Analytical approaches for thermal analysis of radiative fin with a step change in thickness and variable thermal conductivity

In this paper, heat transfer in a straight fin with a step change in thickness and variable thermal conductivity which is losing heat by radiation to its surroundings is analyzed. The calculations are carried out by using the differential transformation method (DTM) and variational iteration method (VIM) that can be applied to various types of differential equations. The results obtained employing the DTM and VIM are compared with a finite difference technique with Richardson extrapolation which is an accurate numerical solution to verify the accuracy of the proposed methods. As an important result, it is depicted that the DTM results are more accurate in comparison with those obtained by VIM. After these verifications the effects of parameters such as thickness parameter α, dimensionless fin semi‐thickness δ, length ratio λ, thermal conductivity parameter β, and radiation–conduction parameter N_r, on the temperature distribution and fin efficiency are illustrated and explained. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj) . DOI 10.1002/htj.21000