K = u + u T n

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BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


For 2D axial symmetry, a boundary condition does not need to be
defined. For the symmetry axis at r0, the software automatically
provides a condition that prescribes ur0 and vanishing stresses in the
z direction and adds an Axial Symmetry node that implements this
condition on the axial symmetry boundaries only.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.

Open Boundary
The Open Boundary node adds boundary conditions that describe boundaries that are
open to large volumes of fluid. Fluid can both enter and leave the domain on
boundaries with this type of condition.
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Select a Boundary condition for the open boundariesNormal Stress (the default) or
No Viscous Stress. These options are described for the Inlet and Outlet nodes,
respectively

Also enter the additional settings described in More Boundary Condition


Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.

Boundary Stress
The Boundary Stress node adds a boundary condition that represents a very general
class of conditions also known as traction boundary conditions.

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237

BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select a Boundary condition for the boundary stressGeneral stress (the default),
Normal Stress (described for the Inlet node), or Normal stress, normal flow.

Also enter the settings described in More Boundary Condition Settings


for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.

General Stress
When General stress is selected, enter the components for the Stress F (SI unit: N/
m2).The total stress on the boundary is set equal to a given stress F:
pI + u + u T 2
--- u I n = F

3
pI + u + u T n = F
using the compressible and the incompressible formulation respectively.
This boundary condition implicitly sets a constraint on the pressure that for 2D flows is
u n
p = 2 ---------- n F
n

(6-1)

If unn is small, Equation 6-1 states that pnF.


Also enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary Condition
Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.

Normal Stress, Normal Flow


If Normal stress, normal flow is selected, enter the magnitude of the Normal stress f0
(SI unit: N/m2). Also enter the turbulent flow settings as described in More Boundary
Condition Settings for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
In addition to the stress condition set in the Normal Stress condition, the Normal
stress, normal flow condition also prescribes that there must be no tangential velocities

on the boundary:
pI + u + u T 2
--- u I n = f 0 n,

3
pI + u + u T n = f 0 n,

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

tu = 0

tu = 0

using the compressible and the incompressible formulation respectively.


This boundary condition also implicitly sets a constraint on the pressure that for 2D
flows is
u n
p = 2 ---------- + f 0
n

(6-2)

If unn is small, Equation 6-2 states that pf0.


CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.
If Normal Stress, Normal Flow is selected as the Boundary condition, then to Apply
reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric). Or select
Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as required.

Periodic Flow Condition


The Periodic Flow Condition splits its selection in two groups: one source group and one
destination group. Fluid that leaves the domain through one of the destination
boundaries enters the domain over the corresponding source boundary. This
corresponds to a situation where the geometry is a periodic part of a larger geometry.
If the boundaries are not parallel to each other, the velocity vector is automatically
transformed.

If the boundaries are curved, it is recommended to only include two


boundaries.

No input is required when Compressible flow (Ma<0.3) is selected as the


Compressibility under the Physical Model section for the interface. Typically
when a periodic boundary condition is used with a compressible flow the
pressure is the same at both boundaries and the flow is driven by a volume
force.

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239

PRESSURE DIFFERENCE

When Incompressible flow is selected as the Compressibility under the Physical Model
section for the interface, this section is available.
Enter a value or expression for the pressure difference, psrcpdst (SI unit: Pa). This
pressure difference can, for example, drive the flow in a fully developed channel flow.
The default is 0 Pa.
To set up a periodic boundary condition select both boundaries in the
Periodic Flow Condition node. COMSOL automatically assigns one
boundary as the source and the other as the destination. To manually set
the destination selection, add a Destination Selection node to the Periodic
Flow Condition node. All destination sides must be connected.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.

Periodic Boundary Conditions in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference


Manual

Fan
Use the Fan node to define the flow direction (inlet or outlet) and the fan parameters
on exterior boundaries. Use the Interior Fan node for interior boundaries.

This node is not available for the Turbulent Flow interfaces.

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FLOW DIRECTION

Select a Flow directionInlet or Outlet.


After a boundary is selected, an arrow displays in the Graphics window to
indicate the selected flow direction. To update the arrow if the selection
changes, click any node in the Model Builder and then click the Fan node
again to update the Graphics window.
PARAMETERS

When Inlet is selected as the Flow direction, enter the Input pressure pinput (SI unit: Pa)
to define the pressure at the fan input. The default is 0 Pa.
When Outlet is selected as the Flow direction, enter the Exit pressure pexit (SI unit: Pa)
to define the pressure at the fan outlet. The default is 0 Pa.
For either flow direction, select a Static pressure curve to specify a fan curveLinear
(the default), Static pressure curve data, or User defined.

Linear
For both Inlet and Outlet flow directions, if Linear is selected, enter values or
expressions for the Static pressure at no flow pnf (SI unit: Pa) (the default is 100 Pa)
and the Free delivery flow rate V0,fd (SI unit: m3/s) (the default is 0.01 m3/s).
The static pressure curve is equal to the static pressure at no flow rate
when V00 and equal to 0 when the flow rate is larger than the free
delivery flow rate.

User Defined
Select User defined to enter a different value or expression for the Static pressure curve.
The flow rate across the selection where this boundary condition is applied is defined
by phys_id.V0 where phys_id is the physics interface identifier (for example,
phys_id is spf by default for laminar single-phase flow). In order to avoid unexpected
behavior, the function used for the fan curve is the maximum between the user defined
function and 0.

Static Pressure Curve Data


Select Static pressure curve data to enter or load data under the Static Pressure Curve
Data section that displays. The interpolation between points given in the table is

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241

defined using the Interpolation function type list in the Static Pressure Curve
Interpolation section.
STATIC PRESSURE CURVE DATA

This section is available when Static pressure curve data is selected as the Static pressure
curve. In the table, enter values or expressions the Flow rate and Static pressure curve

(or click the Load from File button (

) under the table to import a text file).

STATIC PRESSURE CURVE INTERPOLATION

This section is available when Static pressure curve data is selected as the Static pressure
curve. Select the Interpolation function typeLinear (the default), Piecewise cubic, or
Cubic spline.
The extrapolation method is always a constant value. In order to avoid problems with
an undefined function, the function used for the boundary condition is the maximum
between the interpolated function and 0. Then specify the Units for the Flow rate and
the Static pressure curve.
UNITS

This section is available when Static pressure curve data is selected as the Static pressure
curve. Select Units for the Flow rate (the default SI unit is m3/s) and Static pressure
curve (the default SI unit is Pa).

Theory for the Fan and Grille Boundary Conditions

Interior Fan
The Interior Fan node represents interior boundaries where a fan condition is set using
the fan pressure curve to avoid an explicit representation of the fan. The Interior Fan
defines a boundary condition on the slit. That means that the pressure and the velocity
can be discontinuous across this boundary.
One side represents a flow inlet; the other side represents the fan outlet. The fan
boundary condition ensures that the mass flow rate is conserved between its inlet and
outlet:

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH


inlet

u n +

u n = 0

outlet

This boundary condition acts like a Pressure, No Viscous Stress boundary condition
on each side of the fan. The pressure at the fan outlet is fixed so that the mass flow rate
is conserved. On the fan inlet the pressure is set to the pressure at the fan outlet minus
the pressure drop due to the fan. The pressure drop due to the fan is defined by the
static pressure curve, which is usually a function of the flow rate. To define a fan
boundary condition on an exterior boundary, use the Fan node instead.

This node is not available for the Turbulent Flow interfaces.

BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


INTERIOR FAN

Define the Flow direction by selecting Along normal vector (the default) or Opposite to
normal vector. This defines which side of the boundary is considered the fans inlet and
outlet.
After a boundary is selected, an arrow displays in the Graphics window to
indicate the selected flow direction. To update the arrow if the selection
changes, click any node in the Model Builder and then click the Interior fan
node again to update the Graphics window.

The rest of the settings for this section are the same as for the Fan node.
See Linear, Static Pressure Curve Data, and User Defined for details.

Theory for the Fan Defined on an Interior Boundary

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243

Interior Wall
The Interior Wall boundary condition includes a set of boundary conditions describing
the fluid flow condition at an interior wall.
It is similar to the Wall boundary condition available on exterior boundaries except
that it applies on both sides of an internal boundary. It allows discontinuities (velocity,
pressure, or turbulence) across the boundary. Use the Interior Wall boundary condition
to avoid meshing thin structures by using no-slip conditions on interior curves and
surfaces instead. You can also prescribe slip conditions and conditions for a moving
wall.

The Interior Wall boundary condition is only available for single-phase


flow. It is compatible with laminar and turbulent flows.

BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define. The interior wall condition
can only be applied to interior boundaries.
BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select a Boundary conditionNo slip (the default), Slip, or Moving wall.

No Slip
No slip is the default boundary condition for a stationary solid wall. The condition

prescribes u = 0 on both sides of the boundary; that is, the fluid at the wall is not
moving.

Slip
The Slip condition prescribes a no-penetration condition, un0. It hence implicitly
assumes that there are no viscous effects at both sides of the slip wall and hence, no
boundary layer develops. From a modeling point of view, this can be a reasonable
approximation if the important effect of the wall is to prevent fluid from leaving the
domain.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

Moving Wall
If the wall moves, so must the fluid on both sides of the wall. Hence, this boundary
condition prescribes u = uw. Enter the components of the Velocity of moving wall uw
(SI unit: m/s).
Specifying this boundary condition does not automatically cause the
associated wall to move. An additional Moving Mesh interface needs to
be added to physically track the wall movement in the spatial reference
frame.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:


Slip
Moving Mesh User Interface
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
For the No slip and Moving wall boundary conditions, and to Apply reaction terms on all
dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric). Otherwise, select Current physics
(internally symmetric) or Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as
required.

Grille
The Grille node models the pressure drop caused by having a grille that covers the inlet
or outlet.
This node is not available for the Turbulent Flow interfaces. See Fan for
all of the settings for the Laminar Flow interface, except for Quadratic loss,
which is described here.
BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


PARAMETERS

If Quadratic loss is selected as the Static pressure curve, enter the Quadratic loss
coefficient to define qlc (SI unit: kg/m7). The default value is 0 kg/m7. qlc defines the

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245

static pressure curve that is a piecewise quadratic function equal to 0 when flow rate is
< 0, equal to V02qlc when flow rate is > 0.

Theory for the Fan and Grille Boundary Conditions

Flow Continuity
The Flow Continuity node is suitable for pairs where the boundaries match; it prescribes
that the flow field is continuous across the pair.
A Wall subnode is added by default and it applies to the parts of the pair boundaries
where a source boundary lacks a corresponding destination boundary and vice versa.
The Wall feature can be overridden by any other boundary condition that applies to
exterior boundaries. Right-click the Flow Continuity node to add additional subnodes.
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Continuity on Interior Boundaries
Identity and Contact Pairs

Pressure Point Constraint


The Pressure Point Constraint node adds a pressure constraint at a point. If it is not
possible to specify the pressure level using a boundary condition, the pressure must be
set in some other way, for example, by specifying a fixed pressure at a point.
PRESSURE CONSTRAINT

Enter a point constraint for the Pressure p0 (SI unit: Pa). The default is 0 Pa.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
To Apply reaction terms on all dependent variables, select All physics (symmetric). Or
select Individual dependent variables to restrict the reaction terms as required. Select the
Use weak constraints check box to replace the standard constraints with a weak
implementation.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

More Boundary Condition Settings for the Turbulent Flow User


Interfaces
For the Inlet, Open Boundary, and Boundary Stress features, the following settings are
also required for the Turbulent Flow interfaces. The first sections (Turbulent Intensity
and Turbulence Length Scale Parameters and Boundary Stress Turbulent Boundary
Type) provide further information about the boundary conditions, and the additional
settings information is described under Boundary Condition.

Turbulent Intensity and Turbulence Length Scale Parameters


The Turbulent intensity IT and Turbulence length scale LT values are related to the
turbulence variables via the following equations, Equation 6-3 for the Inlet and
Equation 6-4 for the Open Boundary:
3
2
Inlet k = --- U I T ,
2

2
3
Open Boundary k = --- I T U ref ,
2

3 4 k3 / 2

= C

----------LT

34

(6-3)
3
2 ---

C 3 I T U ref 2
= ------------ ----------------------------
LT
2

(6-4)

For the Open Boundary and Boundary Stress options, and with any turbulent flow
interface, inlet conditions for the turbulence variables also need to be specified. These
conditions are used on the parts of the boundary where un0, that is, where flow
enters the computational domain.

