Weakly nonlocal thermodynamics of anisotropic rigid heat conductors revisited (Q1943435)

The author revisits the thermodynamic theory of anisotropic rigid heat conductor with gradient constitutive equations in the framework of both extended irreversible thermodynamics and rational thermodynamics. The aims of the paper are {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[{\(\bullet\)}] to develop an extended irreversible thermodynamics of rigid bodies in which the material frame indifference and the material symmetry are distinct properties; \item[{\(\bullet\)}] to revisit and extend the theory of rigid heat conductors in both rational and extended irreversible thermodynamics by applying a new method of exploitation of the entropy principle; \item[{\(\bullet\)}] to derive the form of the local entropy production in different frameworks proving that, in general it is not a constitutive quantity \item[{\(\bullet\)}] to point out some thermodynamic properties of nonlocal rigid heat conductions which do not emerge if one applies the classical methods of exploitation. \end{itemize}} The author exploits the second law of thermodynamics by applying the Coleman-Noll procedure proposed by the author (cf. [\textit{V. A. Cimmelli, A. Sellitto} and \textit{V. Triani}, J. Non-Equilibrium Thermodyn. 35, No. 3, 251--265 (2010; Zbl 1213.80008)]). He derives restrictions on the form of the specific entropy, the entropy flux and the specific entropy productions, and proves that the specific entropy production is quadratic in certain spacial derivatives which are one order higher than that of the gradients entering the constitutive equations. Particulary, he finds that the thermodynamic potentials can have the same order of nonlocality as that of the flux, and the specific entropy inequality may contain higher derivatives too.