Continued Fraction Method for Approximation of Heat Conduction Dynamics in a Semi-Infinite Slab

Abstract

Heat conduction dynamics are described by partial differential equations. Their approximations with a set of finite number of ordinary differential equations are often required for simpler computations and analyses. Rational approximations of the Laplace solutions such as the Pade approximation can be used for this purpose. For some heat conduction problems appearing in a semi-infinite slab, however, such rational approximations are not easy to obtain because the Laplace solutions are not analytic at the origin. In this article, a continued fraction method has been proposed to obtain rational approximations of such heat conduction dynamics in a semi-infinite slab.