Boundary Stress Turbulent Boundary Type


For Boundary Stress, first select a Turbulent boundary type to apply to the turbulence
variablesOpen boundary (the default), Inlet, or Outlet.
If Open boundary is selected, then expect parts of the boundary to be an outlet and
parts of the boundary to be an inlet.
Select Inlet when it is expected that the whole boundary is an inlet. Under Exterior
turbulence, the same options to specify turbulence variables are available for the Open
boundary option is available. The difference is that, for the Inlet option, is applied to
the whole boundary.
Select Outlet when it is expected that the whole boundary is an outflow.
Homogeneous Neumann conditions are applied to the turbulence variables (that is,
for k and )
k n = 0

n = 0

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247

BOUNDARY CONDITION

For Open Boundary and Boundary Stress>Open boundary, the following is


under the Exterior turbulence subsection.
For Boundary Stress, first select a Turbulent boundary type to apply to the
turbulence variablesOpen boundary (the default), Inlet, or Outlet. Then
for Open boundary and Inlet continue entering the following parameters.
Select the Specify turbulence length scale and intensity button (the default) to enter
values or expressions for the:
Turbulent intensity IT (dimensionless)
Turbulence length scale LT (SI unit: m)
Reference velocity scale Uref (SI unit: m/s). This is available for most options
(excluding Velocity for the Inlet node).
If the Specify turbulence variables button is selected, enter values or expressions for the:
Turbulent kinetic energy k0 (SI unit: m2/s2)
Turbulent dissipation rate, 0 (SI unit: m2/s3)
The default values are different for Inlet, Open Boundary, and Boundary
Stress. See Table 6-1.
Also, for recommendations of physically sound values see Inlet Values for
the Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent Intensity.
TABLE 6-1: DEFAULT VALUES FOR THE TURBULENT INTERFACES

248 |

NAME AND UNIT

VARIABLE

INLET

OPEN
BOUNDARY

BOUNDARY
STRESS

Turbulent intensity
(dimensionless)

IT

0.05

0.005

0.01

Turbulence length
scale (m)

LT

0.01

0.1

0.1

Reference velocity
scale (m/s)

Uref

CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

TABLE 6-1: DEFAULT VALUES FOR THE TURBULENT INTERFACES


NAME AND UNIT

VARIABLE

INLET

OPEN
BOUNDARY

BOUNDARY
STRESS

Turbulent kinetic
energy (m2/s2)

k0

0.005

2.5 x 10-3

1 x 10-2

Turbulent
dissipation rate
(m2/s3)

0.005

1.1 x 10-4

1 x 10-3

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249

Theory for the Laminar Flow User


Interface
For the basic laminar flow theory, see Theory of Laminar Flow in the
COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual. This section discusses the
theory related to the advanced features available with this module and for
laminar flow.
Also see Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
In this section:
Theory for the Inlet Boundary Condition
Additional Theory for the Outlet Boundary Condition
Additional Theory for the Outlet Boundary Condition
Theory for the Fan and Grille Boundary Conditions
Non-Newtonian Flow: The Power Law and the Carreau Model

Theory for the Inlet Boundary Condition


LAMINAR INFLOW

In order to prescribe an inlet velocity profile, this boundary condition adds a weak
form contribution corresponding to one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations
projected on the boundary. The applied condition corresponds to the situation shown
in Figure 6-1: a fictitious domain of length Lentr is assumed to be attached to the inlet
of the computational domain. This boundary condition uses the assumption that flow
in this fictitious domain is fully developed laminar flow. The wall boundary
conditions for the fictitious domain is inherited from the real domain, , unless the

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

option to constrains outer edges or endpoints to zero is selected in which case the
fictitious walls will be no-slip walls.

pentr
Lentr

Figure 6-1: An example of the physical situation simulated when using the Laminar
inflow boundary condition. is the actual computational domain while the dashed
domain is a fictitious domain.
If an average inlet velocity or inlet volume flow is specified instead of the pressure,
COMSOL Multiphysics adds an ODE that calculates a pressure, pentr, such that the
desired inlet velocity or volume flow is obtained.
Also see Inlet for the node settings.
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Prescribing Inlet and Outlet Conditions
Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition
Theory for the Normal Stress Boundary Condition

Additional Theory for the Outlet Boundary Condition


LAMINAR OUTFLOW

In order to prescribe an outlet velocity profile, this boundary condition adds a weak
form contribution corresponding to one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations
projected on the boundary. The applied condition corresponds to the situation shown
in Figure 6-2: assume that a fictitious domain of length Lexit is attached to the outlet
of the computational domain. This boundary condition uses the assumption that flow
in this fictitious domain is fully developed laminar flow. The wall boundary
conditions for the fictitious domain is inherited from the real domain, , unless the

THEORY FOR THE LAMINAR FLOW USER INTERFACE

251

option to constrains outer edges or endpoints to zero is selected in which case the
fictitious walls will be no-slip walls.

pexit
Lexit

Figure 6-2: An example of the physical situation simulated when using Laminar outflow
boundary condition. is the actual computational domain while the dashed domain is a
fictitious domain.
If the average outlet velocity or outlet volume flow is specified instead of the pressure,
the software adds an ODE that calculates pexit such that the desired outlet velocity or
volume flow is obtained.
NO VISCOUS STRESS

For this module, and in addition to the Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress
Boundary Condition (described in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual),
the Viscous stress condition sets the viscous stress to zero:
u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0

3
u + u T n = 0
using the compressible and the incompressible formulation, respectively.
The condition is not a sufficient outlet condition since it lacks information about the
outlet pressure. It must hence be combined with at pressure point constraints on one
or several points or lines surrounding the outlet.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

This boundary condition is numerically the least stable outlet condition, but can still
be beneficial if the outlet pressure is nonconstant due to, for example, a nonlinear
volume force.
Also see Outlet for the node settings.
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Prescribing Inlet and Outlet Conditions
Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition
Theory for the Normal Stress Boundary Condition

Theory for the Fan Defined on an Interior Boundary


In this case, the inlet and outlet of the device are both interior boundaries (see
Figure 6-3). The boundaries are called dev_in and dev_out. The boundary
conditions are described as follows:
The inlet of the device is an outlet boundary condition for the modeled domain. For
this outlet boundary condition, on dev_in, the value of the pressure variable is set
to the sum of the mean value of the pressure on dev_out and the pressure drop
across the device. The pressure drop is calculated from a lumped curve using the
flow rate evaluated on dev_in.
For the inlet boundary condition, on dev_out, the pressure value is set so that the
flow rate is equal on dev_in and dev_out. An ODE is added to compute the
pressure value.

In both cases, the boundary condition implementation specifies vanishing


viscous stress along with a Dirichlet condition on the pressure.

See Interior Fan for node settings.

THEORY FOR THE LAMINAR FLOW USER INTERFACE

253

Figure 6-3: A device between two boundaries. The red arrows represent the flow direction,
the cylindrical part represents the device (that should be not be part of the model), and the
two cubes are the domain that are modeled with a particular inlet boundary condition to
account for the device.

Theory for the Fan and Grille Boundary Conditions


Fans, pumps, or grilles (devices) can be represented using lumped curves implemented
as boundary conditions. These simplifications also imply some assumptions. In
particular, it is assumed that a given boundary can only be either an inlet or an outlet.
Such a boundary should not be a mix of inlets/outlets, nor should it change during a
simulation.
Manufacturers usually provide curves that describe the static pressure as a function of
flow rate for a fan.

See Fan and Grille for node settings.

DEFINING A DEVICE AT AN INLET

In this case, the devices inlet is an external boundary, represented by the external
circular boundary of the green domain on Figure 6-4. The devices outlet is an interior
face situated between the green and blue domains in Figure 6-4. The lumped curve
gives the flow rate as a function of the pressure difference between the external

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

boundary and the interior face. This boundary condition implementation specifies
vanishing viscous stress along with a Dirichlet condition on the pressure.
The Fan boundary condition sets the following conditions:
u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0,

3
T

u + u n = 0,

p = p input + p fan V 0

p = p input + p fan V 0

(6-5)

(6-6)

The Grille boundary condition sets the following conditions:


u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0,

3
T

u + u n = 0,

p = p input p grill V 0

p = p input p grill V 0

(6-7)

(6-8)

where V0 is the flow rate across the boundary, pinput is the pressure at the devices
inlet, and pfanV0) and pgrille(V0) are the static pressure functions of flow rate for the
fan and the grille.
Equation 6-5 and Equation 6-7 correspond to the compressible formulation.
Equation 6-6 and Equation 6-8 correspond to the incompressible formulation.

In 2D the thickness in the third direction, Dz, is used to define the flow
rate. Fans are modeled as rectangles in this case.

THEORY FOR THE LAMINAR FLOW USER INTERFACE

255

Figure 6-4: A device at the inlet. The arrow represents the flow direction, the green circle
represents the device (that should not be part of the model), and the blue cube represents the
modeled domain with an inlet boundary condition described by a lumped curve for the
attached device.
DEFINING A DEVICE AT AN OUTLET

In this case (see Figure 6-5), the fans inlet is the interior face situated between the blue
(cube) and green (circle) domain while its outlet is an external boundary, here the
circular boundary of the green domain. The lumped curve gives the flow rate as a
function of the pressure difference between the interior face and the external
boundary. This boundary condition implementation specifies vanishing viscous stress
along with a Dirichlet condition on the pressure.
The Fan boundary condition sets the following conditions:
u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0,

3
T

u + u n = 0,

p = p ext p fan V 0

p = p ext p fan V 0

(6-9)

(6-10)

The Grille boundary condition sets the following conditions:


u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0,

3
T

u + u n = 0,

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

p = p input + p grill V 0

p = p input + p grill V 0

(6-11)

(6-12)

where V0 is the flow rate across the boundary, pext is the pressure at the device outlet,
and pfan(V0), pvacuum pump(V0), and pgrille(V0) are the static pressure function of
flow rate for the fan, the vacuum pump, and the grille.
Equation 6-9, Equation 6-10, and Equation 6-11 correspond to the compressible
formulation.
Equation 6-10, Equation 6-11, and Equation 6-12 correspond to the incompressible
formulation.

In 2D the thickness in the third direction, Dz, is used to define the flow
rate. Fans are modeled as rectangles in this case.

Figure 6-5: A fan at the outlet. The arrow represents the flow direction, the green circle
represents the fan (that should not be part of the model), and the blue cube represents the
modeled domain with an outlet boundary condition described by a lumped curve for the
attached fan.

Non-Newtonian Flow: The Power Law and the Carreau Model


The viscous stress tensor is directly dependent on the shear rate tensor and can be
written as:
2
= --- u I
3
=

THEORY FOR THE LAMINAR FLOW USER INTERFACE

257

using the compressible and incompressible formulation, respectively. Here denotes


the engineering strain-rate tensor defined by:
= u + u T
Its magnitude, the shear rate, is:

= =

1
--- :
2

where the contraction operator : is defined by


a:b =

anm bnm
n m

For a non-Newtonian fluid, the dynamic viscosity is assumed to be a function of the


shear rate:

=
The Laminar Flow interfaces have the following predefined models to prescribe a
non-Newtonian viscositythe power law and the Carreau model.
POWER LAW

The power law is an example of a generalized Newtonian model. It prescribes

= m n 1

(6-13)

where m and n are scalars that can be set to arbitrary values. For n1, the power law
describes a shear thickening (dilatant) fluid. For n1, it describes a shear thinning
(pseudoplastic) fluid. A value of n equal to one gives the expression for a Newtonian
fluid.
Equation 6-13 predicts infinite viscosity at zero shear rate. This is however never the
case physically. Instead, most fluids have constant viscosity for shear rates smaller than
10-2 s-1 (Ref. 1). Since infinite viscosity also makes models using Equation 6-13
difficult to solve, COMSOL implements the power law as

= mmax min n 1

(6-14)

where min is a lower limit for the evaluation of the shear rate magnitude. The default
value for min is 10-2 s-1, but it can be changed in the equation view.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

CARREAU MODEL

The Carreau expression gives the viscosity by the following four-parameter equation
n 1

---------------- = + 0 inf 1 + 2 2

(6-15)

where is a parameter with units of time, 0 is the zero shear rate viscosity, inf is the
infinite shear rate viscosity, and n is a dimensionless parameter. This expression is able
to describe viscosity for mostly stationary polymer flow.

THEORY FOR THE LAMINAR FLOW USER INTERFACE

259

Theory for the Turbulent Flow User


Interfaces
The Single-Phase Flow, Turbulent Flow interfaces theory is described in this section:
Turbulence Modeling
The k-Turbulence Model
The Low Reynolds Number k- Turbulence Model
Inlet Values for the Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent Intensity
Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition
Solvers for Turbulent Flow
Pseudo Time Stepping for Turbulent Flow Models
References for the Single-Phase Flow, User Interfaces

Theory for the Laminar Flow User Interface

Turbulence Modeling
Turbulence is a property of the flow field and it is mainly characterized by a wide range
of flow scales: the largest occurring scales, which depend on the geometry, the smallest
quickly fluctuating scales, and all the scales in between. The tendency for an isothermal
flow to become turbulent is measured by the Reynolds number
UL
Re = -----------

(6-16)

where is the dynamic viscosity, the density, and U and L are velocity and length
scales of the flow, respectively. Flows with high Reynolds numbers tend to become
turbulent and this is the case for most engineering applications.
The Navier-Stokes equations can be used for turbulent flow simulations, although this
would require a large number of elements to capture the wide range of scales in the
flow. An alternative approach is to divide the flow in large resolved scales and small
unresolved scales. The small scales are then modeled using a turbulence model with

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

the goal that the model is numerically less expensive than resolving all present scales.
Different turbulence models invoke different assumptions on the unresolved scales
resulting in different degree of accuracy for different flow cases.
This module includes Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models which is the
model type most commonly used for industrial flow applications.
REYNOLDS-AVERAGED NAVIER-STOKES (RANS) EQUATIONS

The information below assumes that the flow fluid is incompressible and Newtonian
in which case the Navier-Stokes equations take the form:

T
u
+ u u = pI + u + u + F
t
u = 0

(6-17)

Once the flow has become turbulent, all quantities fluctuate in time and space. It is
seldom worth the extreme computational cost to obtain detailed information about
the fluctuations. An averaged representation often provides sufficient information
about the flow.
The Reynolds-averaged representation of turbulent flows divides the flow quantities
into an averaged value and a fluctuating part,
= +
where can represent any scalar quantity of the flow. In general, the mean value can
vary in space and time. This is exemplified in Figure 6-6, which shows time averaging
of one component of the velocity vector for nonstationary turbulence. The unfiltered
flow has a time scale t1. After a time filter with width t2 t1 has been applied,
there is a fluctuating part, ui, and an average part, Ui. Because the flow field also varies

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

261

on a time scale longer than t2, Ui is still time dependent but is much smoother than
the unfiltered velocity ui.

