Dual reciprocity boundary element analysis for the laminar forced heat convection problem in concentric annulus

This paper presents a study of the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) for the laminar heat convection problem in a concentric annulus wi th constant heat flux boundary condition. DRBEM is one of the most successf ul technique used to transform the domain integrals arising from the nonhom ogeneous term of the Poisson equation into equivalent boundary only integra ls. This recently developed and highly efficient numerical method is tested for the solution accuracy of the fluid flow and heat transfer study in a c oncentric annulus. Since their exact solutions are available, DRBEM solutio ns are verified with different number of boundary element discretizations a nd internal points. The results obtained in this study are discussed with t he relative error percentage of velocity and temperature solutions, and pot ential applicability of the method for the more complicated heat convection problems with arbitrary duct geometries.