ABSTRACT
An investigation was carried out in order to develop an accurate analytical solution and a numerical (FEA) solution for steady-state heat transfer in a circular sandwich structure incorporated with convective-radiative boundary conditions. The dimensional governing equations and boundary conditions were developed in the form of a 4th order algebraic equation, and then the solution was obtained using Ferrari's method. By solving for the roots of the quartic equation, we were able to determine the dimensionless temperature fields of the FG sandwich composite. The findings obtained utilizing the exact analytical solution for the FG sandwich composite under thermal loads were satisfactorily validated against those data obtained using the Galerkin finite element approximation. The impact of geometric and thermo-physical characteristics, such as Biot number (Bii=1,2), Inner and outer surface thickness ratio (ri=1,2Ro), ambient temperature ratio (θd), radiation-conduction parameter (Nr), and thermal conductivity ratio (λ3λ1) on the efficiency of heat transfer, has also been studied. This study reveals the distinct effect of Biot number on the inner and outer layers of the composite cylinder. It shows that Bi1 has a negligent effect on temperature distribution; on the other hand, the outer surface (Bi2≤1) minimizes temperature variation. However, for design consideration, a thicker inner face sheet is not recommended in high thermal load, as Nr>4 has an insignificant impact on inner surface thickness on top surface temperature. Moreover, the outer surface temperature appears to be more sensitive to θd than the radiation-convection side. Furthermore, the given analytical solution is adequately verified against the proposed FEA method, having an error of less than 1.5%.