Figure 6-6: The unfiltered velocity component ui, with a time scale t1, and the averaged
velocity component, Ui, with time scale t2.
Decomposition of flow fields into an averaged part and a fluctuating part, followed by
insertion into the Navier-Stokes equation, then averaging, gives the
Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations:

U
T
+ U U + u' u' = P + U + U + F
t
U = 0

(6-18)

where U is the averaged velocity field and is the outer vector product. A comparison
with Equation 6-17 indicates that the only difference is the appearance of the last term
on the left-hand side of Equation 6-18. This term represents interaction between the
fluctuating velocities and is called the Reynolds stress tensor. This means that to obtain
the mean flow characteristics, information about the small-scale structure of the flow
is needed. In this case, that information is the correlation between fluctuations in
different directions.
EDDY VISCOSITY

The most common way to model turbulence is to assume that the turbulence is of a
purely diffusive nature. The deviating part of the Reynolds stress is then expressed by

T
u' u' --- trace u' u' I = T U + U
3

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

where T is the eddy viscosity, also known as the turbulent viscosity. The spherical part
can be written

--- trace u' u' I = 2


--- k
3
3
where k is the turbulent kinetic energy. In simulations of incompressible flows, this
term is included in the pressure, but when the absolute pressure level is of importance
(in compressible flows, for example) this term must be explicitly included.
TU R B U L E N T C O M P R E S S I B L E F L OW

If the Reynolds average is applied to the compressible form of the Navier-Stokes, terms
of the form
u
appear and need to be modeled. To avoid this, a density-based average, known as the
Favre average, is introduced:
t+T

1
1
ui = --- lim --- T T

(x,)u i (x,) d

(6-19)

It follows from Equation 6-19 that


u i = u i

(6-20)

and a variable, ui, is decomposed in a mass-averaged component, u i , and a fluctuating


component, ui, according to
u i = u i + u i

(6-21)

Using Equation 6-20 and Equation 6-21 along with some modeling assumption for
compressible flows (Ref. 8), Equation 6-19 can be written in the form

------ + ------- u i = 0
t x i

u i
u i
u i u j 2 u k
p
-------- + u j -------- = ------- + ------- -------- + -------- --- --------- ij u j u i + F i
t
x j
x i x j x j x i 3 x k

(6-22)

The Favre-averaged Reynolds stress tensor is modeled using the same argument as for
incompressible flows:

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

263

u i u j 2 u k

u j u i = T -------- + -------- --- T --------- + k ij


x j x i 3 x k

where k is the turbulent kinetic energy. Comparing Equation 6-22 to its


incompressible counterpart (Equation 6-18), it can be seen that except for the term
2 3 k ij
the compressible and incompressible formulations are exactly the same, except that the
free variables are u i instead of
Ui = ui
More information about modeling turbulent compressible flows is in Ref. 2 and Ref. 8.
The turbulent transport equations are used in their fully compressible formulations
(Ref. 9).

The k-Turbulence Model


The k- model is one of the most used turbulence models for industrial applications.
This module includes the standard k- model (Ref. 2). This introduces two additional
transport equations and two dependent variables: the turbulent kinetic energy, k, and
the dissipation rate of turbulence energy, . Turbulent viscosity is modeled by
k2
T = C -----

(6-23)

where C is a model constant.


The transport equation for k reads:
T
k
------ + u k = + ------ k + P k

t
k

(6-24)

where the production term is


2
2
P k = T u: u + u T --- u 2 --- k u
3
3
The transport equation for reads:

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

(6-25)

2
----- + u = + ------ + C 1 --- P C 2 ----

k
k k
t

(6-26)

The model constants in Equation 6-23, Equation 6-24, and Equation 6-26 are
determined from experimental data (Ref. 2) and the values are listed in Table 6-2.
TABLE 6-2: MODEL CONSTANTS
CONSTANT

VALUE

0.09

C1

1.44

C2

1.92

1.0

1.3

MIXING LENGTH LIMIT

Equation 6-24 and Equation 6-26 cannot be implemented directly as written. There
is, for example, nothing that prevents division by zero. The equations are instead
implemented as suggested in Ref. 10. The implementation includes an upper limit on
lim :
the mixing length, l mix
3/2

k
lim
l mix = max C ----------- l mix

(6-27)

lim should not be


The mixing length is used to calculated the turbulent viscosity. l mix
active in a converged solution but is merely a tool to obtain convergence.

REALIZABILITY CONSTRAINTS

The eddy-viscosity model of the Reynolds stress tensor can be written


2
u i u j = 2 T S ij + --- k ij
3
where ij is the Kronecker delta and Sij is the strain-rate tensor. The diagonal elements
of the Reynolds stress tensor must be nonnegative, but calculating T from
Equation 6-23 does not guarantee this. To assert that
u i u i 0 i
the turbulent viscosity is subjected to a realizability constraint. The constraint for 2D
and 2D axisymmetry is:

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

265

k 2
T ----------------------3 S ij S ij

(6-28)

and for 3D and 2D axisymmetry with swirl flow it reads:


k
T --------------------------6 S ij S ij

(6-29)

Swirl flow is not available with the Heat Transfer Module.

Combining equation Equation 6-28 with Equation 6-23 and the definition of the
mixing length gives a limit on the mixing length scale:
k
l mix 2
--- ------------------3 S ij S ij

(6-30)

Equivalently, combining Equation 6-29 with Equation 6-23 and Equation 6-27 gives:
1
k
l mix ------- ------------------6 S ij S ij

(6-31)

This means there are two limitations on lmix: the realizability constraint and the
imposed limit via Equation 6-27.
The effect of not applying a realizability constraint is typically excessive turbulence
production. The effect is most clearly visible in stagnation points. To avoid such
artifacts, the realizability constraint is always applied for the RANS models. More
details can be found in Ref. 5, Ref. 6, and Ref. 7.
MODEL LIMITATIONS

The k- turbulence model relies on several assumptions, the most important of which
is that the Reynolds number is high enough. It is also important that the turbulence is
in equilibrium in boundary layers, which means that production equal dissipation.
These assumptions limit the accuracy of the model because they are not always true. It
does not, for example, respond correctly to flows with adverse pressure gradients that
can result in under-predicting the spatial extension of recirculation zones (Ref. 2).
Furthermore, in the description of rotating flows, the model often shows poor
agreement with experimental data (Ref. 3). In most cases, the limited accuracy is a fair

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

trade-off for the amount of computational resources saved compared to more


complicated turbulence models.
WAL L F UN C T IO NS

The flow close to a solid wall is for a turbulent flow and is very different compared to
the free stream. This means that the assumptions used to derive the k- model are not
valid close to walls. While it is possible to modify the k- model so that it describes the
flow in wall regions (see The Low Reynolds Number k- Turbulence Model), this is
not always desirable because of the very high resolution requirements that follow.
Instead, analytical expressions are used to describe the flow at the walls. These
expressions are known as wall functions.
The wall functions in COMSOL Multiphysics are such that the computational domain
is assumed to start a distance w from the wall (see Figure 6-7).

Mesh cells

Solid wall

Figure 6-7: The computational domain starts a distance w from the wall for wall
functions.
The distance w is automatically computed so that
+ = u
w
w

where uC1/4k is the friction velocity, which becomes 11.06. This corresponds to
the distance from the wall where the logarithmic layer meets the viscous sublayer (or
to some extent would meet if there was not a buffer layer in between). w is limited
from below so that it never becomes smaller than half of the height of the boundary

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

267

+ can become higher than 11.06 if the mesh is relatively


mesh cell. This means that w
coarse.

Always investigate the solution to check that w is small compared to the


+ is 11.06 on most of the
dimension of the geometry. Also check that w
walls.
+ is much higher over a significant part of the walls, the accuracy
If w
might become compromised. Both the wall lift-off, w, and the wall
+ , are available as results and analysis variables.
lift-off in viscous units, w

The boundary conditions for the velocities are a no-penetration condition u n = 0


and a shear stress condition
u
n n n n = u ------- max C 1 / 4 k u
u
where
= u + u T
is the viscous stress tensor and
u
u = ----------------------------1
----- ln w + B
v
where in turn, v, is the von Krman constant (default value 0.41) and B is a constant
that by default is set to 5.2.
The turbulent kinetic energy is subject to a homogeneous Neumann condition
n k = 0 and the boundary condition for reads:
C 3 / 4 k 3 / 2
= ----------------------v w
See Ref. 10 and Ref. 11 for further details.
INITIAL VALUES

The default initial values for a stationary simulation are (Ref. 10),

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

u=0
p=0
10 2

k = ------------------------------lim
0.1 l mix
3/2
C k init
= ---------------------lim
0.1 l mix
lim is the mixing length limit. For time dependent simulations, the initial value
where l mix
for k is instead

2
k = ------------------------------ 0.1 l lim
mix
SCALING FOR TIME-DEPENDENT SIMULATIONS

The k- equations are derived under the assumption that the flow has a high enough
Reynolds number. If this assumption is not fulfilled, both k and will have very small
magnitudes and chaotically in the manner that the relative values of k and can change
relatively much just because of small changes in the flow field.
A time-dependent simulation of a turbulent flow can include a period when the flow
is not fully turbulent. A typical example is the startup phase when for example an inlet
velocity or a pressure difference is gradually increased. To sort out numerical
fluctuations in k and during such periods, the default time-dependent solver for the
k- model employs unscaled absolute tolerances for k and . The tolerances are set to
k scale = 0.01U scale 2
3/2 L
scale = 0.09k sclae
fact l bb min

(6-32)

where Uscale and Lfact are input parameters available in the Advanced section of the
physics interface node. Their default values are 1 ms and 0.035 respectively. lbb,min is
the shortest side of the geometry bounding box. Equation 6-32 is closely related to
the expressions for k and on inlet boundaries (see Equation 6-37).
The practical implication of Equation 6-32 is that variations in k and smaller than
kscale and scale respectively, will be regarded will be regarded as numerical noise.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

269

The Low Reynolds Number k- Turbulence Model


When the accuracy provided by wall functions in the k- model is not enough, a so
called low Reynolds number model can be used. Low Reynolds number refers to the
region close to the wall where the viscous effects dominate.
Most low Reynolds number k- models adapt the turbulence transport equations by
introducing damping functions. This module includes the AKN model (after the
inventors Abe, Kondoh, and Nagano; Ref. 12). The AKN k- model for compressible
flows reads (Ref. 9 and Ref. 12):
T
k
------ + u k = + ------ k + P k

k
t
T

----- + u = + ------ + C 1 --- P f C 2 ----


t
k k
k

(6-33)

where
2
2
P k = T u: u + u T --- u 2 --- k u
3
3
k2
T = f C -----
5 R t 200 2
*
2
-e
f = 1 e l 14 1 + ----------
R t3 / 4
f = 1 e l

3.1 2

(6-34)

1 0.3e Rt 6.5
2

l * = u l w R t = k 2 u = 1 / 4
and
C 1 = 1.5 C 2 = 1.9 C = 0.09 k = 1.4 = 1.4

(6-35)

Also, lw is the distance to the closest wall.


Realizability Constraints are applied to the low Reynolds number k- model.
WA LL DIS TANCE

The wall distance variable, lw, is provided by a mathematical Wall Distance interface
that is included when using the low Reynolds number k- model. The solution to the
wall distance equation is controlled using the parameter lref. The distance to objects

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

larger than lref is represented accurately, while objects smaller than lref will effectively
be diminished by appearing to be farther away than they actually are. This is a desirable
feature in turbulence modeling since small objects would get too large an impact on
the solution if the wall distance were measured exactly.
The most convenient way to handle the wall distance variable is to solve for it in a
separate study step. A Wall Distance Initialization study type is provided for this
purpose and should be added before the actual Stationary or Transient study step.
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
The Wall Distance User Interface
Stationary with Initialization
Transient with Initialization
Wall Distance Initialization
WAL L B O UN D A R Y C ON D I TIO N S

The damping terms in the equations for k and allows a no slip condition to be applied
to the velocity, that is u0.
Since all velocities must disappear on the wall, so must k. Hence, k0 on the wall.
The correct wall boundary condition for is
2 k n 2
where n is the wall normal direction. That condition is however numerically very
unstable. Instead, is not solved for in the cells adjacent to a solid wall and the
analytical relation
k
= 2 --- ----2
lw

(6-36)

is prescribed in those cells. Equation 6-36 can be derived as the first term in a series
expansion of
2 k n 2
For the expansion to be a valid, it is required that
l c* 0.5

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

271

l c* is the distance, measured in viscous units, from the wall to the center of the wall
adjacent cell. The boundary variable Dimensionless distance to cell center is available
to ensure that the mesh is fine enough. Observe though that it is unlikely that a
solution is obtained at all if
l c* 0.5
I N L E T VA L U E S F O R T H E TU R B U L E N C E L E N G T H S C A L E A N D I N T E N S I T Y

The guidelines given in Inlet Values for the Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent
Intensity for selecting turbulence length scale, LT, and the turbulence intensity, IT,
apply also to the low-Reynolds number k- model.
INITIAL VALUES

The low-Reynolds number k- model has the same default initial guess as the standard
lim replaced by l .
k- model (see Initial Values) but with l mix
ref
The default initial value for the wall distance equations (which solves for the reciprocal
wall distance) is 2lref.
In some cases, specially for stationary solutions, a fast way to convergence is to first
solve the model using an ordinary k- model and then use that solution as initial guess
for the low-Reynolds number k- model. The procedure is then as follows:
1 Solve the model using the k- model.
2 Switch to the low-Reynolds number k- model.
3 Add a new Stationary with Initialization study.
4 In the Wall Distance Initialization study step, set Values of variables not solved for to
Solution from the first study. This is to propagate the solution from the first study

down to the second step in the new study.


5 Solve the new study.
SCALING FOR TIME-DEPENDENT SIMULATIONS

The low-Reynolds number k- model uses absolute scales of the same type as the k-
model (see Scaling for Time-Dependent Simulations).
S=

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

2S ij S ij =

2 ij ij

Inlet Values for the Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent Intensity
If inlet data for the turbulence variables are not available, crude approximations for k
and can be obtained from the following formulas:
2
3
k = --- U I T
2

(6-37)

3 4 k3 / 2
C ----------LT

where IT is the turbulence intensity and LT is the turbulent length scale.


