A 2D discrete heat transfer model considering the thermal resistance effect of fractures for simulating the thermal cracking of brittle materials

A concise, two-dimensional discrete heat transfer model is presented, which considers the thermal resistance effects of cracks. The discrete heat transfer model discretizes the continuum into individual triangular elements, and the adjacent triangular elements transfer heat through corresponding joint elements. Then, the principle of selecting the heat exchange coefficient of the joint element is determined through a parameter sensitivity analysis. Moreover, the 2D discrete heat transfer model is combined with the finite discrete element method to build a thermomechanical coupled model for simulating brittle material thermal cracking. The thermal stress and thermal shock problems are studied by using the thermomechanical coupled model, and the numerical results are compared with either the analytical solution or experimental results to validate the 2D discrete heat transfer model and thermomechanical coupled model. The discrete heat transfer model and thermomechanical coupled model provide a powerful tool for solving heat transfer problems in discontinuous media as well as the thermal cracking problem in brittle materials.