Find the steady state temperature u(x, y) in a square copper plate with side a=30 cm the faces being perfectly insulated, the upper side is kept at 40 °C and other sides are kept at 0 °C.
Step 1: Set up Laplace's equation and boundary conditions
Steady-state heat conduction in two dimensions without heat generation is governed by Laplace's equation. The side of the square plate is a=30 cm. The boundary conditions are given as: u(0,y)=0, u(a,y)=0, u(x,0)=0, and u(x,a)=40∘C.
Step 2: Apply separation of variables
Assuming a product solution u(x,y)=X(x)Y(y), we separate variables into two ordinary differential equations. Because u(0,y)=0 and u(a,y)=0, X(x) must satisfy X(0)=0 and X(a)=0, requiring a negative separation constant −k2 with k=anπ.
Step 3: Solve for X(x) and Y(y)
For X(x), the general solution is X(x)=C1cos(kx)+C2sin(kx). Applying X(0)=0 gives C1=0, and X(a)=0 gives k=anπ for n=1,2,3,…. For Y(y), Y′′(y)−k2Y(y)=0 gives Y(y)=C3cosh(ky)+C4sinh(ky). The condition u(x,0)=0 leads to Y(0)=0, so C3=0.
Step 4: Form general Fourier series solution
By the principle of superposition, the general solution is the sum of all fundamental solutions. To determine the coefficients An, we apply the remaining non-homogeneous boundary condition at the top edge y=a, where u(x,a)=40.
Step 5: Evaluate Fourier coefficients An
Setting y=a, we have ∑n=1∞Ansinh(nπ)sin(anπx)=40. Using the orthogonality of sine functions, the integral evaluates to nπ80(1−cos(nπ)). For even n, this equals 0; for odd n=2m−1, it equals nπ160. Thus, An=nπsinh(nπ)160 for odd n.
Step 6: Substitute a=30 and write final solution
Substituting a=30 cm and n=2m−1 into our series expression yields the complete steady-state temperature distribution throughout the square plate.