2021-03-262014-06-030098644515635201WOS;000331785900001SCOPUS;2-s2.0-84894595411http://hdl.handle.net/10784/27330A Laplace transform-based procedure was proposed to calculate the effective time constant for a class of nonlinear diffusion problems. The governing mathematical representation was first estimated with a linear model by omitting the nonlinear term. The solution to this problem was later introduced into the original equation, which was solved with Laplace transforms, resulting in a first-order approximation of the real system's behavior. A time constant was calculated using frequency-domain expressions. Two case studies were considered to illustrate the methodology. As the rate of heat supplied to a rod is raised, the speed at which the temperature reached an equilibrium value decreased. Increasing the maximum velocity in reaction-diffusion transport by a factor of three lowered the time constant by only 1.7%. The applications of this method range from biosensor dynamics to process control. © 2014 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/issn/0098-6445DiffusionEffective time constantHeat transferKineticsMathematical modelingNonlinear dynamicsarticle2021-03-26Simon, LaurentOspina, Juan10.1080/00986445.2013.785948