Numerical Heat Transfer, Part B, 43: 489–507, 2003

Copyright # 2003 Taylor & Francis

1040-7790/03 $12.00 + .00
DOI: 10.1080/10407790390122104

A SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD FOR

SHAPE IDENTIFICATION BASED ON THERMAL DATA

Chin-Hsiang Cheng and Mei-Hsia Chang

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tatung University, Taipei, Taiwan,
Republic of China 5

The present study is focused on simplification of the conjugate-gradient method so as to

extend the flexibility of the inverse heat transfer method for applications in the shape
identification problems associated with various forms of objective functions. The capability
of the simplified conjugate-gradient method (SCGM) in seeking the shapes of inner
structures is tested for several cases. These test cases use three kinds of thermal data 10
measured on the outer surface of a solid body, including temperature distribution, local heat
flux distribution, and the overall heat transfer rate. The aim of these test cases is to identify
the boundary of the inner voids in the solid bodies based on the thermal data. Results show
that for all test cases, the optimization process leads to acceptable accuracy for the objective
functions of different forms. 15

INTRODUCTION
Inverse problems are relevant to a variety of engineering applications. In the
heat transfer area, the concept of inverse heat transfer analysis has been extended for
estimation of surface conditions such as temperature [1] and heat flux [2], or for the
determination of thermal properties of materials, including thermal conductivity [3] 20
and heat capacity [4]. Recently, the inverse analysis has been applied to the problems
related to shape design [5, 6], shape identification [7, 8], and identification for the
location and strength of a line heat source [9, 10].
In an inverse heat transfer problem (IHTP), an optimization method is used to
maximize or minimize a defined objective function under a number of prescribed 25
constraints or requirements. When the object function reaches an extreme, the con-
vergence of the inverse problem is achieved. Therefore, the selection of a suitable
optimization method plays an important role in an inverse heat transfer problem.
Currently, several optimization methods are available, for example, the genetic algo-
rithm (GA) [11, 12], the conjugate-gradient method (CGM) [1, 2, 5–8], the Newton- 30
Raphson method [13], the adaptive weighting input estimation method [14], and so on.
Among all, the traditional CGM stems from the perturbation principles and trans-
forms the inverse problem into three separate problems, namely, the direct problem,

Received 10 October 2002; accepted 16 November 2002.

Address correspondence to Prof. Chin-Hsiang Cheng, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Tatung University, 40 Chungshan N. Road, Sec. 3, Taipei, Taiwan 10451, Republic of China. E-mail:
cheng@ttu.edu.tw

489
490 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

NOMENCLATURE
a
dimensionless long axis of ellipse T temperature of solid body
b
dimensionless short axis of ellipse Ta temperature of ambient fluid
Bi Biot number ( ¼ hd=k) Tw temperature on inner surface
d diameter of solid body x, y Cartesian coordinates
eX, eY dimensionless eccentricities in the X X, Y dimensionless Cartesian
and Y directions coordinates
E simulated experimental outer-surface Xd, Yd boundary profile functions of
temperature data identified inner surface
h heat transfer coefficient a angle
J objective function y dimensionless temperature
k thermal conductivity
y dimensionless experimental
‘ dimensionless length of a square temperature on outer surface
q dimensionless local heat flux on x, Z dimensionless curvilinear coordi-
outer surface nates
q
dimensionless experimental local s uncertainty of simulated
heat flux on outer surface experimental temperature data
Qo dimensionless experimental overall
heat transfer rate on outer surface
r random number varied between 7 1 Subscripts
and 1 ex exact
R dimensionless radius of circle i, j grid indices
s arc length on outer surface of solid n iteration number
body N, M number of grid points for the x and
S dimensionless arc length on outer Z directions
surface of solid body o outer surface

the sensitivity problem, and the adjoint problem. Solutions of the three problems give
the updated conjugate gradient direction as well as the step size in iteration toward the 35
convergence of the optimization process. Recently, Cheng and co-workers [5, 6] dealt
with the sensitivity problem with a direct numerical sensitivity analysis. Incorporated
with the direct numerical sensitivity analysis, the CGM evaluates the gradient of
objective function and sets up a new conjugate direction for a more general situation.
However, in the CGM method the algebraic equations for the step size need to be 40
derived in accordance with the minimization of the objective function, and the values
of the step size are calculated at each iteration. Therefore, the CGM is not free of
limitations resulting from the complexity in mathematical implementation and the
constraint of the mathematical formulation of the objective function, which is typically
defined in terms of a square-sum form. Due to these limitations, the traditional CGM 45
is not applied to a problem with a more general objective function definition.
The aim of this study is to present an optimization method by simplifying the
CGM so as to extend the flexibility of IHTP to the problems associated with various
forms of objective functions. The simplified conjugate-gradient method (SCGM) first
evaluates the sensitivity of the objective function by adjusting the coordinates of the 50
identified surface points, and then by giving (not calculating) an appropriate fixed
value for the step size, the optimal solution can be carried out without overwhelming
mathematical derivation and limitations.
The capability of the simplified conjugate-gradient method in seeking the
boundary profile of the inner structures of a solid body is tested for several cases. 55
The physical model of the test cases for shape identification is shown in Figure 1.
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 491

Figure 1. Physical model of the test problems.

A solid body with an outer surface dissipates heat to the ambient air at temperature
Ta by convection. The heat transfer coefficient (h) on the outer surface of the solid
body is given. Somewhere within the solid body, there exists an inner void. The
boundary of the inner void is just the inner surface of the solid body and is unknown. 60
It is assumed that the inner surface is maintained at a higher temperature Tw.
However, both the shape and the location of the inner void are to be identified
simply based on some thermal data measured on the outer surface of the solid body.
These test cases use three kinds of thermal data: temperature distribution, local heat
flux distribution, and overall heat transfer rate. Relative performance of the SCGM 65
in handling various thermal data is demonstrated in this report.

