Numerical Investigation of Second Sound in Liquid Helium

At temperatures below 2.17K the phenomenon of thermal waves has been observed in
liquid Helium. This paper describes the reproduction of these waves, called “Second
Sound,” by means of simulation. Two different models for the heat transport in Helium
are tried. First the classical heat diffusion equation is used with temperature dependent
thermal parameters. The second model for heat transport is based on the more complex
Two Fluid Model which was introduced for Helium close to the absolute zero point of
temperature. Simulations with various initial and boundary conditions show that the
first model is not sufficient to describe heat transport in Helium, whereas the second
model gives satisfactory results.

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