Abstract:

Numerical models based on finite elements have nowadays both a scientific and an academic goal. These models are of great value in engineer students’ education, because they provide them with tools to achieve simple solutions in real situations of complex geometry. The finite element method solve differential equations by stating initial and boundary conditions, allowing students and professionals the calculation of non-steady solutions in a more precise way than by employing approximate or graphic methods. One of the main difficulties, which agroalimentary engineers encounter in the industry, is heat transportation and exchange between different media. In this paper, a problem of heat transportation at molecular level in transient state is presented using a geometric simplification. The model allows, in a few steps, the resolution of a heat exchange problem between two media by using the finite elements method.

Keywords:

Heat exchange, finite elements, learning and teaching methodologies.