Mathematical Problems in Engineering
Volume 2007 (2007), Article ID 42072, 15 pages
doi:10.1155/2007/42072
Research Article
Analysis of Convective Straight and Radial Fins with Temperature-Dependent Thermal Conductivity Using Variational Iteration Method with Comparison with Respect to Finite Element Analysis
1Department of Civil Engineering, Nigde University, Nigde 51100, Turkey
2Department of Mathematics, Nigde University, Nigde 51100, Turkey
Received 13 December 2006; Revised 11 April 2007; Accepted 22 September 2007
Academic Editor: Josef Malek
Copyright © 2007 Safa Bozkurt Coşkun and Mehmet Tarik Atay. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
In order to enhance heat transfer between primary surface and the environment, radiating extended surfaces are commonly utilized. Especially in the case of large temperature differences, variable thermal conductivity has a strong effect on performance of such a surface. In this paper, variational iteration method is used to analyze convective straight and radial fins with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity. In order to show the efficiency of variational iteration method (VIM), the results obtained from VIM analysis are compared with previously obtained results using Adomian decomposition method (ADM) and the results from finite element analysis. VIM produces analytical expressions for the solution of nonlinear differential equations. However, these expressions obtained from VIM must be tested with respect to the results obtained from a reliable numerical method or analytical solution. This work assures that VIM is a promising method for the analysis of convective straight and radial fin problems.