Three-dimensional fundamental solutions for transient heat transfer by conduction in an unbounded medium, half-space, slab and layered media

Abstract

This paper presents analytical Green's functions for the transient heat transfer phenomena by conduction, for an unbounded medium, half-space, slab and layered formation when subjected to a point heat source. The transient heat responses generated by a spherical heat source are computed as Bessel integrals, following the transformations proposed by Sommerfeld [Sommerfeld A. Mechanics of deformable bodies. New York: Academic Press; 1950; Ewing WM, Jardetzky WS, Press F. Elastic waves in layered media. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1957]. The integrals can be modelled as discrete summations, assuming a set of sources equally spaced along the vertical direction. The expressions presented here allow the heat field inside a layered formation to be computed without fully discretizing the interior domain or boundary interfaces.