Effects of an unsteady thermal boundary condition on forced convection heat transfer

A numerical analysis based on adjoint formulation of unsteady forced convection heat transfer is proposed to generally evaluate effects of the thermal boundary condition on the heat transfer characteristics. A numerical solution of the adjoint problem enables us to predict the heat transfer characteristics, such as the total heat transfer rate or the temperature at a specific location, when the thermal boundary conditions change arbitrarily with time. Moreover, using the numerical solution of the adjoint problem, we can obtain the optimal thermal boundary conditions in both time and space to maximize the heat transfer at any arbitrary time. Numerical solutions of the adjoint problem in a lid‐driven cavity are presented to illustrate the capability of the present method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(3): 237–247, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10032     

Reverse computation of forced convection heat transfer for optimal control of thermal boundary conditions

A reverse computation based on adjoint formulation of forced convection heat transfer is proposed to obtain the optimal thermal boundary conditions for heat transfer characteristics; for example, a total heat transfer rate or a temperature at a specific location. In the reverse analysis via adjoint formulation, the heat flow is reversed in both time and space. Thus, using the numerical solution of the adjoint problem, we can inversely predict the boundary condition effects on the heat transfer characteristics. As a result, we can obtain the optimal thermal boundary conditions in both time and space to control the heat transfer at any given time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 33(3): 161–174, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20002     

Forced convection heat transfer from a heated circular cylinder with arbitrary surface temperature distributions

A Fredholm-type boundary integral expression for evaluation of the forced convection heat transfer from an object with arbitrary surface temperature distributions is proposed. The Fredholm kernel function for a heated circular cylinder was calculated by numerical simulation of the forced convection fields, and then generalized heat transfer coefficients for arbitrary surface temperature distributions were defined. By use of the generalized heat transfer coefficients, it is shown that the difference in local heat transfer characteristics between the case of an isothermal cylinder and that of a uniform heat flux one can be interpreted only as the difference of the surface temperature distributions. Moreover, the mechanism of the effect of the surface temperature distribution on the characteristics of forced convection heat transfer from a cylinder is clarified in detail through the generalized heat transfer coefficients. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(6): 484–499, 1999     

Influence of thermal and flow boundary perturbations on convection heat transfer characteristics: Numerical analysis based on adjoint formulation

A numerical approach based on adjoint formulation of convection heat transfer is proposed to predict the change of heat transfer characteristics for arbitrary thermal and flow boundary perturbations. In order to obtain the adjoint system of the convection heat transfer problem, we formally linearize the governing equations by the perturbation method and then derive the adjoint system for the perturbation system. As a result, it is shown that the numerical solutions of the base and the adjoint problems enable us to predict the changes of heat transfer characteristics, such as the change of total heat transfer rate or the change of temperature at a specific location, when the thermal and flow boundary conditions are perturbed. An application example is presented to demonstrate the proposed method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(1): 1–12, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10065     

Numerically solving twofold ill-posed inverse problems of heat equation by the adjoint Trefftz method

The inverse problem endowing with multiple unknown functions gradually becomes an important topic in the field of numerical heat transfer, and one fundamental problem is how to use limited minimal data to solve the inverse problem. With this in mind, in the present article we search the solution of a general inverse heat conduction problem when two boundary data on the space-time boundary are missing and recover two unknown temperature functions with the help of a few extra measurements of temperature data polluted by random noise. This twofold ill-posed inverse heat conduction problem is more difficult than the backward heat conduction problem and the sideways heat conduction problem, both with one unknown function to be recovered. Based on a stable adjoint Trefftz method, we develop a global boundary integral equation method, which together with the compatibility conditions and some measured data can be used to retrieve two unknown temperature functions. Several numerical examples demonstrate that the present method is effective and stable, even for those of strongly ill-posed ones under quite large noises.     

Non-Fourier heat conduction in a finite medium subjected to arbitrary periodic surface disturbance

The non-Fourier transient heat conduction in a finite medium under arbitrary periodic surface thermal disturbance is investigated analytically. In order to obtain the desired temperature field from the known solution for non-Fourier heat conduction under a harmonic disturbance, the principle of superposition along with the Fourier series representation of an arbitrary periodic function is employed. The developed method can be applied for more realistic periodic boundary conditions occurred in nature and technology.     

A decomposition solution for fins with temperature dependent surface heat flux

In this study, the Adomian decomposition method is used to analyze the thermal characteristics of a straight rectangular fin for all possible types of heat transfer. The local heat transfer coefficient is assumed to vary with a power-law function of temperature. Instead of a traditionally implicit form of solution, the decomposition solution gives an explicit expression of temperature distribution as a function of position along the fin. The obtained decomposed analytic solution is in the form of an infinite power series and the series can be truncated in a practical way to obtain numerical results. Thus, the fin tip temperature, fin base heat transfer rate, and fin efficiency can be calculated directly without the need of iteration. Results indicate that the series converges rapidly with high accuracy and seems to be convenient for the engineering application.     

