Sintering is a metallurgical process used to create metal objects with better physical properties by holding powdered

Question:

Sintering is a metallurgical process used to create metal objects with better physical properties by holding powdered material in a mold and heating it to a temperature slightly below its melting point. Two materials nickel (k = 90.7 W/m · K) and copper (k = 401 W/m · K) are embedded in a mold made of stainless steel (k = 15.1 W/m · K), as shown in Fig. P5–82. The bottom surface of stainless steel is maintained at a non-uniform temperature while its two sides are insulated. The upper surface of nickel and copper is exposed to a convective environment with h = 125 W/m² · K and ambient temperature of 15°C. Assuming steady state heat conduction and a mesh size of 1.5 cm, develop finite difference equations for different nodes and determine the nodal temperatures. The density of the powered material after sintering is about 99% of the original metal density and hence may be considered as a continuous solid material for all practical purposes.