HeatCapacitor

Description

This is a generic model for the heat capacity of a material.No specific geometry is assumed beyond a total volume withuniform temperature for the entire volume.Furthermore, it is assumed that the heat capacityis constant (independent of temperature).

The temperature T [Kelvin] of this component is a state.A default of T = 25 degree Celsius (= SIunits.Conversions.from_degC(25))is used as start value for initialization.This usually means that at start of integration the temperature of thiscomponent is 25 degrees Celsius. You may, of course, define a differenttemperature as start value for initialization. Alternatively, it is possibleto set parameter steadyStateStart to true. In this casethe additional equation 'der(T) = 0' is used duringinitialization, i.e., the temperature T is computed in such a way thatthe component starts in steady state. This is useful in cases,where one would like to start simulation in a suitable operatingpoint without being forced to integrate for a long time to arriveat this point.

Note, that parameter steadyStateStart is not available inthe parameter menu of the simulation window, because its valueis utilized during translation to generate quite differentequations depending on its setting. Therefore, the value of thisparameter can only be changed before translating the model.

This component may be used for complicated geometries wherethe heat capacity C is determined my measurements. If the componentconsists mainly of one type of material, the mass m of thecomponent may be measured or calculated and multiplied with thespecific heat capacity cp of the component material tocompute C:

   C = cp*m.   Typical values for cp at 20 degC in J/(kg.K):      aluminium   896      concrete    840      copper      383      iron        452      silver      235      steel       420 ... 500 (V2A)      wood       2500