Thermal field 3D, Dirichlet

Example: heating a ball with sources

Consider a three-dimensional transient example. Take a ball Ω\Omega={r:r{} = \{\, \mathbf{r} : |\mathbf{r}|R}{} \le R \,\} with thermal diffusivity a2a^2=0.3{} = 0.3. The surface of the ball is held at zero temperature (Dirichlet condition), and six point heat sources are placed symmetrically inside, f(r)f(\mathbf{r})=k=16Pkδ(rrk){} = \sum_{k=1}^{6} P_k \, \delta(\mathbf{r} - \mathbf{r}_k) (at the vertices of an octahedron). Initially the ball is cold; over time the sources heat it up while heat escapes through the cold surface, and the solution settles to a steady profile. The problem statement reads

Tt\displaystyle \dfrac{\partial T}{\partial t} =a2(2Tx2+2Ty2+2Tz2)\displaystyle {} = a^2 \left( \dfrac{\partial^2 T}{\partial x^2} + \dfrac{\partial^2 T}{\partial y^2} + \dfrac{\partial^2 T}{\partial z^2} \right)+k=16Pkδ(rrk),\displaystyle {} + \sum_{k=1}^{6} P_k \, \delta(\mathbf{r} - \mathbf{r}_k),r\displaystyle \mathbf{r} Ω,\displaystyle {} \in \Omega,T(r,0)\displaystyle T(\mathbf{r}, 0) =0,\displaystyle {} = 0,TΩ\displaystyle T|_{\partial \Omega} =0.\displaystyle {} = 0.
(7.6)
Fig. 7.5. A 3D transient Dirichlet problem: heating of a ball by six internal sources. The colour shows the temperature T(r,t)T(\mathbf{r}, t).