A General Optimization Method using Adjoint Equation for Solving Multidimensional Inverse Heat Conduction

Abstract A three-dimensional formulation is presented to solve inverse heat conduction as a general optimization problem by applying the adjoint equation approach coupled to the conjugate gradient algorithm. The formulation consists of the sensitivity problem, the adjoint problem and the gradient equations. A solution algorithm is presented for the estimation of the surface condition (i.e. heat flux or temperature), space dependent thermal conductivity and heat capacity from the knowledge of transient temperature recordings taken within the solid. In this approach, no a priori information is needed about the unknown function to be determined. It is shown that the problems involving a priori information about the unknown function become special cases of this general approach.