Multi-Layer Transient Heat Conduction Involving Perfectly-Conducting Solids

Boundary conditions of high kinds (fourth and sixth kind) as defined by Carslaw and Jaeger are used in this work to model the thermal behavior of perfect conductors when involved in multi-layer transient heat conduction problems. In detail, two- and three-layer configurations are analyzed. In the former, a thin layer modeled as a lumped body is subject to a surface heat flux on the front side while it is in perfect (fourth kind) or in imperfect (sixth kind) thermal contact with a semi-infinite or finite body on the back side. When dealing with a semi-infinite body in imperfect contact, the temperature solution is derived by means of the Laplace transform method. Green’s function approach is also used but for solving the companion case of a finite body in perfect contact with the thin film. In the latter, a thin layer with internal heat generation is located between two semi-infinite or finite bodies in perfect/imperfect contact. For the sake of thermal symmetry, such a three-layer structure reduces to a two-layer configuration. Results are given in both tabular and graphical forms and show the effect of heat capacity and thermal resistance on the temperature distribution of conductive layers.