A value of 0.1% is a low turbulence intensity IT. Good wind tunnels can produce values
of as low as 0.05%. Fully turbulent flows usually have intensities between five and ten
percent.
The turbulent length scale LT is a measure of the size of the eddies that are not
resolved. For free-stream flows these are typically very small (in the order of
centimeters). The length scale cannot be zero, however, because that would imply
infinite dissipation. Use Table 6-3 as a guideline when specifying LT (Ref. 4) where lw
is the wall distance, and
+

lw = lw l*
TABLE 6-3: TURBULENT LENGTH SCALES FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOWS
FLOW CASE

LT

Mixing layer

0.07L

Layer width

Plane jet

0.09L

Jet half width

Wake

0.08L

Wake width

Axisymmetric jet

0.075L

Jet half width

Boundary layer (px0)


Viscous sublayer and log-layer

l w 1 exp l w 26

Outer layer

0.09L

Pipes and channels

0.07L

(fully developed flows)

Boundary layer
thickness
Pipe radius or
channel half width

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

273

Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress Boundary Condition


For this module, and in addition to the Theory for the Pressure, No Viscous Stress
Boundary Condition (described in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual),
the turbulent intensity IT, turbulence length scale LT, and reference velocity scale Uref
values are related to the turbulence variables via

2
3
k = --- I T U ref ,
2

34

3
2 ---

C 3 I T U ref 2
= ------------ ---------------------------- ,
LT
2

I T U ref
3
--- -------------------------2 0* 1 / 4 L T

For recommendations of physically sound values see Inlet Values for the
Turbulence Length Scale and Turbulent Intensity.
Also see Inlet and Outlet for the node settings.

Solvers for Turbulent Flow


The non-linear system that Navier-Stokes and the turbulence transport equations
constitute can become ill-conditioned if solved using a fully coupled solver. Turbulent
flows are therefore solved using a segregated approach (Ref. 13): Navier-Stokes in one
group and the turbulence transport equations in another.
For each iteration in the Navier-Stokes group, two or three iterations are made for the
turbulence transport equations. This is necessary to make sure that the very non-linear
source terms in the turbulence transport equations are in balance before making
another iteration for the Navier-Stokes group.
The default stationary solver is solved using pseudo time stepping. This both improves
the robustness of the non-linear iterations as well as the condition number for the
linear equation system. The latter is specially important for large 3D models where
iterative solvers must be applied.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

The default iterative solver for the turbulence transport equations is GMRES
accelerated by Geometric Multigrid. The default smoother is SOR Line.
Pseudo Time Stepping for Turbulent Flow Models
In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:
Multigrid
Stationary Solver
Iterative
SOR Line

Pseudo Time Stepping for Turbulent Flow Models


Pseudo time stepping is by default applied to the turbulence equations for stationary
problems, for both 2D and 3D models. The turbulence equations use the same t as
the momentum equations.
The default manual expression for CFLloc is, for 2D models:
1.3 min niterCMP-1 9 +
if niterCMP 25 9 1.3 min niterCMP 25 9 0 +
if niterCMP 50 90 1.3 min niterCMP 50 9 0
and for 3D models:
1.3 min niterCMP-1 9 +
if niterCMP 30 9 1.3 min niterCMP 30 9 0 +
if niterCMP 60 90 1.3 min niterCMP 60 9 0

T H E O R Y F O R T H E TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

275

References for the Single-Phase Flow,


User Interfaces
1. R.P. Chhabra and J.F. Richardson, Non-Newtonian Flow and Applied Rheology,
2:nd ed, Elsivier, 2008.
2. D.C. Wilcox, Turbulence Modeling for CFD, 2nd ed., DCW Industries, 1998.
3. D.M. Driver and H.L. Seegmiller, Features of a Reattaching Turbulent Shear Layer
in Diverging Channel Flow, AIAA Journal, vol. 23, pp. 163171, 1985.
4. H.K. Versteeg and W. Malalasekera, An Introduction to Computational Fluid
Dynamics, Prentice Hall, 1995.
5. A. Durbin, On the k- Stagnation Point Anomality, International Journal of
Heat and Fluid Flow, vol. 17, pp. 8990, 1986.
6. A, Svenningsson, Turbulence Transport Modeling in Gas Turbine Related
Applications, doctoral dissertation, Department of Applied Mechanics, Chalmers
University of Technology, 2006.
7. C. H. Park and S.O. Park, On the Limiters of Two-equation Turbulence Models,
International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 79
86, 2005.
8. J. Larsson, Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flows for Turbine Blade Heat
Transfer, doctoral dissertation, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, 1998.
9. L. Ignat, D. Pelletier, and F. Ilinca, A Universal Formulation of Two-equation
Models for Adaptive Computation of Turbulent Flows, Computer Methods in
Applied Mechanics and Engineering, vol. 189, pp. 11191139, 2000.
10. D. Kuzmin, O. Mierka, and S. Turek, On the Implementation of the k-
Turbulence Model in Incompressible Flow Solvers Based on a Finite Element
Discretization, International Journal of Computing Science and Mathematics, vol.
1, no. 24, pp. 193206, 2007.
11. H. Grotjans and F.R. Menter, Wall Functions for General Application CFD
Codes, ECCOMAS 98, Proceedings of the Fourth European Computational Fluid
Dynamics Conference, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 11121117, 1998.

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

12. K. Abe, T. Kondoh, and Y. Nagano, A New Turbulence Model for Predicting
Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Separating and Reattaching FlowsI. Flow Field
Calculations, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 37, no. 1, pp.
139151, 1994.
13. M. Vzquez, M. Ravachol, F. Chalot, and M. Mallet, The Robustness Issue on
Multigrid Schemes Applied to the Navier-Stokes Equations for Laminar and
Turbulent, Incompressible and Compressible Flows, International Journal for
Numerical Methods in Fluids, vol. 45, pp. 555579, 2004.

R E FE RE N C E S FO R T H E S I N G L E - P H A SE F L OW, U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

277

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CHAPTER 6: THE SINGLE-PHASE FLOW BRANCH

The Conjugate Heat Transfer Branch


The Heat Transfer Module has interfaces for conjugate heat transfer, which are
also under the Fluid Flow branch as Non-Isothermal Flow interfaces. The
Non-Isothermal Flow Laminar Flow (nitf) and Turbulent Flow (nitf) interfaces are
identical to the Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces found under the Heat Transfer
branch. This chapter discusses applications involving the Conjugate Heat Transfer
branch (
).
In this chapter:
About the Conjugate Heat Transfer User Interfaces
The Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow and
Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
Theory for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer User
Interfaces
References for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer User
Interfaces

279

About the Conjugate Heat Transfer


User Interfaces
In this section:
Selecting the Right User Interface
The Non-Isothermal Flow Options
Conjugate Heat Transfer Options

Selecting the Right User Interface


There are several variations of the same predefined multiphysics interface (all with the
interface identifier nitf), that combine the heat equation with either laminar flow or
turbulent flow. The advantage of using the multiphysics interfacescompared to
adding the individual interfaces separatelyis that predefined couplings are available
in both directions. In particular, interfaces use the same definition of the density, which
can therefore be a function of both pressure and temperature. Solving this coupled
system of equation usually requires numerical stabilization, which the predefined
multiphysics interface also sets up.
) and Heat
The user interfaces found under the Fluid Flow>Non-Isothermal Flow (
Transfer>Conjugate Heat Transfer (
) branches are multiphysics interfaces and contain
the features for modeling fluid flow, which can be laminar, turbulent, or Stokes flow,
in combination with heat transfer. The settings vary only by one or two default settings
(see Table 7-1), which are selected during Model Wizard selection, or from a check box
or list under the Physical Model section for the interface.
Figure 7-1 is an example that compares the two settings windows.
TABLE 7-1: THE NON-ISOTHERMAL FLOW AND CONJUGATE HEAT TRANSFER PHYSICAL MODEL DEFAULT
SETTINGS*

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USER INTERFACE (NITF)

TURBULENCE
MODEL TYPE

TURBULENCE
MODEL

HEAT TRANSPORT
TURBULENCE MODEL

Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar


Flow

None

N/A

N/A

Non-Isothermal Flow, Turbulent


Flow, k-

RANS

k-

Kays-Crawford

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TABLE 7-1: THE NON-ISOTHERMAL FLOW AND CONJUGATE HEAT TRANSFER PHYSICAL MODEL DEFAULT
SETTINGS*
USER INTERFACE (NITF)

TURBULENCE
MODEL TYPE

TURBULENCE
MODEL

HEAT TRANSPORT
TURBULENCE MODEL

Non-Isothermal Flow, Turbulent


Flow, Low Re k-

RANS

Low
Reynolds
number k-

Kays-Crawford

Conjugate Heat Transfer,


Laminar Flow

None

N/A

N/A

Conjugate Heat Transfer,


Turbulent Flow, k-

RANS

k-

Kays-Crawford

Conjugate Heat Transfer,


Turbulent Flow, Low Re k-

RANS

Low
Reynolds
number k-

Kays-Crawford

*For all the interfaces, the Neglect initial term (Stokes flow) check box is not selected
by default.

Figure 7-1: On the left is the settings window for the Non-Isothermal Flow, Turbulent Flow
interface. You can model laminar and turbulent flow, or Stokes flow, in combination with

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281

heat transfer. On the right is the settings window for the Conjugate Heat Transfer,
Turbulent Flow, Low Reynolds k- interface. Choose to model laminar and turbulent flow
in combination with heat transfer.
The next sections are a brief overview of each of the interfaces.

The Non-Isothermal Flow Options


Different types of flow require different equations to describe them. If the type of flow
to model is known, then select it directly from the Model Wizard. However, when you
are not certain of the flow type, or because it is difficult to reach a solution easily, you
can start instead with a simplified model and add complexity as you build the model.
Usually you start with the simplest-to-set-up physics interface, which in most cases in
non-isothermal flow is the Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow interface.
In other cases, you may know exactly how a fluid behaves and which equations,
models, or physics interfaces best describe it, but because the model is so complex it is
difficult to reach an immediate solution. Simpler assumptions may need to be made to
solve the problem, and other interfaces may be better to fine-tune the solution process
for the more complex problem.
This can be the case when you know that the flow is essentially turbulent in nature, but
you would first solve it for laminar conditions in order to build knowledge of the
system and provide a good initial guess for the turbulent flow simulation.
The various forms of the Non-Isothermal Flow interfaces are, by default, found under
the Fluid Flow branch.
N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W, L A M I N A R F L O W

The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow User Interface (


) is used primarily to
model slow-moving flow in environments where energy transport is also an important
part of the system and application, and must coupled or connected to the fluid flow in
some way. Processes where natural convection are an important component are classic
areas for such modeling. The interface solves the Navier-Stokes equations together
with an energy balance assuming heat flux through convection and conduction. The
density term is assumed to be affected by temperature and flow is always assumed to
be compressible. Stokes law (creeping flow) can be activated from the
Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow interface if wanted.

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N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W, TU R B U L E N T F L O W

The Turbulent Flow, k- and Turbulent Flow Low Re k-User Interfaces(


) model
flows that are relatively fast-moving and geometries that change significantly to induce
disorder, vortices, and eddies. Once again, the interfaces are also set up assuming that
energy transport is an important part of the system and application and must be
coupled or connected to the fluid flow in some way. Process or component cooling are
classic examples. For this reason, the interface includes added functionality for
calculating the added dispersion of heat transfer due to turbulence. This is represented
by one of the Kays-Crawford or Extended Kays-Crawford Turbulence heat transport
models, or by including your own turbulent Prandtl number.
In addition to the properties for the different turbulence models mentioned in Theory
for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer User Interfaces, an
additional important aspect is that the reward in terms of accuracy for using
low-Reynolds number models is even higher in non-isothermal flow simulations. The
reason is that the local equilibrium assumption on which the wall functions rely is
seldom fulfilled when there are temperature gradients present.
This is particularly relevant for applications in non-isothermal flow where the heat flux
at solid-liquid interfaces is important to the final solution.

Conjugate Heat Transfer Options


The various forms of the Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces are, by default, found under
the Heat Transfer branch. These are used to set up and model heat transfer throughout
a fluid in collaboration with a solid where heat is transferred by conduction.
C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R, L A M I N A R F L OW

The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow User Interface (


) is used primarily to
model slow-moving flow in environments where temperature and energy transport are
also an important part of the system and application, and must coupled or connected
to the fluid-flow in some way. Processes where natural convection are an important
component are classic areas for such modeling. The interface solves the Navier-Stokes
equations together with an energy balance assuming heat flux through convection and
conduction. The density term is assumed to be affected by temperature and flow is
always assumed to be compressible. Stokes law (creeping flow) can be activated from
the Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow interface if required. See Table 7-1 for
details.

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283

There are different versions of the Conjugate Heat Transfer, Turbulent Flow
interfaces, and each use the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations,
solving for the mean velocity field and pressure, along with the k- model. The
Turbulent Flow, k- and Turbulent Flow Low Re k-User Interfaces (
) are used to
model flows that are relatively fast-moving and/or geometries that change significantly
to induce disorder, vortices, and eddies. The interfaces are set up assuming that
temperature and energy transport are also an important part of the system and
application, and must be coupled or connected to the fluid-flow in some way. Process
or component cooling are classic examples.
Each interface includes added functionality for calculating the added dispersion of heat
transfer due to turbulence. This is represented by one of the Kays-Crawford or
Extended Kays-Crawford Turbulence heat transport models, or by including your own
turbulent Prandtl number.