Recovering a general space-time-dependent heat source by the coupled boundary integral equation method

As to recover a time-dependent heat source under an extra temperature measured at an interior point, we can reformulate it to be a three-point boundary value problem. We can develop a coupled boundary integral equation method, wherein by selecting two sets of adjoint test eigenfunctions in two sub domains and using polynomials as the trial functions of unknown heat source, the time-dependent heat source is recovered very well and quickly. Four numerical examples, including a discontinuous one, demonstrate the efficiency for the ill-posed inverse heat source problem in a large time duration and under a large noise up to 10–30%. Then, selecting three sets of adjoint test eigenfunctions in three domains: problem domain and two sub domains, and using the Pascal polynomials as trial functions, the unknown space-time-dependent heat source is recovered very fast and accurately from the solution of three coupled boundary integral equations.     

Analysis of the Impact of Nonlinear Heat Transfer Laws on Temperature Distribution in Irradiated Biological Tissues: Mathematical Models and Optimal Controls

In this paper, we consider nonlinear control problems governed by some generalized transient bioheat transfer-type models with the nonlinear Robin boundary conditions. The control estimates the blood perfusion rate, the heat transfer parameter, the distributed energy source terms, and the heat flux due to the evaporation, which affect the effects of thermal physical properties on the transient temperature of biological tissues. The result can be very beneficial for thermal diagnostics in medical practices, for example, for laser surgery, photo and thermotherapy for regional hyperthermia often used in treatment of cancer. First, the mathematical models are introduced and the existence, uniqueness, and regularity of a solution of the state equation are proved as well as the stability and maximum principle under extra assumptions. Afterwards, the optimal control problem is formulated in order to control the online temperature given by radiometric measurement. We prove that an optimal solution exists and obtain necessary optimality conditions. Some strategy for numerical realization based on the adjoint variables are provided.      

Three-Dimensional Transient Optimal Boundary Heating of Functionally Graded Plates

An optimal control procedure for estimating the heat fluxes on the boundaries of functionally graded (FG) thick plates to reach the desired domain temperature distributions in a specified time interval of heating is presented. The conjugate gradient method (CGM) is employed for optimization, and the differential quadrature method as an accurate and numerically efficient method in conjunction with the forward finite-difference method are applied to solve the three-dimensional transient heat transfer, sensitivity, and adjoint problems. The validity of the presented optimal control problem is demonstrated by solving different numerical examples. Results show that excellent estimation on the boundary heat fluxes can be obtained with arbitrary initial guesses of these functions.     

Numerical analysis of unsteady heat conduction in regular solid bodies comprising natural convection to nearby fluids

The present paper addresses unsteady, unidirectional heat conduction in regular solid bodies (vertical plate, horizontal cylinder, and sphere) that exchange heat by natural convection with a neighboring fluid. From thermal physics, natural convection constitutes a worst-case scenario for forced convection cooling. Under the premises of natural convection heat transfer, the unsteady, 1-dimensional heat conduction equation consists in a linear parabolic partial differential equation with a dominant natural convection boundary condition represented by the mean convective coefficient that depends upon temperature. As expected, the nonlinear unsteady, unidirectional heat conduction problem is complex and does not admit an exact, analytical solution. Instead, the nonlinear unsteady, unidirectional heat conduction problem forcibly necessitates approximate numerical treatment with the finite difference method. The computed dimensionless center, surface, and mean temperatures varying with dimensionless time are obtained numerically and are graphed for 3 solids: iron, aluminum, copper exposed to 3 fluids: air, water, oil; the 6 media are used in numerous engineering applications.     

Unsteady conjugated forced convective heat transfer in a duct with convection from the ambient

A numerical finite difference solution is found for the problem of unsteady, laminar, forced convection heat transfer in a parallel plate duct with finite thermal capacity walls which interact with an ambient medium outside the duct. Response functions are presented for the duct wall temperature, fluid bulk mean temperature, and inside wall surface heat flux as a function of position down the duct and time for a range of the parameters involved. Comparisons are made with the zero thermal capacity wall solution and with quasi-steady results.     

Real-time solution of heat conduction in a finite slab for inverse analysis

Laplace transform is used to solve the problem of heat conduction over a finite slab. The transfer functions relating the temperature and heat flux on the front and back surfaces of the finite slab are developed. Although there are many competing methods for constructing the inverse Laplace transform, we use polynomial approximation of the transfer function. Therefore, transient solutions for given boundary conditions are easily obtained using SIMULINK. This process is much simpler than other numerical solution methods for the heat equation. Most importantly, our method of solution allows us to obtain, in real-time, the front surface temperature and heat flux based on the thermodynamic measurements on the back surface. We also demonstrate the feasibility of reconstructing the front surface temperature when sensor noise is incorporated to the back surface measurements.     

Temperature-Constrained Topology Optimization of Transient Heat Conduction Problems

A regional temperature measure model is constructed to obtain a small number of temperature constraints for local transient temperature control. The temperature sensitivity is derived using the adjoint variable method. The multiple temperature criteria and three-phase topology optimization are further investigated for transient heat conduction design. The material layout design of transient heat conduction is replaced by a static optimization problem, which is subsequently solved by the method of moving asymptotes. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed topology optimization for transient heat conduction problems.     

