Transient conduction and radiation heat transfer with variable thermal conductivity

The effect of variable thermal conductivity on transient conduction and radiation heat transfer in a planar medium is investigated. Thermal conductivity of the medium is assumed to vary linearly with temperature, while the other thermophysical properties and the optical properties are assumed constant. The radiative transfer equation is solved using the discrete transfer method, (DTM) and the nonlinear energy equation is solved using an implicit scheme. Transient as well as steady state results are found for an absorbing, emitting, and anisotropically scattering gray medium. Thermal conductivity has been found to have significant effects on both transient as well as steady state temperature and heat flux distributions. Some steady state results are compared with the results reported in the literature.