Modeling Transient Heat Transfer Through the Skin and Superficial Tissues—1: Surface Insulation

Abstract

Two models of transient heat transfer through the skin and superficial tissues are presented. One model comprises a finite slab and semi-infinite slab, representing the epidermis and subdermal tissues, respectively, and a heat-generating interface representing the thermal effect of blood flow through the dermis. A model is also considered where the three tissue regions are represented more conventionally by three finite slabs. A transient problem arising from surface insulation is examined and analytical solutions derived from the first model are compared with numerical solutions derived from the second.