Modeling immersed ducts with the finite element method

When a model with immersed ducts is solved using the finite element method, the thermal solver uses the algorithm described in the following section.

The thermal solver:

  1. Generates 2000 random points for each duct element distributed at the channel surface.
  2. Finds the number of points located on the intersection of the duct external surface and the wall element. This provides the immersed area of the duct in the solid element.
  3. Computes a linear nodal distribution of convective area inside each solid element.
  4. Couples each solid element node with fluid element CG accounting for immersed area.