Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer using Finite Element Method

Abstract

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a method that is widely used in engineering and mathematical modelling. Some of the problems that can be solved using this method are structural analysis, electromagnetic field, and heat transfer. Typically heat transfer problems can be in the form of irregular shapes or complex geometry domains. However, it is very difficult to solve this problem analytically due to its irregular domain or complex geometry. Thus, the domain needs to be partitioned into a smaller size before it can be solved systematically. This research is aimed to solve the heat transfer problem in simple 2D irregular geometry by applying FEM using the approach of Galerkin’s method.