The Physical Mechanisms Underlying Heat Transfer

The amount of heat transferred per unit time (heat transfer rate) depends on the underlying physical mechanisms that define the mode of transfer. These are:

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Conduction — Heat conduction (or diffusion) occurs as a consequence of different mechanisms in different media. Theoretically, it takes place in a gas through collisions of 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.

In a continuous medium, Fourier’s law of heat conduction states that the conductive heat flux, q, is proportional to the temperature gradient:

(4-6)

The coefficient of proportionality, k, is the thermal conductivity (SI unit: W/(m·K)) and takes a positive value meaning that heat flows from regions of high temperature to low temperature. More generally, the thermal conductivity can take the form of a symmetric positive-definite second-order tensor (matrix) in anisotropic media such as composite materials:


	Thermal conductivity tensors that do not respect the symmetric positive-definite property lead to unphysical results (Ref. 3).

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Convection — Heat convection (sometimes called heat advection) takes place through the net displacement of a fluid that transports the heat content with its 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.

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Radiation — Heat 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.