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LAB #13
Solution of transient 2D heat conduction problem using FreeFem++

1) Consider a bar (square cross section with edge length L = 1 m, infinite height), initially at
T0 = 100oC. At t > 0 three edges are placed in (perfect) contact with a thermal capacity at
Tc = 200oC, while the remaining edge is adiabatic.
 Compute the temperature evolution in the bar cross section (reducing as much as
possible the computational domain taking advantage of the symmetry of the
problem), assuming a thermal diffusivity α = 0.01 m2/s (ρ = 7000 kg/m3, cp (specific
heat capacity) = 1.5 J/kg/K).
 Check the grid independence of the solution with time discretization t = 1 s, and
plot the evolution of the temperature in the middle of the insulated edge.
 When the new steady state is reached, the insulation is removed from the adiabatic
edge, and it gets cooled by a fluid at a temperature Tf = 100oC with a heat transfer
coefficient h = 10 W/m2/K. Compute the new temperature evolution in the bar cross
section, until a new steady-state is reached.
Save your plots in files to be named ES1_yoursurname_plot#.properextension

2) Consider a metal cube (edge length L = 1 m, ρ = 7800 kg/m3, cp = 1 kJ/kg/K), initially at T0

= 100oC. The cube is removed from an oven and placed in air at Ta = 30oC. The heat transfer
coefficient with the air is h = 10 W/m2/K. Compute the temperature evolution in the center
of the cube and in the corner, 1 cm below the surface (0.49 m, 0.49 m), see Fig. 1, for the
two cases: Bi (Biot number) = 0.005 and Bi = 5.34, assuming the problem is 2D. Stop the
transient when the temperature in the cube center is smaller than 98oC.
Save your plots in files to be named ES2_yoursurname_plot#.properextension.

Figure 1

3) A rod 20 mm in diameter and 40 mm in length is fabricated from alumina (k = 1 W/m/K, ρ

= 1500 kg/m3, cp = 500 J/kg/K) and is initially at a uniform temperature T0 = 850oC. The
rod is suddenly exposed to a fluid at Tf = 350 K with h = 500 W/m2/K. Compute the
centerline temperature evolution of the rod at an exposed end and at an axial distance of 6
mm from the end (reduce as much as possible the computational domain taking advantage
of the symmetry of the problem).
Save your plots in files to be named ES7_yoursurname_plot#.properextension.

4) The cross section of a copper cable for the combined transport of electrical current and
hydrogen is shown in Fig. 2. During normal operation the cable carries a current Iop and in

ICHT – Lab #13

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the hole gaseous hydrogen flowing at TH cools the copper with a heat transfer coefficient
hin. The conductor (in grey in Fig. 2) is heated by the joule losses that induce volumetric
heat generation. The external surface of the conductor experiences convection with
stagnant ambient air (T=Ta, h=hext).
One of the most dangerous accidents foreseen for this system is the failure of the hydrogen
pumps. In that case, the cooling from the hydrogen flow is lost and the conductor starts to
heat up.
– Write a script that computes the 2D temperature evolution on the cable cross
section during this transient, starting from normal operating conditions and
removing at time t0 = 0 s the cooling from hydrogen flow: consider adiabatic the
wall cooled by hydrogen, while only the air cooling will remain active. Stop the
analysis when the maximum allowed temperature Tmax for the conductor is reached.
Reduce as much as possible the computational domain. Save the script in the file
EX2_yoursurname.properextension.
– Plot the initial and final temperature distributions in the 2D cross section. Save the
plots in two files named EX2_yoursurname_initial.properextension and
EX2_yoursurname_final.properextension.

DATA:
Iop = 20 kA
TH = 273 K
Ta = 300 K
hin = 500 W/m2/K
hext = 25 W/m2/K
Tmax = 1100 K
Cu density = 8900 kg/m3
Cu cp = 350 J/kg/K
Cu thermal conductivity = 150 W/m/K
Cu electrical resistivity = 20 nΩ×m
Figure 2.

5) In ITER, Inconel 718 bolts are used to attach to the Vacuum Vessel the Blanket Modules
directly facing the plasma. A 3D view of one of these bolts is shown in Fig. 3a, while its
cross section is reported in Fig. 3b. During plasma burn, the top (round) surface of the bolt
experiences a surface heat flux qs, while the whole bolt bulky structure experiments a
volumetric heating qv depending on the axial coordinate (y in Fig. 3) according to:

450  y 
qv  1  
2  0.17 

where qv is in kW/m3 and y is in m. The two edges indicated in Fig. 3b (edges AB and CD)
are always kept at T = T0.
During pulsed plasma operation both the surface and volume heat loads on the bolt vary
according to the shape reported in Fig. 4. The pulses are periodic with period = 1800 s.
– Write a script that computes the 2D temperature evolution on the bolt cross section,
reducing as much as possible the computational domain. Discretize the
computational domain using a mesh having an average element size δAave smaller
than 10-7 m2. Save the script in the file ES3_yoursurname.properextension.
– Plot the evolution of the maximum temperature in the 2D cross section during 3
subsequent pulses (initial temperature before the first pulse = T0). Save the plot in a
file named ES3_yoursurname_plot1.properextension.

ICHT – Lab #13

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– Plot the temperature map in the bolt at t = 400s during the third pulse. Save the plot
in a file named ES3_yoursurname_plot2.properextension.

DATA:
T0 = 343 K
qs = 5 kW/m2
density = 8200 kg/m3
cp = 450 J/kg/K
thermal conductivity = 12 W/m/K

A B C
D

Figure 3. (a) 3D view and (b) cross section of the bolt described in exercise 3. In (b) dimensions and
boundary conditions are also shown.

Figure 4. Time profile of the heat load application in exercise 4.

6) A square aluminum rod (side L = 50 cm, infinite length), is separated from a half copper
rod by a thin layer of insulation material (thickness δ = 1 cm), see the figure below. The
two rods, initially at T0 = 300 K, are cooled by a fluid at Tf = 300 K. At time t = 0 s a current
IAl = 700 kA starts flowing inside the aluminum rod while at time t = 200 s a current ICu =

ICHT – Lab #13

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400 kA starts flowing inside the copper rod until time t = 350 s, when both the currents are
switched off and the system evolves to steady-state. Write a FreeFEM++ script (to be saved
in a single file named EX6_yoursurname.edp) that:
– Computes the 2D temperature evolution on the cross section of the system composed
by the two rods and the insulation (reducing as much as possible the computational
domain).
– Checks the time convergence of the scheme adopted.
– Plots the 2D temperature distribution at time t = 350 s and save the plot as
EX6_yoursurname_2Dplot.properextension.
– Evaluates the evolution of the maximum temperature inside each rod in three cases:
1. Heat transfer coefficient with the fluid h1 = 50 W/m2/K.
2. Heat transfer coefficient with the fluid h2 = 1 kW/m2/K.
3. Heat transfer coefficient with the fluid h3 = 10 kW/m2/K.

Material properties Al Cu Ins

Thermal conductivity
250 380 0.1
k (W/m/K)
Density ρ (kg/m3) 2700 8920 2500
cp (J/kg/K) 890 390 1800
Electrical resistivity
2.82e-8 1.68e-8 0
ρel (Ωm)

ICHT – Lab #13