The Heat Transfer Branch

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The Non-Isothermal Flow and


Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar
Flo w a nd T ur bu l en t Fl ow U ser
Interfaces
In this section:
The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow User Interface
The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow User Interface
The Turbulent Flow, k- and Turbulent Flow Low Re k-User Interfaces
About the Conjugate Heat Transfer User Interfaces
Selecting the Right User Interface
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces
Theory for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer
User Interfaces

The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow User Interface


The Non-Isothermal Flow version of the Laminar Flow (nitf) user interface (
), found
) of the Model Wizard, is a
under the Fluid Flow>Non-Isothermal Flow branch (
predefined multiphysics coupling consisting of a single-phase flow interface, using a
compressible formulation, in combination with a Heat Transfer interface. When this
interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model Builder
Non-Isothermal Flow, Fluid, Wall, Thermal Insulation, and Initial Values.
Right-click any node to add other features that implement, for example, boundary
conditions, volume forces, or heat sources.
INTERFACE IDENTIFIER

The interface identifier is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the
physics user interface. Refer to such interface variables in expressions using the pattern

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<identifier>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables

belonging to different physics user interfaces, the identifier string must be unique.
Only letters, numbers and underscores (_) are permitted in the Identifier field. The first
character must be a letter.
The default identifier (for the first interface in the model) is nitf.
DOMAIN SELECTION

The default setting is to include All domains in the model to define the dependent
variables and the equations. To choose specific domains, select Manual from the
Selection list.
PHYSICAL MODEL

Define interface properties to control the overall type of model.

Neglect Inertial Term (Stokes Flow)All Interfaces


Select the Neglect inertial term (Stokes flow) check box to model flow at very low
Reynolds numbers where the inertial term in the Navier-Stokes equations can be
neglected. Instead use the linear Stokes equations. This flow type is referred to as
creeping flow or Stokes flow and can occur in microfluidics (and MEMS devices),
where the flow length scales are very small.

Turbulence Model Type


By definition, no turbulence model is needed when studying laminar
flows. The default Turbulence model type is None. However, if the default
Turbulence model type selected is RANS, the additional turbulence model
settings are made available. The node is still called Non-Isothermal Flow or
Conjugate Heat Transfer with a number added at the end of the name to
indicate the change.
To enable surface-to-surface radiation, select the Surface-to-surface radiation check box.
This adds a Radiation Settings section.
To enable radiation in participating media, select the Radiation in participating media
check box. This adds a Participating media Settings section.
To enable the Biological Tissue feature, select the Heat Transfer in biological tissue check
box.

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RADIATION SETTINGS

This section is available when the Surface-to-surface radiation check box is


selected. See Radiation Settings as described for The Heat Transfer
Interface.
PARTICIPATING MEDIA SETTINGS

This section is available when the Radiation in participating media check


box is selected. See Participating Media Settings as described for The Heat
Transfer Interface.
DEPENDENT VA RIA BLES

The dependent variables (field variables) are for the Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s), the
Pressure p (SI unit: Pa), and the Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default values are 0
m/s for the velocity, 0 Pa for the pressure, and 293.15 K for the temperature. The
names can be changed but the names of fields and dependent variables must be unique
within a model.
For turbulence modeling and heat radiation, there are additional dependent variables
for the turbulent dissipation rate, turbulent kinetic energy, reciprocal wall distance, and
surface radiosity.
DISCRETIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (

) and select Discretization.

Select a Discretization of fluidsP1+P1 (the default), P2+P1, or P3+P2. The first term
describes the element order for the velocity components, and the second term is the
order for the pressure. The element order for the temperature is set to follow the
velocity order, so the temperature order is 1 for P1+P1, 2 for P2+P1, and 3 for P3+P2.
Select a Surface radiosityLinear (the default), Quadratic, Cubic, Quartic, or Quintic (2D
axisymmetric and 2D models only).
Specify the Value type when using splitting of complex variablesReal (the default) or
Complex.

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CONSISTENT AND INCONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


unique to this interface are listed below.

) and select Stabilization. Any settings

The consistent stabilization methods are applicable to the Heat and flow equations.
The Isotropic diffusion inconsistent stabilization method can be activated for both
the Heat equation and the Navier-Stokes equations.
ADVANCED SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Normally these settings do not need to be changed.
The Use pseudo time stepping for stationary equation form check box is active per
default for the Non-Isothermal Flow interface. It adds pseudo time derivatives to the
equation momentum and heat equations when the Stationary equation form is used.
When selected, also choose a CFL number expressionAutomatic (the default) or
Manual. Automatic sets the local CFL number (from the CourantFriedrichsLewy
condition) to the built-in variable CFLCMP which in turns trigger a PID regulator for
the CFL number. If Manual is selected, enter a Local CFL number CFLloc.
By default the Enable conversions between material and spatial frames check box is
selected.
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
Show More Physics Options
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces
For settings window details for the Heat Transfer in Solids feature, see
The Heat Transfer Interface
About Pseudo Time Stepping in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual
The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow User Interface

Viscous Heating in a Fluid Damper: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Buildings_and_Constructions/fluid_damper

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The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow User Interface


The Conjugate Heat Transfer version of the Laminar Flow (nitf) user interface (
),
found under the Heat Transfer>Conjugate Heat Transfer branch (
), is a predefined
multiphysics coupling consisting of a single-phase flow interface, using a compressible
formulation, in combination with a Heat Transfer interface. When this interface is
added, these default nodes are also added to the Model BuilderConjugate Heat
Transfer, Heat Transfer in Solids (with domain selection set to All domains), Thermal
Insulation, Wall, Fluid (with empty initial domain selection), and Initial Values.
Right-click any node to add other features that implement, for example, boundary
conditions, volume forces, or heat sources.

Show More Physics Options

The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar Flow User Interface


Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces
The Heat Transfer Interface for settings window details for the Heat
Transfer in Solids feature.

Viscous Heating in a Fluid Damper: Model Library path


Heat_Transfer_Module/Buildings_and_Constructions/fluid_damper

The Turbulent Flow, k- and Turbulent Flow Low Re k-User


Interfaces
These predefined multiphysics couplings consist of a turbulent flow interface, using a
compressible formulation, in combination with a Heat Transfer interface.
Most of the setting options are the same as for The Non-Isothermal Flow, Laminar
Flow User Interface, except where noted below. Right-click any node to add other
features that implement, for example, boundary conditions, volume forces, or heat
sources.
PHYSICAL MODEL

The default Turbulence model for the Turbulent flow, k- interface is k-. For the
Turbulent flow, Low Re k- interface it is Low Reynolds number k-.

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For all the turbulent interfaces, the default Turbulence model type is RANS and the
default Heat transport turbulence model is Kays-Crawford. Other Heat transport
turbulence model options are Extended Kays-Crawford or User-defined turbulent Prandtl
number.
The Extended Kays-Crawford model requires a Reynolds number at infinity. That input is
given in the Model Inputs section of the Fluid feature node.
It is always possible to specify a user-defined model for the turbulence Prandtl number.
Enter the user-defined value or expression for the turbulence Prandtl number in the
Model Inputs section of the Fluid feature node.
TU R B U L E N C E M O D E L P A R A M E T E R S

Turbulence model parameters are optimized to fit as many flow types as possible, but
for some special cases, better performance can be obtained by tuning the model
parameters. For a description of the turbulence model and the included model
parameters see Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces.
DEPENDENT VARIABLES

The dependent variables (field variables) are for the Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s), the
Pressure p (SI unit: Pa), and the Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default values are 0
m/s for the velocity, 0 Pa for the pressure, and 293.15 K for the temperature. The
names can be changed but the names of fields and dependent variables must be unique
within a model.
For turbulence modeling and heat radiation, there are additional dependent variables
for the transported turbulence properties and also a dependent variable for Reciprocal
wall distance if the Low-Reynolds number k- model or Spalart-Allmaras model is
employed.

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CONSISTENT AND INCONSISTENT STABILIZATION

To display this section, click the Show button (


unique to this interface are listed below.

) and select Stabilization. Any settings

The consistent stabilization methods are applicable to the Heat and flow equations
and the Turbulence Equations.
When the Crosswind diffusion check box is selected, enter a Tuning parameter Ck for
one or both of the Heat and flow equations and Turbulence Equations. The default for
the Heat and flow equations is 0.5, and 1 for the Turbulence equations.
The Isotropic diffusion inconsistent stabilization method can be activated for the Heat
equation, Navier-Stokes equations, and the Turbulence equations.
By default there is no isotropic diffusion selected. If required, select the Isotropic
diffusion check box and enter a Tuning parameter id for one or all of Heat equation,
Navier-Stokes equations, or Turbulence equations. The defaults are 0.25.
ADVANCED SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Normally these settings do not need to be changed.
The Use pseudo time stepping for stationary equation form check box adds pseudo time
derivatives not only to the equation momentum and heat equations when the
Stationary equation form is used, but to the turbulence equations as well.
The Turbulence variables scale parameters subsection contains the parameters Uscale
and Lfact that are used to calculate absolute tolerances for the turbulence variables. The
section is only visible when Turbulence model type in the Physical Model section is set to
RANS.
The scaling parameters must only contain numerical values, units or parameters
defined under Global Definitions. The scaling parameters cannot contain variables. The
parameters are used when a new default solver for a transient study step is generated.
If you change the parameters, the new values will take effect the next time you generate
a new default solver.

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By default the Enable conversions between material and spatial frames check box is
selected.
About Handling Frames in Heat Transfer
Show More Physics Options
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces
Turbulent Non-Isothermal Flow Theory

Turbulent Flow Through a Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger: Model


Library path Heat_Transfer_Module/Heat_Exchangers/
turbulent_heat_exchanger

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes Settings for the
NITF User Interfaces
All the versions of the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces have
shared domain, boundary, edge, point, and pair physics features based on the selections
made for the model.
Also because these are all multiphysics interfaces, almost every physics node is shared
with, and described for, other interfaces. Below are links to the domain, boundary,
edge, point, and pair physics as indicated.
To locate and search all the documentation, in COMSOL Multiphysics,
select Help>Documentation from the main menu and either enter a search
term or look under a specific module in the documentation tree.
These features are described in this section:
Fluid

Symmetry, Flow

Initial Values

Symmetry, Heat

Interior Wall

Viscous Heating

Open Boundary

Wall

Pressure Work

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These features are described for the Single Phase Flow interface (listed in alphabetical
order):
Boundary Stress

Outlet

Interior Fan

Periodic Flow Condition

Flow Continuity

Pressure Point Constraint

Inlet

Volume Force

Interior Wall
These physics are described for the Heat Transfer interface (listed in alphabetical
order):
Boundary Heat Source

Outflow

Convective Heat Flux

Periodic Heat Condition

Continuity

Point Heat Source

Heat Flux

Surface-to-Ambient Radiation

Heat Source

Temperature

Heat Transfer in Solids

Thermal Contact

Highly Conductive Layer

Thermal Insulation

Inflow Heat Flux

Thin Thermally Resistive Layer

Line Heat Source

The Heat Transfer Interface


The Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar
Flow and Turbulent Flow User Interfaces
Theory for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer
User Interfaces

Fluid
The Fluid node adds both the momentum equations and the temperature equation but
without volume forces, heat sources, pressure work, or viscous heating. You can add
volume forces and heat sources as separate features, and Viscous Heating and Pressure

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Workcan be added as subnodes.


When the turbulence model type is set to RANS, the Fluid node also adds the
equations for k and .
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
MODEL INPUTS

This section controls both the variable as well as any property value (reference
pressures) used when solving for pressure. There are usually two ways to calculate the
pressure when describing fluid flow and mass and heat transfer. Solve for the absolute
pressure or a pressure (often denoted gauge pressure) that relates back to the absolute
pressure through a reference pressure.
Using one or the other option usually depends on the system and the
equations being solved for. For example, in a straight incompressible flow
problem, the pressure drop over the modeled domain is probably many
orders of magnitude less than atmospheric pressure, which, if included,
reduces the chances for stability and convergence during the solving
process for this variable. In other cases, the absolute pressure may be
required to be solved for, such as where pressure is a part of an expression
for gas volume or diffusion coefficients.

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The default Absolute pressure p (SI unit: Pa) is Pressure (nitf/fluid). The Reference
pressure check box is selected by default and the default value of pref is 1[atm]
((101,325 Pa).
This makes it possible to use a system-based (gauge) pressure as the
pressure variable while automatically including the reference pressure in
places where it is required, such as for gas flow governed by the gas law.
While this check box maintains control over the pressure variable and
instances where absolute pressure is required within this respective physics
interface, it may not with physics interfaces that it is being coupled to. In
such models, check the coupling between any interfaces using the same
variable.
HEAT CONDUCTION

The default Thermal conductivity k (SI unit: W/(mK)) uses values From material. If
User defined is selected, choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Anisotropic based on
the characteristics of the thermal conductivity and enter other values or expressions in
the field or matrix.
The thermal conductivity describes the relationship between the heat flux vector q and
the temperature gradient T as in q = kT which is Fouriers law of heat conduction.
Enter this quantity as power per length and temperature.
When the turbulence model type is set to RANS, the conductive heat flux includes the
turbulent contribution: q = k+TI)T where k is the thermal conductivity tensor, I
the identity matrix and T the thermal turbulent conductivity defined by
Cp T
T = -------------Pr T
THERMODYNAMICS

Select a Fluid typeGas/Liquid (the default), Ideal Gas, or Moist Air.


The Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp describes the amount of heat
energy required to produce a unit temperature change in a unit mass.
The Ratio of specific heats is the ratio of heat capacity at constant pressure,
Cp, to heat capacity at constant volume, Cv.

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Gas/Liquid
If Gas/Liquid is selected as the Fluid type, properties of a non-ideal gas or liquid can be
used.
By default the Density (SI unit: kg/m3), Heat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)), and Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless) use values From
material. Select User defined to enter other values or expressions.

