On the solution of inverse heat transfer problem using the Karhunen-Loeve Galerkin method

An efficient method based on the Karhunen-Loeve Galerkin procedure is propo sed for the solution of inverse problem of estimating the time-varying stre ngth of a heat source in a two-dimensional heat conduction system. The Karh unen-Loeve Galerkin procedure converts a given system into a model with the minimum degree of freedom, and consequently the number of equations to be solved in the inverse analysis is minimized, resulting in the drastic reduc tion of computation time. The performance of the present technique of inver se analysis using the Karhunen-Loeve Galerkin procedure is evaluated by sev eral numerical experiments, and is found to be very accurate as well as eff icient. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.