[Mathematica] Solving Heat Equation in Spherical Coordinates

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on solving the heat equation in spherical coordinates using Mathematica. The equation involves partial derivatives with respect to time, theta, and phi, and includes a source term s. The user, G, seeks assistance in numerically resolving this equation with given datasets for K, n, and s, as they have limited experience with Mathematica. The conversation highlights the necessity of transitioning from Maple to Mathematica due to licensing issues.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of partial differential equations (PDEs)
  • Familiarity with spherical coordinates in mathematical modeling
  • Basic knowledge of Mathematica for numerical solutions
  • Experience with source terms in PDEs
NEXT STEPS
  • Learn how to implement PDEs in Mathematica using the NDSolve function
  • Explore the use of spherical coordinates in Mathematica for numerical simulations
  • Study the handling of source terms in Mathematica PDE solutions
  • Review examples of solving heat equations in Mathematica for better understanding
USEFUL FOR

Researchers, mathematicians, and engineers working on numerical simulations of heat transfer problems, particularly in spherical geometries, will benefit from this discussion.

GAbit
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Hello Folks,


I have this equation to solve (expressed in LaTeX):

\frac{\partial{h}}{\partial t} = \frac{1}{n} \left[ \frac{1}{r^2 \sin^2{\phi}} \frac{\partial}{\partial \theta} \left( K \frac{\partial h}{\partial \theta} \right) + \frac{1}{r^2 \sin \phi} \frac{\partial}{\partial \phi} \left( K \sin \phi \frac{\partial h}{\partial \phi}\right) + s(\theta,\phi,t) \right]

This is similar to heat equation expressed in spherical coordinates, using mathematical convention for \phi and \theta and where s is a source term (but comes from data and do not need to be computed), and n is constant (does not depend on time) and again this is something we know (or assume), and finally, as you can read, there is no gradient in the radial direction.

I'd like to use Mathematica as I need to resolve this equation numerically for different dataset (for K,n and s, that I have) on a sphere, and it seems to be THE tool for such task. But I don't have any experience (a very a little actually) with Mathematica.

Could someone help me with this?

thanks a lot!

G.
 
Last edited:
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I might have something close to what I need, but in Maple:

PDE := n*(diff(h(theta, phi, t), t)) = (diff(K*(diff(h(theta, phi, t),
theta)), theta))/(r^2*sin(phi)^2)+(diff(K*sin(phi)*(diff(h(theta, phi,
t), phi)), phi))/(r^2*sin(phi)) ;

sol := pdsolve(PDE, h(theta, phi, t));

but I really want to do it with Mathematica, as my Maple license will expire soon and only Mathematica will be available in my place.

Any ideas how I can convert this into Mathematica?

thanks.
 

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