Heat Distribution in Rectangular Fins Using Efficient Finite Element and Differential Quadrature Methods

ShahNor BASRI, M. M. FAKIR, F. MUSTAPHA, D. L. A. MAJID, A. A. JAAFAR

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DOI: 10.4236/eng.2009.13018                

Abstract

Finite element method (FEM) and differential quadrature method (DQM) are among important numerical techniques used in engineering analyses. Usually elements are sub-divided uniformly in FEM (conventional FEM, CFEM) to obtain temperature distribution behavior in a fin or plate. Hence, extra computational complexity is needed to obtain a fair solution with required accuracy. In this paper, non-uniform sub-elements are considered for FEM (efficient FEM, EFEM) solution to reduce the computational complex-ity. Then this EFEM is applied for the solution of one-dimensional heat transfer problem in a rectangular thin fin. The obtained results are compared with CFEM and efficient DQM (EDQM), with non-uniform mesh generation). It is found that the EFEM exhibit more accurate results than CFEM and EDQM showing its potentiality.

Keywords

Efficient Finite Element Method, Efficient Differential Quadrature Method, Heat Transfer Problem

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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