Calculating 3-D multi-domain heat conduction problems by the virtual boundary element-free Galerkin method.

A new boundary-type meshfree collection method, namely the virtual boundary element-free Galerkin method (VBEFGM), is demonstrated for three-dimension (3-D) multi-domain steady-state heat conduction problems. The virtual source functions of the virtual nodes are constructed by the radial basis function interpolation. And the virtual and real boundaries are discreted into the virtual and real nodes. 3-D multi-domain steady-state heat conduction problems are solved without the background integral element by VBEFGM. Using the Galerkin method to obtain the formula of VBEFGM, the proposed method has the advantages of the virtual boundary element-free method, the meshfree collection method and the Galerkin method. It is easily programed and extended to solve other more complicated 3-D heat conduction problems, since the detailed calculation scheme is deduced and shown. Two numerical examples of the boundary conditions varying with the space are computed. The computational results are compared with other numerical methods. The accuracy and stability of the proposed method are validated for 3-D multi-domain steady-state heat conduction problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]