Homogenization of the heat equation for a domain with a network of pipes with a well-mixed fluid

Abstract

We consider the linear heat equation in a domain occupied by a solid material with a network of pipes in which a well-mixed fluid is circulating. The temperature of the fluid in the pipe is uniform and its time variation is determined by the thermal flux on the wall of the pipe, plus a given internal source; continuity of the temperature across the pipe is also assumed. We suppose that we deal with a periodic geometry, with cells of size ε with inclusions of size rg; we study in detail in the case rε∼ε, referring to a previous paper for the case rε≪ε In the limit ε»0 we get a homogenized equation. The limit depends strongly on the ratio between the time variation of the temperature in the inclusions and the thermal flux through the interface. The homogenized equation has a new specific heat, which depends on the porosity and the constant of proportionality between the time variation of temperature and the flux on the boundary of the pipe. We also have a new thermal conductivity depending on the microstructure, and volume sources appear. The main tool is the energy method and we generalize the classical results for the more standard boundary conditions for parabolic equations. Finally, we consider the network of pipes forming a random ball structure. We prove convergence for this case. The homogenized equation is of the same form as in the periodic case but auxiliary problems are stochastic. © 1994 Fondazione Annali di Matematica Pura ed Aplicata.