The influence of model parameter values on the prediction of skin surface temperature: II. Contact problems

A model of heat transfer and temperature distribution in the skin and superficial tissues which is based on a finite difference numerical solution of the one-dimensional multilayer coupled bioheat equation is presented. The model is used to investigate the influence of the values chosen to represent the physiological and thermal properties of the tissues on the skin surface temperature after contact with an external medium. It was found that the skin blood flow and dermal conductivity were the main cutaneous parameters which influence the contact response, but in terms of normalized temperature the response was little influenced by cutaneous metabolic heat generation and deep dermal temperature. For contact with a good conductor, the transient behaviour was sensitive to the heat transfer coefficient on the outer surface and the thickness of the contact material, but insensitive to the conductivity of the material.