The flow of thermal energy from matter occupying one region in space to matter occupying a different region in space is known as heat transfer. Heat transfer can occur by three main methods: conduction, convection, and radiation. Physical models involving conduction and/or convection only are the simplest (Modeling Conductive and Convective Heat Transfer), while buoyancy-driven flow or natural convection (Natural Convection and Buoyancy-Driven Flows Theory), and radiation models (Modeling Radiation) are more complex. Depending on your problem, Ansys Fluent will solve a variation of the energy equation that takes into account the heat transfer methods you have specified. Ansys Fluent is also able to predict heat transfer in periodically repeating geometries (Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer in the User's Guide), therefore greatly reducing the required computational effort in certain cases.

For more information about using heat transfer models in Ansys Fluent, see Modeling Conductive and Convective Heat Transfer, Modeling Radiation, and Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer in the User's Guide.