Ideal Gas
If Ideal gas is selected as the Fluid type, the ideal gas law is used to describe the fluid.
For an ideal gas the density is defined in the following equation where pA is the
absolute pressure, and T the temperature:
pA
Mn pA
= ---------------- = ----------RT
Rs T
Select a Gas constant typeSpecific gas constant Rs (SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Mean molar
mass Mn (SI unit: kg/mol). In both cases, the default uses data From material. Select
User defined to enter other values or expressions. If Mean molar mass is selected, the
universal gas constant R 8.314 J/(molK), which is a built-in physical constant, is
also used.
Select an option from the Specify Cp or listHeat capacity at constant pressure Cp
(SI unit: J/(kgK)) or Ratio of specific heats (dimensionless). For both options, the
default uses the value From material. Select User defined to enter another value or
expression.
For an ideal gas, you choose to specify either Cp or , but not both since
they are, in that case, dependent.
When using the ideal gas law to describe a fluid, specifying is enough to
evaluate Cp. For common diatomic gases such as air, 1.4 is the
standard value. Most liquids have 1.1 while water has 1.0. is used
in the streamline stabilization and in the results and analysis variables for
heat fluxes and total energy fluxes. It is also used in the ideal gas law.

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Moist Air
If Moist air is selected as the Fluid type, the thermodynamics properties are defined as
a function of the quantity of vapor in the moist air. Select an Input quantity:
Vapor mass fraction (the default) (SI unit: dimensionless, (kg of water vapor) /
(total mass in kg = kg of dry air + kg of water vapor))
Concentration (SI unit: mol/m3)

When Concentration is selected, a Concentration model input is


automatically added in the Models Inputs section.
Moisture content xvap (SI unit: dimensionless, kg of water vapor/ kg of dry air).
Select Relative humidity to define the quantity of vapor from the following reference
values, which are used to estimate the mass fraction of vapor that is used to define
the thermodynamic properties of the moist air:
- Reference relative humidity ref (dimensionless). The default is 0.
- Reference temperature Tref (SI unit: K). The default is 293.15 K.
- Reference pressure pref (SI unit: Pa). The default is 1 atm.
DYNAMIC VISCOSITY

This section is not available if Moist air is selected as the Fluid type.

The dynamic viscosity describes the relationship between the shear rate and the shear
stresses in a fluid. Intuitively, water and air have a low viscosity, and substances often
described as thick, such as oil, have a higher viscosity. Non-Newtonian fluids have a
shear-rate dependent viscosity. Examples of non-Newtonian fluids include yoghurt,
paper pulp, and polymer suspensions.

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

The default Dynamic viscosity (SI unit: Pas) uses values From material. Or select User
defined to use a built-in variable for the shear rate magnitude, spf.sr, which makes it

possible to define arbitrary expressions of the dynamic viscosity.


If you also have the following modules, additional options are available
Non-Newtonian power law and Non-Newtonian Carreau model.
CFD Module
Heat Transfer Module plus the Microfluidics Module, or
Microfluidics Module plus either the CFD Module or Heat Transfer
Module

Non-Newtonian Flow: The Power Law and the Carreau Model

Non-Newtonian Power Law

This option is available with the CFD Module or the Heat Transfer
Module plus the Microfluidics Module.
If Non-Newtonian power law is selected, enter the Power law model parameter m and
Model parameter n (both dimensionless). This selection uses the power law as the
viscosity model for a non-Newtonian fluid where the following equation defines
dynamic viscosity:

= m max min n 1
where is the shear rate and min is a lower limit for the shear rate evaluation. min
is per default 110-2 1s.

Non-Newtonian Carreau Model

This option is available with the CFD Module or the Heat Transfer
Module plus the Microfluidics Module.

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If Non-Newtonian Carreau model is selected, enter these Carreau model parameters:


The Zero shear rate viscosity 0 (SI unit: Pas)
The Infinite shear rate viscosity inf (SI unit: Pas)
The Model parameters (SI unit: s) and n (dimensionless)
This selection uses the Carreau model as the viscosity model for a non-Newtonian fluid
where the following equation defines the dynamic viscosity:
n 1

---------------- = + 0 inf 1 + 2 2
M I X I N G L E N G T H L I M I T ( TU R B U L E N C E M O D E L S O N L Y )

This section is available for the k- model, which needs an upper limit on
the mixing length.
Select a Mixing length limitAutomatic (the default) or Manual.
If Automatic is selected, the mixing length limit is automatically evaluated as:
lim = 0.5l
l mix
bb

(7-1)

where lbb is the shortest side of the geometry bounding box. If the geometry is for
example a complicated system of very slender entities, Equation 7-1 tends to give a
lim manually.
result that is too large. Then define l mix
lim
If Manual is selected, enter a value or expression for the Mixing length limit l mix
(SI unit: m).

D I S T A N C E E Q U A T I O N ( TU R B U L E N C E M O D E L S O N L Y )

This section is available for the low-Reynolds number k- model, which


needs the distance to the closest wall.

Select a Reference length scaleAutomatic (the default) or Manual.


If Automatic is selected, the reference length scale is automatically evaluated as:

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

l ref = 0.1l bb

(7-2)

where lbb is the shortest side of the geometry bounding box. If the geometry is for
example a complicated system of very slender entities, Equation 7-1 tends to give a
result that is too large. Then define l ref manually.
If Manual is selected, enter a value or expression for the Reference length scale l ref
(SI unit: m).

Wall
For laminar flow, the low Reynolds number k- turbulence model, the Wall node is
identical to the single-phase flow settings (the Boundary condition defaults to No slip).
In these cases, continuity of the temperature is enforced on internal walls separating a
fluid and solid domain.

The settings below are for the k- turbulence model.

About the Thermal Wall Function


Whenever wall functions are used, there is a theoretical gap between the solid wall and
the computational domain of the fluid. This gap is often ignored in so much that it is
ignored when the computational geometry is drawn, but it must nevertheless be
considered in the equations for the temperature field.
Figure 0-1 shows the difference between internal and external walls. The approach is
slightly different depending on what type of wall the condition applies to. Any wall
feature that utilizes wall functions automatically detects internal and external walls.
On internal walls, there are two temperatures, one for the solid, Ts, and one for the
fluid, Tf. If a temperature is prescribed to an internal wall, the constraint is applied to
the temperature for the solid, that is, to Ts.
On external walls, the temperature T is the temperature of the fluid while the wall
temperature is represented by the dependent variable Tw. Tw is a variable that is solved
for and the equation for Tw is
q wf = q tot
where qtot is the total heat flux prescribed to the boundary.

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External wall
Outflow

Inflow

Internal wall

Fluid

Solid

Figure 7-2: A simple example that includes both an external wall and an internal wall.
If a temperature is prescribed to an external wall, the constraint is applied to the wall
temperature Tw.
Any other heat boundary condition applied to an external wall is wrong
in the sense that it acts on the fluid temperature, Ts, instead of the wall
temperature, Tw.
BOUNDARY CONDITION

When using the k- turbulence model, the Boundary condition defaults to Wall
functions. The other options available are Slip, Sliding wall (wall functions), and Moving
wall (wall functions).
If any one of these options are selectedWall functions, Sliding wall (wall functions), or
Moving wall (wall functions)the wall functions for the temperature field is also
prescribed, which is called a thermal wall functions.
If Sliding wall (wall functions) is selected, enter the coordinates for the Velocity of
sliding wall uw (SI unit: m/s).
If Moving wall (wall functions) is selected, enter the coordinates for the Velocity of
moving wall uw (SI unit: m/s).
Turbulence model parameters are optimized to fit as many flow types as
possible, but for some special cases, better performance can be obtained
by tuning the model parameters. For a description of the turbulence
model and the included model parameters see Theory for the Turbulent
Flow User Interfaces.

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

About the Thermal Wall Function

Interior Wall
For laminar flow, the low Reynolds number k- turbulence model, the Interior Wall
node is identical to the single-phase flow settings (the Boundary condition defaults to
No slip). In these cases, continuity of the temperature is enforced across internal walls
separating two fluid domains.

The settings below are for the k- turbulence model.

About the Thermal Wall Function


Whenever wall functions are used, there is a theoretical gap between the internal wall
and the computational domain of the fluid. This gap is often ignored in so much that
it is ignored when the computational geometry is drawn, but it must nevertheless be
considered in the equations for the temperature field.
On internal walls, there are three temperatures, one for the wall, Tw, and one for the
fluid on up and down sides of the wall, Tf, u and Tf, d. If a temperature is prescribed to
an internal wall, the constraint is applied to the temperature for the wall, that is, to Tw.
BOUNDARY CONDITION

When using the k- turbulence model, the Boundary condition defaults to Wall
functions. The other options available are Slip, and Moving wall (wall functions).
If any one of these options are selectedWall functions or Moving wall (wall functions)
the wall functions for the temperature field is also prescribed, which is called a thermal
wall functions.

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If Moving wall (wall functions) is selected, enter the coordinates for the Velocity of
moving wall uw (SI unit: m/s).
Turbulence model parameters are optimized to fit as many flow types as
possible, but for some special cases, better performance can be obtained
by tuning the model parameters. For a description of the turbulence
model and the included model parameters see Theory for the Turbulent
Flow User Interfaces.

About the Thermal Wall Function

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds initial values for the velocity field, the pressure, and
temperature that can serve as an initial condition for a transient simulation or as an
initial guess for a nonlinear solver. For turbulent flow there are also initial values for
the turbulence model variables.
DOMAIN SELECTION

For a default node, the setting inherits the selection from the parent node, and cannot
be edited; that is, the selection is automatically selected and is the same as for the
interface. When nodes are added from the context menu, you can select Manual from
the Selection list to choose specific domains or select All domains as required.
INIT IA L VA LUES

Enter values or expressions for the initial value of the Velocity field u (SI unit: m/s),
the Pressure p (SI unit: Pa), and the Temperature T (SI unit: K). The default values are
0 m/s for the velocity, 0 Pa for the pressure, and 293.15 K for the temperature.
For turbulence models, default initial values for the turbulence variables, defined for
each turbulence model in Theory for the Turbulent Flow User Interfaces, are applied.

Open Boundary
Use the Open Boundary node to set up heat and momentum transport across
boundaries where both convective inflow and outflow can occur. The node specifies a

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

fluid flow condition, together with an exterior temperature to be applied on the parts
of the boundary where fluid flows into the domain.

The direction of the flow across the boundary is typically calculated by a


Fluid Flow branch interface and is entered as Model Inputs.

BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


BOUNDARY CONDITION

From the Boundary Condition list, choose a fluid flow condition for the open boundary
the boundaries to apply the open boundary condition. Select
Select Normal stress (the default) and enter the normal stress f0 (SI unit: N/m2).
This implicitly specifies that p f0
Select No viscous stress to prescribe a vanishing normal viscous stress on the
boundary.
E X T E R I O R TE M P E R A T U RE

Enter a value or expression for the external temperature (SI unit: K).

Pressure Work
Right-click the Heat Transfer in Solidsor Fluid node to add this subnode.
When added under a Heat Transfer in Solids node, the Pressure Work node adds the
following term to the right-hand side of the Heat Transfer in Solids equation:

T ----- S el
t

(7-3)

where Sel is the elastic contribution to entropy.


When added under Fluid node, the Pressure Work feature adds the following
contribution to the right-hand side of the Heat Transfer in Fluids equation:
T p
---- ------- ------ + u p

T p t
The software computes the pressure work using the absolute pressure.

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(7-4)

DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define. By default, the selection is the
same as for the parent node to which it is attached (Heat Transfer in Solidsor Fluid
node).
P RE S S U RE WO R K

For the Heat Transfer in Solids model, enter a value or expression for the Elastic
contribution to entropy Ent (SI unit: Jm3K)). The default is 0 Jm3K).

For the Fluid model, select a Pressure work formulationFull formulation (the default),
or Low Mach number formulation. The latter excludes the term u p from
Equation 7-4, which is small for most flows with a low Mach number.

Viscous Heating
The Viscous Heating subnode adds the following term to the right-hand side of the heat
transfer in fluids equation:
:S

(7-5)

Here is the viscous stress tensor and S is the strain rate tensor. Equation 7-5
represents the heating caused by viscous friction within the fluid.
DOMAIN SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the domains to define. By default, the selection is the
same as for the Fluid node that it is attached to.

Symmetry, Heat
The Symmetry, Heat node provides a boundary condition for symmetry boundaries.
This boundary condition is similar to a Thermal Insulation condition, and it means
that there is no heat flux across the boundary.
If you apply a Symmetry, Heat feature to a boundary adjacent to a fluid domain, you
should also consider adding a Symmetry, Flow node to that boundary since physically,

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

you cannot have symmetry in the temperature without having symmetry in the velocity
and pressure as well.
The symmetry condition only applies to the temperature field. It has no
effect on the radiosity (surface-to-surface radiation) and on the radiative
intensity (radiation in participating media).
BOUNDARY SELECTION

In most cases, the node does not require any user input. If required,
define the symmetry boundaries.

Symmetry, Flow
The Symmetry, Flow node adds a boundary condition that describes symmetry
boundaries in a fluid flow simulation. The boundary condition for symmetry
boundaries prescribes no penetration and vanishing shear stresses. The boundary
condition is a combination of a Dirichlet condition and a Neumann condition:
u n = 0,

pI + u + u T 2
--- u I n = 0

u n = 0,

pI + u + u T n = 0

for the compressible and the incompressible formulation respectively. The Dirichlet
condition takes precedence over the Neumann condition, and the above equations are
equivalent to the following equation for both the compressible and incompressible
formulation:
u n = 0,

K K n n = 0

K = u + u T n
If you apply a Symmetry, Flow feature to a boundary, the boundary should also be
supplemented with a Symmetry, Heat node because it is not possible to have symmetry
in the velocity and pressure without having symmetry in the temperature as well.

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BOUNDARY SELECTION

From the Selection list, choose the boundaries to define.


For 2D axial symmetry, a boundary condition does not need to be
defined. For the symmetry axis at r0, the software automatically
provides a condition that prescribes ur0 and vanishing stresses in the
z direction and adds an Axial Symmetry node that implements this
condition on the axial symmetry boundaries only.
CONSTRAINT SETTINGS

To display this section, click the Show button (


) and select Advanced Physics Options.
Select the Use weak constraints check box to use weak constraints and create dependent
variables for the corresponding Lagrange multipliers.

