Effect of variable physical properties on the thermal behavior of thin metallic wires under a DC field

The effect of variable physical properties on the electro-thermal response of a thin metallic wire is investigated under a uniform direct current field. A general governing differential equation is derived for steady-state heat conduction in conductive wires with surface convection and Joule heating, in which the associated material as well as physical properties of the thermal and electrical problems are modeled as a function of temperature. The resulting nonlinear boundary-value problem is then solved by converting into an equivalent initial-value problem through a trial-and-error based numerical scheme. The electro-thermal characteristics of the wire are realized to be affected significantly when the physical properties are expressed as appropriate functions of temperature.