| Abstract: | This paper presents a boundary element formulation employing a penalty function technique for two-dimensional steady thermal convection problems. By regarding the convective and buoyancy force terms in Navier-Stokes equations as body forces, the standard elastostatics analysis can be extended to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. In a similar manner, the standard potential analysis is extended to solve the energy transport equation. Finally, some numerical results are included, for typical natural convection problems, in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the present method. |
