A mathematical model for skin burn injury induced by radiation heating

We modify the Pennes model by taking into account the thermal relaxation time of biological tissue. Specifically, we employ the Maxwell-Cattaneo thermal flux law, in conjunction with the fourth power law, to model the effects of high thermal radiation on such skin. The skin is considered to be a 3D triple-layered structure with embedded dendritic countercurrent multi-level blood vessels, artery and vein, where the dimensions and blood flow of the multi-level blood vessels are determined based on the constructal theory of multi-scale tree-shaped heat exchangers. The method is illustrated by a numerical example. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.