Heat transfer in a complex medium

Abstract

The heat equation is considered in the complex medium consisting of many small bodies (particles) embedded in a given material. On the surfaces of the small bodies an impedance boundary condition is imposed. An equation for the limiting field is derived when the characteristic size $a$ of the small bodies tends to zero, their total number $\mathcal{N}(a)$ tends to infinity at a suitable rate, and the distance $d = d(a)$ between neighboring small bodies tends to zero: $a << d$, $\lim_{a\to 0}\frac{a}{d(a)}=0$. No periodicity is assumed about the distribution of the small bodies. These results are basic for a method of creating a medium in which heat signals are transmitted along a given line. The technical part for this method is based on an inverse problem of finding potential with prescribed eigenvalues.