  In the past decades, numerous heat conduction models beyond Fourier have been
developed to account for the large gradients, fast phenomena, wave propagation,
or heterogeneous material structure, such as being typical for biological
systems, superlattices, or thermal metamaterials. It became a challenge to
orient among the models, mainly due to their various thermodynamic backgrounds
and possible compatibility issues. Additionally, in light of the recent
findings on the field of non-Fourier heat conduction, it is not even
straightforward how to interpret and utilize a non-Fourier heat equation,
primarily when one aims to thermally design the material structure to construct
the new generation of thermal metamaterials. Adding that numerous modeling
strategies can be found in the literature accompanying different
interpretations even for the same heat equation makes it even more difficult to
orient ourselves and find a comprehensive picture of this field of research.
Therefore, this review aims to ease the orientation among advanced heat
equations beyond Fourier by discussing properties concerning their possible
practical applications in light of experiments. We start from the simplest
model with basic principles and notions, then proceed toward the more complex
models related to coupled phenomena such as ballistic heat conduction. We do
not enter the often complicated technical details of each thermodynamic
framework but do not aim to compare each approach. However, we still briefly
present their background to highlight their origin and the limitations acting
on the models. Additionally, the field of non-Fourier heat conduction has
become quite segmented, and that paper also aims to provide a common ground, a
comprehensive mutual understanding of the basics of each model, together with
what phenomenon they can be applied to.