T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R , L A M I N A R F L O W A N D TU R B U L E N T F L O W U S E R

Theory for the Non-Isothermal Flow


a nd C o njug a te H eat Tran sfer User
Interfaces
In industrial applications it is common that the density of a process fluid varies. These
variations can have a number of different sources but the most common one is the
presence of an inhomogeneous temperature field. This module includes the
Non-Isothermal Flow predefined multiphysics coupling to simulate systems where
density varies with temperature.
Other situations where the density might vary includes chemical reactions, for instance
where reactants associate or dissociate.
The Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces contain the fully
compressible formulation of the continuity equation and momentum equations:

------ + u = 0
t
2
u
------- + u u = p + u + u T --- u I + F
3
t
where
is the density (SI unit: kg/m3)
u is the velocity vector (SI unit: m/s)
p is pressure (SI unit: Pa)
is the dynamic viscosity (SI unit: Pas)
F is the body force vector (SI unit: N/m3)
It also solves the heat equation, which for a fluid is
T
T p
C p ------- + u T = q + :S ---- ------- ------ + u p + Q
t

T p t
where in addition to the quantities above
Cp is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure (SI unit: J/(kgK))

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(7-6)

T is absolute temperature (SI unit: K)


q is the heat flux by conduction (SI unit: W/m2)
is the viscous stress tensor (SI unit: Pa)
S is the strain-rate tensor (SI unit: 1/s)
1
S = --- u + u T
2
Q contains heat sources other than viscous heating (SI unit: W/m3)
The pressure work term
T
- ----p---- -----+ u p

T p t
and the viscous heating term
:S
are not included by default because they are commonly negligible. These can, however,
be added as subnodes to the Fluid node. For a detailed discussion of the fundamentals
of heat transfer in fluids, see Ref. 3.
The interface also supports heat transfer in solids:
T
E
C p ------- = q T ------- + Q
t
t
where E is the elastic contribution to entropy (SI unit: J/(m3K)).
As in the case of fluids, the pressure work term
E
T ------t
is not included by default but must be added as a subfeature.
The Heat Equation
Turbulent Non-Isothermal Flow Theory
References for the Non-Isothermal Flow and Conjugate Heat Transfer
User Interfaces

T H E O R Y F O R T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

309

Turbulent Non-Isothermal Flow Theory


Turbulent energy transport is conceptually more complicated than energy transport in
laminar flows since the turbulence is also a form of energy.
Equations for compressible turbulence are derived using the Favre average. The Favre

average of a variable T is denoted T and is defined by

T
T = ------
where the bar denotes the usual Reynolds average. The full field is then decomposed as

T = T + T''
With these notations the equation for total internal energy, e, becomes
u i u i u i''u i'' u i u i u i''u i''
----- ---------- + ------------------- + ------- u j h + ----------- + u j ------------------- =
e+

t
2
2 x j
2
2
u j''u i''u i''
-

----- q u j''h'' + ij u i'' --------------------------- + ------- u i ij u i''u j''


x j
x j j
2

(7-7)

where h is the enthalpy. The vector


T
q j = ------x j

(7-8)

is the laminar conductive heat flux and


2 u k
ij = 2S ij --- --------- ij
3 x k
is the laminar, viscous stress tensor. Notice that the thermal conductivity is denoted .
The modeling assumptions are in large part analogous to incompressible turbulence
modeling. The stress tensor
u i''u'' j
is model with the Boussinesq approximation:

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1 u k 2
u i''u'' j = T ij = 2 T S ij --- --------- ij --- k ij
3 x k 3

(7-9)

where k is the turbulent kinetic energy, which in turned is defined by


1
k = --- u i''u i''
2

(7-10)

The correlation between u j'' and h'' in Equation 7-7 is the turbulent transport of
heat. It is model analogous to the laminar conductive heat flux

T C p T
T
u j''h'' = q T j = T ------- = -------------- ------x j
Pr T x j

(7-11)

The molecular diffusion,


ij u i''
and turbulent transport term,
u j''u i''u i'' 2
are modeled by a generalization of the molecular diffusion and turbulent transport
term found in the incompressible k equation
T k
u j''u i''u i''
ij u i'' --------------------------- = + ------ ------
2
k x j

(7-12)

Inserting Equation 7-8, Equation 7-9, Equation 7-10, Equation 7-11 and
Equation 7-12 into Equation 7-7 gives

u i u i
----- u i u i

e + ----------- + k + ------- u j h + ----------- + k =


x j

2
2
t
T k

-
----- q q T j + + ------ ------- + ------- u i ij + T ij

x j j
k x j
x j

(7-13)

The Favre average can also be applied to the momentum equation, which, using
Equation 7-9, can be written
-----

p
u i + ------- u j u i = ------- + ------- ij + T ij
x j
t
x j x j

(7-14)

T H E O R Y F O R T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

311

Taking the inner product between u i and Equation 7-14 results in an equation for the
resolved kinetic energy, which can be subtracted from Equation 7-13 with the
following result:
u j
----
e + k + ------- u j e + k = p -------- +
x j
t
x j
T k
-

----- q j q T j + + ------ ------- + ------- u i ij + T ij

x j
k x j x j

(7-15)

where the relation


e = h + p
has been used.
According to Wilcox (Ref. 1), it is usually a good approximation to neglect the
contributions of k for flows with Mach numbers up to the supersonic range. This gives
the following approximation of Equation 7-15 is
u j

-----

e + ------- u j e = p -------- + ------- q j q T j + ------- u i ij + T ij


x j x j
t
x j
x j

(7-16)

Larsson (Ref. 2) suggests to make the split


ij = ij + ij''
Since
ij ij''
for all applications of engineering interest, it will follow that
ij ij
and consequently

u j

T
-----

Tot

e + ------- u j e = p -------- + ------- + T ------- + ------- u i ij


x j x j
t
x j
x j x j
where

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(7-17)



2 u k
Tot
ij
= + T 2S ij --- --------- ij
3 x k

Equation 7-17 is completely analogous to the laminar energy equation and can be
expanded using the same theory (see for example Ref. 3):

T

p
T
T p
C p ------- + u j ------- = ------- + T ------- + ij S ij ---- ------- ------ + u j -------
t
x j
x j
x j
x j
T
t
p

which is the temperature equation solved in the turbulent Non-Isothermal Flow and
Conjugate Heat Transfer interfaces.
TU R B U L E N T C O N D U C T I V I T Y

Kays-Crawford
This is a relatively exact model for PrT, still simple. In Ref. 4, it is compared to other
models for PrT and found to be good for most kind of turbulent wall bounded flows
except for liquid metals. The model is given by
Cp T 2
1
0.3 C p T
Pr T = ----------------- + ------------------ -------------- 0.3 -------------- 1 e 0.3C p T


2Pr
Pr T

1
(7-18)

Pr T

where the Prandtl number at infinity is PrT0.85 and is the conductivity.

Extended Kays-Crawford
Weigand and others (Ref. 5) suggested an extension of Equation 7-18 to liquid metals
by introducing
100
Pr T = 0.85 + ------------------------------0.888
C p Re
where Re, the Reynolds number at infinity must be provided either as a constant or
as a function of the flow field. This is entered in the Model Inputs section of the Fluid
feature.
TE M P E R A T U R E WA L L F U N C T I O N S

Analogous to the single-phase flow wall functions (see Wall Functions described for the
Wall boundary condition), there is a theoretical gap between the solid wall and the
computational domain of the fluid also for the temperature field. This gap is often
ignored in so much that it is ignored when the computational geometry is drawn.

T H E O R Y F O R T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

313

The heat flux between the fluid with temperature Tf and a wall with temperature Tw, is:
C p C 1 / 4 k 1 / 2 T w T f
q wf = ---------------------------------------------------------T+
where is the fluid density, Cp is the fluid heat capacity, C is a turbulence modeling
constant, and k is the turbulent kinetic energy. T is the dimensionless temperature
and is given by (Ref. 6):
+ +
for w
w1

+
Pr w

2 / 3 500
----------
T + = 15Pr
+

+ + +
for w1
w
w2

w2

Pr
+ +
----- ln w

+ +
for w2
w

where in turn
w C 1 / 2 k
+ = -----------------------------w

+ = 10 10 ------- w2
Pr T

10 + = ----------- w1
Pr 1 / 3
Cp
Pr = ---------

Pr T

= 15Pr 2 / 3 --------- 1 + ln 1000 ---------

2
Pr T
where in turn is the thermal conductivity, and is the von Karman constant equal to
0.41.
The computational result should be checked so that the distance between the
computational fluid domain and the wall, w, is almost everywhere small compared to
any geometrical quantity of interest. The distance w is available as a variable on
boundaries.

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References for the Non-Isothermal


Flo w a nd C o nju gat e H eat Tran sfer
User Interfaces
1. D.C. Wilcox, Turbulence Modeling for CFD, 2nd ed., DCW Industries, 1998.
2. J. Larsson, Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flows for Turbine Blade Heat
Transfer, Doctoral Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Chalmers
University of Technology, Sweden, 1998.
3. R.L. Panton, Incompressible Flow, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.
4. W.M. Kays, Turbulent Prandtl Number Where Are We?, ASME Journal of
Heat Transfer, 116, pp. 284295, 1994.
5. B. Weigand, J.R. Ferguson, and M.E. Crawford, An Extended Kays and Crawford
Turbulent Prandtl Number Model, International Journal of Heat and Mass
Transfer, vol. 40, no. 17, pp. 41914196, 1997.
6. D. Lacasse, . Turgeon, and D. Pelletier, On the Judicious Use of the k Model,
Wall Functions and Adaptivity, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 43,
pp. 925938, 2004.

R E F E R E N C E S F O R T H E N O N - I S O T H E R M A L F L O W A N D C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R U S E R I N T E R F A C E S

315

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Glossary
This Glossary of Terms contains application-specific terms used in the Heat
Transfer Module software and documentation. For information about terms
relating to finite element modeling, mathematics, geometry, and CAD, see the
glossary in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual. For references to more
information about a term, see the Index in this or other manuals.

317

Glossary of Terms
anisotropy The condition of exhibiting properties with different values when

measured in different directions.


bioheat equation An alternative form of the heat equation that incorporates the effects

of blood perfusion, metabolism, and external heating. The equation describes heat
transfer in tissue.
blackbody A blackbody is a surface that absorbs all incoming radiation; that is, it does

not reflect radiation. The blackbody also emits the maximum possible radiation.
conduction Heat conduction takes place through different mechanisms in different

media. Theoretically, conduction takes place through collisions of molecules in a gas,


through oscillations of each molecule in a cage formed by its nearest neighbors in a
fluid, and by the electrons carrying heat in metals or by molecular motion in other
solids. Typical for heat conduction is that the heat flux is proportional to the
temperature gradient.
advection Heat advection takes place through the net displacement of a fluid, which

translates the heat content in a fluid through the fluid's own velocity.
convection The term convection is used for the heat dissipation from a solid surface

to a fluid, where the heat transfer coefficient and the temperature difference across a
fictitious film describes the flux.
discrete ordinates method This order defines the discretization of the radiative

intensity direction.
emissivity A dimensionless factor between 0 and 1 that specifies the ability of a surface

to emit radiative energy. The value 1 corresponds to an ideal surface, which emits the
maximum possible radiative energy.
heat capacity See specific heat.
highly conductive layer A highly conductive layer is a thin layer on a boundary. It has

much higher thermal conductivity than the material in the adjacent domain. This
allows for the assumption that the temperature is constant across the layers thickness.

318 |

CHAPTER 8: GLOSSARY

The general Heat Transfer physics interface supports heat transfer in highly conductive
layers.
irradiation The total radiation that arrives at a surface.
Navier-Stokes equations The equations for the momentum balances coupled to the

equation of continuity for a Newtonian incompressible fluid are often referred to as


the Navier-Stokes equations. The most general versions of Navier-Stokes equations do
however describe fully compressible flows.
opaque material An opaque body does not transmit any radiative heat flux, that is, the
surface of an opaque body has a transmissivity equal to 0.
radiation Heat transfer by radiation takes place through the transport of photons,

which can be absorbed or reflected on solid surfaces. The Heat Transfer Module
includes surface-to-surface radiation, which accounts for effects of shading and
reflections between radiating surfaces. It also includes surface-to-ambient radiation
where the ambient radiation can be fixed or given by an arbitrary function.
participating media A media that can absorb, emit, and scatter thermal radiation.
radiosity The total radiation that leaves a surface, that is, both the emitted and the

reflected radiation.
specific heat Refers to the quantity that represents the amount of heat required to

change one unit of mass of a substance by one degree. It has units of energy per mass
per degree. This quantity is also called specific heat or specific heat capacity.
specific heat capacity See specific heat.
thin conductive shell Thin means that the shell is thin enough, or has high enough
thermal conductivity, to allow for the assumption that the temperature is constant
across the shells thickness. See also highly conductive layer.
transparent material A transparent body transmits radiative heat flux, that is, the
surface of a transparent body has a transmissivity greater than 0.
thermal conductivity The definition of thermal conductivity is given by Fouriers law,

which relates the heat flux to the temperature gradient. In this equation, the thermal
conductivity is the proportional constant.

