A modified sequential gradient-based method for the inverse estimation of transient heat transfer coefficients in non-linear one-dimensional heat conduction problems

Abstract

Abstract In this communication, we introduce an online sequential implementation of a gradient-based method for reconstructing transient heat transfer coefficients in the context of non-linear one-dimensional heat conduction problems. Such a method employs a quasi-Newton updating strategy for computing the descent direction, in contrast with the traditional approach based on the conjugate gradient method. We denote the resulting procedure as the sequential quasi-Newton method (SQNM). The performance of the proposed algorithm was tested in the reconstruction of triangle-, sine-, and square-wave functions that models different transient heat transfer coefficients and compared with the results obtained using a standard sequential function specification method. The SQNM was capable of properly reconstruct the aforementioned exact functions independently of the location of the temperature sensors within the body. The proposed strategy is fast, robust, and reliable, which demonstrates the suitability of employing the sequential gradient-based implementation, together with the quasi-Newton updating strategy, for reconstructing transient heat transfer coefficients in the context of one- and two-dimensional non-linear heat conduction problems. Thus, the proposed method is a novel alternative strategy to other online inverse estimation procedures.