In this first blog (after the hello world one) I’m tackling something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. That is setting up and solving a simple heat transfer  problem using the finite difference (FDM) in MS Excel. The aim is to solve the steady-state temperature distribution through a rectangular body, by dividing it up into nodes and solving the necessary equations only in two dimensions. I’m going to illustrate a simple one-dimensional heat flow example, followed two-dimensional heat flow example, all programmed into Excel.

Finite difference analyses (FDA’s) are generally performed to predict the values of physical properties at discrete points throughout a body. In the case of a stationary body where heat transfer is primary phenomena, the temperature could be determined throughout as a function of heating or cooling on the boundaries, and the physical properties (heat transfer coefficient) of the material.