Thermal stability of biological tissues and their behavior in cold conditions: A mathematical model

This paper presents an application of finite element method to study the thermoregulatory behavior of three layers of human dermal parts with varying properties. The investigation of temperature distributions in epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue together with Crank-Nicholson scheme at various atmospheric conditions was carried out. The finite element method has been applied to obtain the numerical solution of governing differential equation for one-dimensional unsteady state bioheat equation using suitable values of parameters that affect the heat transfer in human body. The outer skin is assumed to be exposed to cold atmospheric temperatures and the loss of heat due to convection, radiation and evaporation has been taken into consideration. The important parameters like blood mass flow rate, metabolic heat generation rate and thermal conductivity are taken heterogeneous in each layer according to their distinct physiological and biochemical activities. The temperature profiles at various nodal points of the skin and in vivo tissues have been calculated with respect to the severe cold ambient temperatures. The conditions under which hypothermia, non-freezing and freezing injuries develop were illustrated in the graphs.