A new boundary-type mesh-free method for solving the multi-domain heat conduction problem.

In this article, a new high-precision boundary-type mesh-free method, called the virtual boundary mesh-free Galerkin method (VBMGM), is given for analyzing the heat conduction problem consisting of multiple media. A control equation of the proposed method is established by the the Galerkin method of the weighted residual methods. The virtual source function is approached through the radial basis function interpolation in the mesh-free method. Thus, the main feature of the proposed technique has the advantages of the mesh-free method, the boundary-element method, and the Galerkin method, a symmetrical coefficient matrix. The numerical meanings of the weighted values in the VBMGM equation, such as the partial derivatives the temperature, the heat flux, the temperature connection condition, and the heat flux connection condition, are clear. Numerical examples of a thick-walled cylinder consisting of two media and a two-layered rectangular plate are provided. The feasibility and the accuracy of the proposed technique are proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]