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On thermal diffusivity. (English) Zbl 1049.80001

This short tutorial paper focuses on the role played by the thermal diffusivity in a) homogeneous and b) layered composite materials. The paper is well written and requires no mathematical prerequisites other than the knowledge of manipulating given equations. The main emphasis is on the investigation of the physical effects predicted by the equations governing the (effective) thermal diffusivity in contrast to e.g. the thermal conductivity. Moreover, it is shown that from analyzing the governing equations, one can easily manufacture composites with thermal properties that are not found in nature. Figures illustrate the results obtained and selected classical references are given.

MSC:

80A20 Heat and mass transfer, heat flow (MSC2010)
74A40 Random materials and composite materials
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