G L O S S A R Y O F TE R M S

319

320 |

CHAPTER 8: GLOSSARY

I n d e x
1D and 2D models

nitf interfaces 292

out-of-plane heat transfer 156

radiation in participating media 201

3D models

spf 223

thin conductive shells 146


A

absolute pressure 91, 139, 224225, 295


acceleration of gravity 55

boundary stress (node) 237

accurate flux variables 32

Brinell hardness 50

advanced settings 9

bulk velocity 55

AKN model 270

buoyancy force 55

apparent heat capacity 46

Carreau model 259, 299

arterial blood temperature 134

cell Reynolds number 234

axisymmetric geometries 166, 193, 197

CFL number

azimuthal sectors 193


B

surface-to-surface radiation 167


boundary selection 10

bioheat (node) 134


bioheat transfer interface 132
theory 65
biological tissue 133
black walls 205
blackbody intensity 208209

pseudo time stepping, and 218


CFL number, pseudo time stepping, and
288

change effective thickness (node) 154


change thickness (node)
heat transfer in thin shells 152
out-of-plane heat transfer 130

blackbody radiation 175

characteristic length 55

blackbody radiation intensity 209

Charrons relation 52

blackbody radiation intensity, definition

Clausius-Clapeyron formulation 42

207

blood, bioheat properties 133


boundary conditions
heat equation, and 34
heat transfer coefficients, and 53
radiation groups 197

coefficient of volumetric thermal expansion 56


conductive heat flux variable 26
conjugate heat transfer interface
theory 308
conjugate heat transfer interfaces 285

boundary heat source (node) 104

conservation of energy 19

boundary heat source variable 33

consistent stabilization settings 9

boundary nodes

constraint settings 9

bioheat interface 132


heat transfer 84
heat transfer in porous media 137
heat transfer in thin shells 148

continuity (node)
heat transfer 106
continuity on interior boundary (node)
206

convection, natural and forced 54

INDEX|

convective heat flux (node) 116

nitf interfaces 292

convective heat flux variable 27, 30

radiation in participating media 201

convective out-of-plane heat flux varia-

spf interfaces 223

ble 28

surface-to-surface radiation 167

Cooper-Mikic Yovanovich (CMY) correlation 49

domain selection 10
E

coordinate system selection 10

edge heat flux (node) 121

crosswind diffusion

edge heat source (node) 154

definition 39

edge nodes

crosswind diffusion, consistent stabiliza-

heat transfer 84

tion method 39

heat transfer in porous media 137

curves, fan 254


D

heat transfer in thin shells 148

Daltons law 41

nitf interfaces 292

del operators 62

radiation in participating media 201

density, blood 135

surface-to-surface radiation 167

dev_in and dev_out variables 253

edge selection 10

diffuse gray radiation model 165

edge surface-to-ambient radiation

diffuse mirror (node) 173

(node) 125

diffuse spectral radiation model 165

edges

diffuse-gray surface 188189

heat flux 121

diffuse-spectral 190

temperature 123

diffuse-spectral surface 190

effective volumetric heat capacity 88

dimensionless distance to cell center var-

elastic contribution to entropy 113, 304

iable 272

elevation 193

Dirac pulse 47

emailing COMSOL 12

direct area integration, axisymmetric ge-

emission, radiation and 207

ometry and 193

equation view 9

direct area integration, radiation settings

equivalent thermal conductivity 66


equivalent volumetric heat capacity 66

165

Dirichlet condition 255

evaluating view factors 192

discrete ordinates method (DOM) 211

exit length 235

discretization 9

expanding sections 9

dispersivities, porous media 143

external radiation source (node) 178

documentation 11
domain heat source variable 33
domain nodes
heat transfer 84
heat transfer in porous media 137

ii | I N D E X

eddy viscosity 262

fan (node) 240


fan curves
inlet boundary condition 241
theory 254
Favre average 263, 310

first law of thermodynamics 19

heat transfer coefficients

flow continuity (node) 246

out-of-plane heat transfer 128

fluid (node) 293

theory 54

fluid flow

heat transfer in fluids (node) 89


heat transfer in participating media inter-

selecting interfaces 280


turbulent flow theory 260

face 161

fluid properties (node) 224

heat transfer in porous media (node) 137

Fouriers law 20

heat transfer in porous media interface

frames, moving 68
G

136

theory 66

Galerkin constraints 100

heat transfer in solids (node) 86

gap conductance 51

heat transfer in thin shells interface 146

general stress (boundary stress condi-

theory 156

tion) 238

heat transfer interfaces 78, 81

geometric entity selection 10

selecting 280

Grashof number 55

theory 18

gravity 55

heat transfer with phase change (node)

gray walls 204

96

graybody radiation 175, 190191

heat transfer with surface-to-surface ra-

gray-diffuse parallel plate model 51

diation interface 160

grille (node) 245

Heaviside function 47

grouping boundaries 197

hemicubes, axisymmetric geometry and

guidelines, solving surface-to-surface ra-

193

diation problems 196

hemicubes, radiation settings 165


H

heat equation, highly conductive layers

hide button 9

and 62

highly conductive layer (node) 118

heat flux (node) 101

highly conductive layers, defined 61

heat transfer in thin shells 149


heat flux, theory 21
heat source (node)
heat transfer 94
heat transfer in thin shells 151
heat sources
defining as total power 94, 105, 111,
155

edges, thin shells 154


highly conductive layers 120
line and point 111
point, thin shells 155

incident intensity (node) 205


inconsistent stabilization settings 9
inflow heat flux (node) 114
initial values (node)
heat transfer 93
heat transfer in thin shells 152
nitf interfaces 303
spf interfaces 227
inlet (boundary stress condition) 247
inlet (node) 231
insulation/continuity (node) 153

INDEX|

iii

interior fan (node) 242

mechanisms of heat transfer 18

interior wall (node) 302

metabolic heat source 135

spf interfaces 244

Mikic elastic correlation 50

internal boundary heat flux variables 30

Model Library 12

Internet resources 11

Model Library examples

isotropic diffusion, inconsistent stabiliza-

bioheat transfer interface 132


consistent stabilization 39

tion methods 40
K

convective heat flux 117

Karman constant 314

heat transfer in fluids 90

Kays-Crawford models 283, 313

heat transfer in porous media 136

k-epsilon turbulence model 219, 264

heat transfer in solids 88

knowledge base, COMSOL 13

heat transfer in thin shells 148


L

laminar flow (nitf) interface, conjugate

heat transfer with surface-to-surface

heat transfer 289

radiation 167

laminar flow (nitf) interface, non-isother-

highly conductive layers 118

mal flow 285

laminar flow 219

laminar flow interface 216

nitf interfaces 288289

laminar inflow (inlet boundary condition)

out-of-plane convective heat flux 127

232

radiation in participating media 201

laminar outflow (outlet boundary condi-

surface-to-ambient radiation 104

tion) 235

thermal contact 52

Latitude 180

thermodynamics 88

latitude 193

translational motion 89

layer heat source (node) 120

turbulent flow, k-epsilon (nitf) inter-

leaking wall, wall boundary condition 229

face 292

line heat source (node) 111

turbulent flow, k-epsilon (spf) 221

line heat source variable 33

moist air 93, 141

local CFL number 218, 275, 288

moisture content 93, 141

Longitude 180

moving frames 68

longitude 193

moving mesh, heat transfer and 48

low re k-epsilon turbulence model 221

moving wall (wall functions), boundary

low Reynolds number

condition 230

k-epsilon turbulence theory 270

moving wall, wall boundary condition

neglect inertial term 286


M

229, 245

material frame

MPH-files 12
mutual irradiation 194

heat transfer 73
mean effective thermal conductivity 87
mean effective thermal diffusivity 87

iv | I N D E X

nabla operators 62
natural and forced convection 54

Neumann condition 268


Newtonian model 258
no slip, interior wall boundary condition
244

pair boundary heat source (node) 104


pair nodes
heat transfer 84
heat transfer in porous media 137

no slip, wall boundary condition 228

heat transfer in thin shells 148

no viscous stress (outlet boundary con-

nitf interfaces 292

dition) 234
non-isothermal flow interface
theory 308

radiation in participating media 201


spf interfaces 223
surface-to-surface radiation 167

non-isothermal flow interfaces 285

pair selection 10

non-Newtonian power law and Carreau

pair thermal contact (node) 108

model 298
normal conductive heat flux variable 29
normal convective heat flux variable 29
normal stress (boundary condition) 232
normal stress, normal flow (boundary
stress condition) 238

pair thin thermally resistive layer (node)


106

participating media, radiative heat transfer 207


Pennes approximation 65
perfusion rate, blood 134

normal total energy flux variable 30

periodic flow condition (node) 239

normal translational heat flux variable 29

periodic heat condition (node) 104

Nusselt number 55

phase transitions 97

open boundary (boundary stress condition) 247


open boundary (node)
heat transfer 115
single-phase flow 237
outflow (node) 100
outlet (boundary stress condition) 247
outlet (node) 233
out-of-plane convective heat flux (node)
127

out-of-plane heat flux (node) 130


out-of-plane heat transfer
change thickness 130
general theory 63
thin shells theory 156
out-of-plane inward heat flux variable 29
out-of-plane radiation (node) 129
override and contribution 9

point heat flux (node) 122


point heat source (node) 155
heat transfer 112
point heat source variable 33
point nodes
heat transfer 84
heat transfer in porous media 137
heat transfer in thin shells 148
nitf interfaces 292
radiation in participating media 201
spf interfaces 223
surface-to-surface radiation 167
point selection 10
point surface-to-ambient radiation
(node) 125
point temperature (node) 124
points
heat flux 122

INDEX|

temperature 124

radiosity method 188

power law, non-Newtonian 298

RANS

power law, single-phase flow theory 258

theory, single-phase flow 261

Prandtl number 55, 283, 313

ratio of specific heats 89, 138

prescribed radiosity (node) 174

Rayleigh number 55

pressure (outlet boundary condition)

Refractive index 200


refractive index 189, 208209

234

pressure point constraint (node) 246

relative humidity 93, 141

pressure work (node)

Reynolds number 55

heat transfer 112

extended Kays-Crawford 313

nitf interfaces 304

low, turbulence theory 270

pressure, no viscous stress (inlet and

turbulent flow theory 260


Reynolds stress tensor 262, 265

outlet boundary conditions) 232


pseudo time stepping

Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes. See

advanced settings 218, 288, 291

RANS.

turbulent flow theory 275


pseudoplastic fluids 258
pumps, lumped curves and 254
R

radiation
axisymmetric geometries, and 166,
193, 197

participating media 207


radiation group (node) 177

scalar density variables, frames and 72


scattering, radiation and 207
sectors, azimuthal 193
selecting
conjugate heat transfer interfaces 280
heat transfer interfaces 78, 81
non-isothermal flow interfaces 280

radiation groups 197

settings windows 9

radiation in participating media (node)

shear rate magnitude variable 225

heat transfer 202


radiation in participating media interface
199

shear thickening fluids 258


shell thickness 146
shells, conductive 156

radiation intensity, for blackbody 207

show button 9

radiation, out-of-plane 129

single-phase flow

radiative conductance 51
radiative heat flux variable 30
radiative heat, theory 36
radiative out-of-plane heat flux variable
28

vi | I N D E X

Rodriguez formula 209

turbulent flow theory 260


single-phase flow interface
laminar flow 216
sliding wall (wall functions), boundary
condition 230

radiative transfer equation 208

sliding wall, wall boundary condition 229

radiosity 189

slip, wall boundary condition 229, 244

radiosity expressions 175

Solar position 193

solving surface-to-surface radiation


problems 196

heat transfer 18

source terms, bioheat 134

heat transfer coefficients 54

spatial frame

heat transfer in porous media 66

heat transfer and 73

heat transfer in thin shells 156

specific heat capacity, definition 20

non-isothermal flow 308

specific heat, blood 134

out-of-plane heat transfer 63

spf.sr variable 225

surface-to-surface radiation 194

stabilization settings 9

turbulent flow k-epsilon model 260

stabilization techniques

turbulent flow low re k-epsilon model

crosswind diffusion 39
static pressure curves 241
strain-rate tensors 113
streamline diffusion, consistent stabilization methods 39
sun position 181
surface emissivity 189
surface-to-ambient radiation (node) 103,
153

edges and points 125

260

thermal conductivity components, thin


shells 157
thermal conductivity, frames and 73
thermal conductivity, mean effective 87
thermal contact (node) 108
theory 48
thermal diffusivity 87
thermal dispersion (node) 143
thermal expansivity 55

surface-to-surface radiation (node) 168

thermal friction 51

surface-to-surface radiation interface

thermal insulation (node) 99

164

theory 194

heat equation definition 19

thin conductive layer (node) 150


thin conductive layers, definition 61

swirl flow 266

thin thermally resistive layer (node) 106

symmetry (node) 236

Time zone 180

heat transfer 101

time zone 193

symmetry, flow (node) 306

total energy flux variable 28

symmetry, heat (node) 305

total heat flux 102

technical support, COMSOL 12


temperature (node) 99, 123
tensors
Reynolds stress 265
strain-rate 113
viscous stress theory 257
theory
bioheat transfer 65
conjugate heat transfer interface 308

total heat flux variable 26


total normal heat flux variable 29
total power 94, 105, 111, 155
traction boundary conditions 237
translational heat flux variable 27
translational motion (node) 88
turbulence models
k-epsilon 219, 264
low re k-epsilon 221

INDEX|

vii

nitf interfaces 289

viscous stress, theory 252

single-phase flow 217

volume force (node) 226

turbulent compressible flow 263


turbulent conjugate heat transfer

volumetric heat capacity 88


W wall (node)

theory 310

heat transfer 203

turbulent flow k-epsilon (nitf) interface

nitf interfaces 300

289

single-phase flow 228

turbulent flow k-epsilon (spf) interface

wall distance initialization study step 271

219

wall functions, turbulent flow 267

turbulent flow k-epsilon interface

wall functions, wall boundary condition

theory 260

230

turbulent flow low re k-epsilon (nitf) in-

weak constraint settings 9

terface 289

web sites, COMSOL 13

turbulent flow low re k-epsilon (spf) interface 221


turbulent flow low re k-epsilon interface
theory 260
turbulent heat flux variable 27
turbulent kinetic energy theory
k-epsilon model 264
RANS 264
turbulent length scale 273
turbulent non-isothermal flow interfaces
theory 310
turbulent Prandtl number 313
U

user community, COMSOL 13

vapor mass fraction 93, 141


variables
dimensionless distance to cell center
272

velocity (inlet and outlet boundary conditions) 232


view factors 192
viscous force 55
viscous heating (node)
heat transfer 113
nitf interfaces 305
viscous stress tensors, theory 257

viii | I N D E X

zenith 193
zero shear rate viscosity 259

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