Numerical simulations for nonlinear heat transfer in a system of multimaterials

An implicit scheme is developed for nonlinear heat transfer problems. The scheme possesses a number of properties. The most notable are the second-order accuracy in both space and time, the conservative feature, quick damping of numerical errors when the size of time step is large, the iterative approach and fast convergence, the accurate treatment for nonlinearities and different kinds of material, and the capability to handle a system composed of more then one kind of material, which have dramatically different thermal diffusivities. The scheme may be easily vectorized. Numerical examples are presented to show these features. (C) 1998 Academic Press.