Thermal Equivalent Circuits: Basics

This lecture covers the basic physics of thermal systems to derive equivalent circuits, including lumped thermal models and key parameters. It also explores the concept of generalized variables in different cases (electrical, mechanical, fluidic, and thermal). The lecture delves into heat conduction, heat flux, and 1D heat flux with distributed heat sources. It discusses steady-state and transient states, as well as the analogy between thermal and electrical systems. The concept of thermal diffusivity and the transient state for small masses with long anchors are also explained. The lecture concludes with the equivalent circuit for thermal conduction with fixed temperature boundaries.