Recent developments in the analysis and design of extended surface

One-dimensional algorithms have been developed whose computational efficiency far exceeds that of previous methodology. However, the flexibility of the algorithms, to date, has been hampered by two faults: their inability to incorporate continuously distributed heat sources along the face of the fins, and their incapacity to handle irregular fin geometries analytically. Here, both of these shortcomings are resolved. In addition, the one-dimensional assumption is examined rigorously, producing a generalization of the condition on the transverse Biot number. A note on the conditions at the fin tip and a parametric analysis yielding guidelines for optimal results are also presented.