A meshless model for transient heat conduction analyses of 3D axisymmetric functionally graded solids

A meshless numerical model is developed for analyzing transient heat conductions in three-dimensional (3D) axisymmetric continuously nonhomogeneous functionally graded materials (FGMs). Axial symmetry of geometry and boundary conditions reduces the original 3D initial-boundary value problem into a two-dimensional (2D) problem. Local weak forms are derived for small polygonal sub-domains which surround nodal points distributed over the cross section. In order to simplify the treatment of the essential boundary conditions, spatial variations of the temperature and heat flux at discrete time instants are interpolated by the natural neighbor interpolation. Moreover, the using of three-node triangular finite element method (FEM) shape functions as test functions reduces the orders of integrands involved in domain integrals. The semi-discrete heat conduction equation is solved numerically with the traditional two-point difference technique in the time domain. Two numerical examples are investigated and excellent results are obtained, demonstrating the potential application of the proposed approach.