Steady State Thermal Modeling and Heat Flux Analysis of Zinc–Calcium–Aluminosilicate (ZCAS) Glass-Ceramic Using COMSOL Multiphysics

Abstract

So, a three-dimensional steady-state thermal analysis of zinc–calcium–aluminosilicate (ZCAS) glass, basically a silicate-based material that people often value because it has strong thermal stability and structural reliability in engineering, also optical applications, was performed using the finite element method in COMSOL Multiphysics version 6.2. The Heat Transfer in Solids interface was selected to handle the steady-state heat conduction equation with mixed boundary conditions, meaning two isothermal surfaces plus the other boundaries were thermally insulated, but you know not all of them, just the remaining ones. The ZCAS glass itself was described as a homogeneous and isotropic solid, with density 2500 kg·m⁻³, thermal conductivity 1.20 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, and specific heat capacity 750 J·kg⁻¹·K⁻¹. A tetrahedral mesh, with 42,857 elements and 85,742 nodes was used, and yeah the mesh seemed to behave nicely. The computed results indicate a pretty smooth, almost monotonic temperature distribution with a maximum temperature difference of 17.2 K over the whole domain. The conductive heat flux vectors follow the main temperature gradient quite well, with a peak size around 860 W·m⁻², so this is in line with Fourier’s law of heat conduction. Then, a three-dimensional cut-line temperature profile shows a linear trend, which matches the analytical one-dimensional steady-state solution, and the relative errors stayed under 2.5%. Also, when integrating the normal total energy flux over the surfaces, the inlet gives 103.8 W and the outlet gives +103.8 W, so the energy imbalance is less than 0.7%. That basically confirms steady-state energy conservation, which you want to see of course. Overall, once the thermal model was checked, it suggests ZCAS glass maintains stable and predictable heat conduction behaviour even under moderate thermal gradients. These results back up that ZCAS glass is suitable in general, whether it comes from high-purity oxides, or from more sustainable waste-derived precursors, like recycled silica and calcium-rich waste streams, for optical components, electronic packaging, and thermal-resilient structural setups.