The documentation of all features in the Heat Transfer and Heat Transfer in Porous Media interfaces are available in the Heat Transfer Module User’s Guide. At the end of this section you will find links to the specific sections which are relevant for simulations of heat transfer in porous media.

The Heat Transfer in Solids Interface provides tools for analyzing heat transfer that is proportional to a temperature gradient, or conduction. The temperature equation defined in solid domains corresponds to the differential form of the Fourier’s law. It incorporates boundary and source options to represent transversal fluxes such as convection and radiation at adjacent domains that you do not explicitly model.

The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface is used to model heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation. The temperature equation defined in fluid domains corresponds to the convection-diffusion equation that may contain additional contributions like heat sources.

A combination of both is provided in the interface The Heat Transfer in Solids and Fluids Interface and is used to model heat transfer in solids and fluids by conduction, convection, and radiation. A Solid model is active by default on all domains, and a Fluid model is also added but not active. This interface is automatically added if the precoupled multiphysics node Conjugate Heat Transfer is chosen. In this case, the Heat Transfer interface is coupled with a Laminar Flow interface. This is further described in Section The Conjugate Heat Transfer, Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow Interfaces.

The settings for Heat Transfer in Solids and Fluids are the same as for The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface.

Heat transfer through conduction and convection (both nonisothermal flow and conjugate heat transfer) in solid and free media is supported by physics interfaces shipped with the basic COMSOL Multiphysics license. However, there are some enhanced features like special boundary conditions which are only available for certain modules. For a detailed overview of the functionality available in each product, visit https://www.comsol.com/products/specifications/.

In the table below there is a list of domain nodes available in The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface if the Porous Media Flow Module is licensed:

The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface has the following boundary nodes available with the Porous Media Flow module:

The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface has the following edge nodes (3D components only):

The Heat Transfer in Fluids Interface has the following point nodes:

This module also includes The Heat Transfer in Porous Media Interface. The physics interface itself supports heat transfer in porous media where the thermal conductivity and heat capacity are affected by the extent of porosity. This interface therefore offers to choose specific media like a Porous Medium in general or a Building Material via the domain nodes.

To model heat transfer by conduction and convection in thin porous structures, like fractures or cracks, The Heat Transfer in Fractures Interface is available.

The documentation of all features in the Heat Transfer and Heat Transfer in Porous Media interfaces are available in the Heat Transfer Module User’s Guide, specifically in these sections:

A variety of modeling techniques are discussed in the following sections of the Heat Transfer Module User’s Guide: