A Finite Element Method for Viscous Incompressible Thermal Flows

Pramote Dechaumphai and Worasit Kanjanakijkasem

ABSTRACT: A finite element method for steady-state viscous incompressible thermal flows has been developed. The finite element equations are derived from a set of coupled nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations that consists of the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations. These derived finite element equations are validated by developing a corresponding finite element computer program that can be executed on standard personal computers. The developed finite element formulation has been evaluated by solving viscous incompressible thermal flows past irregular geometries with different boundary conditions.

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Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok 10330 Thailand.

Received 25 June 1999