thermalnetwork
Thermal network is a modeling approach that represents heat transfer in a system as a network of nodes connected by thermal elements. Each node has a temperature and each element represents a pathway for heat flow, typically treated as a thermal resistance, while energy storage is represented by thermal capacitances. The network is analogous to an electrical circuit, with heat flow playing the role of current and temperature difference driving the flow.
Nodes may represent individual components or spatial regions; branches denote conduction through solids, convection across interfaces,
Modeling process: define the system boundary and discrete regions, assign thermal resistances and capacitances, and possibly
Applications: electronics cooling, building energy modeling, automotive and aerospace thermal management, energy system optimization; advantages: fast,
Related concepts include thermal impedance, lumped-capacitance method, and RC networks; tools: SPICE-like modeling, MATLAB/Simulink, Modelica.