A spreadsheet solution of transient conduction in composite fins

Transient heat transfer through composite fins is investigated by numerical methods. In this regard, governing differential equations of the two-dimensional fin and one-dimensional cladding are studied to examine the effect of Biot number and ratio of thermal conductivities of the fin material to the cladding, on the dimensionless temperature profiles. In addition, the use of spreadsheet programs in solving the composite fin problems is investigated in somewhat more detail with regard to the solution as well as presentation of the graphical results. The results show that one-dimensional analysis, traditionally used in fin analysis, is not applicable for composite fins, particularly when the conductivity ratio of the composite fin materials is very high. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.