A functional optimization formulation and implementation of an inverse natural convection problem (Q1370751)

A formulation and a FEM implementation for the solution of an ill-posed inverse/design natural convection problem is proposed. In particular, we consider an incompressible viscous liquid material occupying a given domain where convection is driven by buoyancy. The inverse convection problem is posed as an optimization problem where the gradient of the cost functional is obtained from the adjoint fields. The adjoint problem is defined by using the sensitivity operators obtained by linearization of the equations governing the direct problem. The conjugate gradient method is employed to perform the optimization process. The FEM is used for the calculation of the direct, adjoint and sensitivity thermal and fluid flow fields. Finally, the method is demonstrated with the solution of some two-dimensional inverse problems with known solutions.