A finite element approach for nonlinear, transient heat conduction problems with convection, radiation or contact boundary conditions

Abstract

Heat conduction problems with convection and/or radiation boundary conditions arise in nuclear and other engineering fields. This paper presents a finite element approach to solve transient, three-dimensional (3-D), nonlinear heat conduction problems using quadratic tetrahedral elements with area/volume coordinates and quadrature integrations. Boundary conditions modeled include surface convection, to-ambient radiation, and surface-to-surface radiation (using the radiosity matrix method, RMM). Instead of the commonly used hemi-cube method, L′Huilier’s theorem is used here to calculate view factors. Contact constraints are also imposed. Interface condition is set up for the interfaces of different material. The one- and two-step backward differentiation are used for time integration. Nonlinearities introduced by temperature-dependent material thermal properties and the Stefan–Boltzmann law for radiation are handled using the Picard and/or Newton–Raphson methods. The convergence rate of the numerical scheme is verified using an analytical solution obtained using the method of manufactured solutions (MMS). Several practical cases are simulated, including that of two spheres in contact with each other, and results are compared to those obtained using commercial codes.