Effect of boundary condition approximation on convergence and accuracy of a finite volume discretization of the transient heat conduction equation

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of numerical boundary condition implementation on local error and convergence in L2-norm of a finite volume discretization of the transient heat conduction equation subject to several boundary conditions, and for cases with volumetric heat generation, using both fully implicit and Crank-Nicolson time discretizations. The goal is to determine which combination of numerical boundary condition implementation and time discretization produces the most accurate solutions with the least computational effort. Design/methodology/approach – The paper studies several benchmark cases including constant temperature, convective heating, constant heat flux, time-varying heat flux, and volumetric heating, and compares the convergence rates and local to analytical or semi-analytical solutions. Findings – The Crank-Nicolson method coupled with second-order expression for the boundary derivatives produces the most accurate solutions on the coarsest meshes with the least computation times. The Crank-Nicolson method allows up to 16X larger time step for similar accuracy, with nearly negligible additional computational effort compared with the implicit method. Practical implications – The findings can be used by researchers writing similar codes for quantitative guidance concerning the effect of various numerical boundary condition approximations for a large class of boundary condition types for two common time discretization methods. Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive study of accuracy and convergence of the finite volume discretization for a wide range of benchmark cases and common time discretization methods.