Methodology for Estimation of Local Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient for Vapor Condensation

This paper aims to present an effective two-dimensional inverse heat conduction technique and an experimental design for accurately estimating the local convective heat transfer coefficient of vapor condensation over a conical surface, given temperature measurements at some interior locations. The functional form for the heat transfer coefficient is not known a priori. The method uses a sequential procedure together with Beck's function specification approach. Solution accuracy and the effects of experimental errors are examined using simulated temperature data. It is concluded that a good estimation of space-variable heat transfer coefficient can be made from the knowledge of transient temperature recordings using the proposed inverse heat conduction problem method. The method is also used in a series of numerical experiments to provide the optimum experimental design for condensation heat transfer investigation.     

A Markov Chain Monte Carlo-Metropolis Hastings Approach for the Simultaneous Estimation of Heat Generation and Heat Transfer Coefficient from a Teflon Cylinder

This paper reports the use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Metropolis Hastings (MH) approach, to solve an inverse heat transfer problem. Three-dimensional, steady state, conjugate heat transfer from a Teflon cylinder of dimensions 100 mm diameter and 100 mm length with uniform volumetric internal heat generation is considered. The goal is to estimate volumetric heat generation and heat transfer coefficient, given the temperature data at certain fixed location on the surface of the cylinder. The internal volumetric heat generation is specified as input and the temperature and heat transfer coefficient values are obtained by a numerical solution to the governing equation. The temperature values also depend on heat transfer coefficient which is obtained by solving Navier–Stokes equation to obtain flow information. In order to reduce the computational cost, a neural network is trained from the computational fluid dynamics simulations. This is posed as an inverse problem wherein volumetric heat generation and heat transfer coefficient are unknown but the temperature data is known by conducting experiments. The novelty of the paper is the simultaneous determination of volumetric heat generation and heat transfer coefficient for the experimentally measured steady-state temperatures from a Teflon cylinder using MCMC-MH as an inverse model in a Bayesian framework and finally, the estimates are reported in terms of mean, maximum a posteriori, and the standard deviation which is the uncertainty associated with the estimated parameters.     

A three-dimensional inverse problem in imaging the local heat transfer coefficients for plate finned-tube heat exchangers

A three-dimensional inverse heat conduction problem in imaging the local heat transfer coefficients for plate finned-tube heat exchangers utilizing the steepest descent method and a general purpose commercial code CFX4.4 is applied successfully in the present study based on the simulated measured temperature distributions on fin surface by infrared thermography.It is assumed that no prior information is available on the functional form of the unknown local heat transfer coefficients in the present study. Thus, it can be classified as function estimation for the inverse calculations.Two different heat transfer coefficients for in-line tube arrangements with different measurement errors are to be estimated. Results show that the present algorithm can obtain the reliable estimated heat transfer coefficients.     

A simple design of fins for boiling heat transfer

This study presents the thermal characteristics of a fin with excavation at base when various types of boiling occur simultaneously at adjacent locations on its surface experimentally and analytically. The heat transfer coefficient of each boiling mode is taken as a power function of wall superheat. Continuity of temperature and the heat transfer rate at the intersection of the two different modes on fin surface are employed to obtain the one-dimensional temperature distribution and total heat transfer of the excavated fin. Both heating and cooling cases are investigated in the analysis. Compared with solid pin fins, the proposed fins can extend the operating condition to a higher temperature of the heat transfer surface. In addition, the experimental data compare favorably with the analytical results.     

Hybrid formulation and solution for transient conjugated conduction–external convection

This work presents a hybrid numerical–analytical solution for transient laminar forced convection over flat plates of non-negligible thickness, subjected to arbitrary time variations of applied wall heat flux at the fluid–solid interface. This conjugated conduction–convection problem is first reformulated through the employment of the coupled integral equations approach (CIEA) to simplify the heat conduction problem on the plate by averaging the related energy equation in the transversal direction. As a result, an improved lumped partial differential formulation for the transversally averaged wall temperature is obtained, while a third kind boundary condition is achieved for the fluid from the heat balance at the solid–fluid interface. From the available steady velocity distributions, a hybrid numerical–analytical solution based on the generalized integral transform technique (GITT), under its partial transformation mode, is then proposed, combined with the method of lines implemented in the Mathematica 5.2 routine NDSolve. The interface heat flux partitions and heat transfer coefficients are readily determined from the wall temperature distributions, as well as the temperature values at any desired point within the fluid. A few test cases for different materials and wall thicknesses are defined to allow for a physical interpretation of the wall participation effect in contrast with the simplified model without conjugation.     

Unsteady forced convection with sinusoidal duct wall generation: the conjugate heat transfer problem

Transient heat transfer solutions are found for a fluid flowing within a parallel plate duct when there is sinusoidal generation with axial position in the duct wall. Solutions are found for wall temperature, surface heat flux and fluid bulk mean temperature as a function of position and time in this conjugated problem. To develop this solution, finite difference methods are used as well as the quasi-steady method and another method which employs a two integral representation for the surface heat flux. Accuracy limitations of the quasi-steady results are identified. Transient local Nusselt number predictions show its dependence upon time.