Homogenization and simulation of heat transfer through a thin grain layer

TL;DR

This paper uses mathematical homogenization to analyze heat transfer through thin grain layers, deriving effective equations for different grain connectivity scenarios and providing a numerical solution approach.

Contribution

It introduces a homogenized model for heat transfer in thin grain layers considering both connected and disconnected grain structures, with a numerical algorithm for the effective equations.

Findings

Derived effective differential equations for thin grain layers.

Analyzed two distinct grain connectivity scenarios.

Developed a numerical algorithm for the homogenized model.

Abstract

We investigated the effective influence of grain structures on the heat transfer between a fluid and solid domain using mathematical homogenization. The presented model consists of heat equations inside the different domains, coupled through either perfect or imperfect thermal contact. The size and the period of the grains are of order $\varepsilon$, therefore forming a thin layer. The equation parameters inside the grains also depend on $\varepsilon$. We considered two distinct scenarios: Case (a), where the grains are disconnected, and Case (b), where the grains form a connected geometry but in a way such that the fluid and solid are still in contact. In both cases, we determined the effective differential equations for the limit $\varepsilon \to 0$ via the concept of two-scale convergence for thin layers. We also presented and studied a numerical algorithm to solve the homogenized problem.