Exact Analytical Solution for 3D Time-Dependent Heat Conduction in a Multilayer Sphere with Heat Sources Using Eigenfunction Expansion Method

Abstract

An exact analytical solution is obtained for the problem of three-dimensional transient heat conduction in the multilayered sphere. The sphere has multiple layers in the radial direction and, in each layer, time-dependent and spatially nonuniform volumetric internal heat sources are considered. To obtain the temperature distribution, the eigenfunction expansion method is used. An arbitrary combination of homogenous boundary condition of the first or second kind can be applied in the angular and azimuthal directions. Nevertheless, solution is valid for nonhomogeneous boundary conditions of the third kind (convection) in the radial direction. A case study problem for the three-layer quarter-spherical region is solved and the results are discussed.