NUMERICAL METHODS
In a traditional optimization process [5, 6], a direct problem solver and a grid
redistribution method are incorporated with the conjugate-gradient method for a
492 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

sensitivity analysis. The frameworks of these methods are briefly described, and then 70
the modification of the conjugate-gradient method follows.

Heat Conduction Problem Solver

Considering a homogeneous and isotropic solid body, the heat conduction
equation for the temperature solution within the solid body can be expressed as

q2 T q2 T
þ ¼0 in O ð1Þ
qx2 qy2
where T is the solid temperature and O is the solution domain. The body-fitted
coordinate transformation technique [15, 16] is applied to generate a curvilinear grid
for computation at each iteration that accommodates the variation of the shape of
the inner surface of the solution domain O during the optimization process. The
coordinate transformation functions x ¼ x(X, Y ) and Z ¼ Z(X, Y ) are obtained by 80
solving the following partial differential equations:

H2 x ¼ F1 ðx; ZÞ ð2Þ

H2 Z ¼ F2 ðx; ZÞ ð3Þ

the operator H2 ¼ q2 ð Þ=qX2 þ q2 ð Þ=qY2 , and where F1 and F2 are two functions
which are defined to artificially adjust the density of the grids locally. Using the 85
curvilinear grid obtained, the heat conduction equation and the boundary conditions
are discretized and then solved in the computation domain (x, Z). By introducing the
following group of dimensionless parameters,

x y T
Ta hd
X¼ Y¼ y¼ Bi ¼ ð4Þ
d d Tw
Ta k

the transformed steady heat conduction equation is derived from Eq. (1) as 90


q2 y
q2 y q2 y 2 qy qy


a
2b þg

¼
Ja F1 þ F2 ð5Þ
qx2 qx qZ qZ2 qx qZ

where


2
qX 2 qY

¼
a þ
qZ qZ

¼ qX qX þ qY qY
b
qx qZ qx qZ

2
2
qX qY
g¼

þ
qx qx
qX qY qX qY
Ja ¼

qx qZ qZ qx
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 493

The dimensionless boundary conditions associated with Eq. (5) become

y¼1 at Z ¼ 0 ðinner surfaceÞ ð6Þ

ðqy=qxÞ
gðqy=qZÞ
b



pffiffiffi ¼ Bi y at Z ¼ 1 ðouter surfaceÞ ð7Þ
Ja
g

In this study, the Biot number on the outer surface is fixed at Bi ¼ 1. Boundary
profile functions of the identified inner surface, Xd(x) and Yd(x), are updated during
the iterative optimization process. Based on the updated boundary profile functions,
a grid that accommodates the variation of the shape profile at each iteration is 100
generated. Then, with the help of Eqs. (5)–(7), the temperature distribution on the
curvilinear computation domain can be obtained.

Redistribution Method
The redistribution method proposed by Lan et al. [6] is also employed in this
study to facilitate the convergence of the shape identification process. It is assumed 105
that the boundary profile of the inner void should be a smooth and continuous curve
in physical reality. Thus, the ill-ordered grid patterns, such as twisted or out-
of-alignment grids, are not acceptable. Four major steps are included in the
redistribution method: (1) detection, (2) alignment, (3) segmentation, and (4)
redistribution. The spacings between the grid points on the boundary profile are 110
uniformly redistributed once any one of the ill-ordered grid patterns is detected.
Further description of the redistribution method is available in [6].

Optimization Method

Traditional conjugate-gradient method. In the traditional conjugate-

gradient method, the objective function is defined by the sum of squares of the 115
differences between iterative and experimental temperature data as
X
N
J¼ ðyi;M

yi Þ2 ð8Þ
i¼1

where yi,M and
yi are the dimensionless iterative and the experiment temperatures,
respectively. These temperature data are collected on the outer surface of the solid
body by using thermocouples or a thermal-image scanning system. The shape profile 120
of the inner void represented by Xd (x) and Yd (x) is updated iteratively in order that
the objective function is minimized. Note that in the above formulation, only the
temperature data are involved in the expression of the objective function. This is
referred to as a single-goal optimization.
Minimization of the objective function J is achieved by an optimization pro- 125
cedure. The conjugate-gradient method evaluates the gradients of the objective
function and sets up a conjugate direction for the updated solutions with the help of
a sensitivity analysis. In general, the convergence can be attained in a finite number
of iterations.
494 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

Let Xni;d and Yni;d (i ¼ 1, 2, . . . , N) be the nth iterative values of the identified 130
shape functions Xd(x) and Yd(x) for grid point i on the inner surface, and let the first
search direction toward the minimization of J be the steepest descent direction in
terms of the gradient functions

qJ XN
qyi;M
¼ 2ðyi;M


yi Þ ð9aÞ
qXj;d i¼1
qXj;d

qJ XN
qyi;M
¼ 2ðyi;M


yi Þ j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð9bÞ
qYj;d i¼1
qYj;d

where the terms qyi;M =qXj;d and qyi;M =qYj;d are referred to as the sensitivity coeffi- 135
cients. The task of the sensitivity analysis is to evaluate the sensitivity of the objective
function J with respect to the perturbations of the shape functions Xd(x) and Yd(x).
Therefore, the terms qyi;M =qXj;d and qyi;M =qYj;d are calculated by introducing small
perturbations to the X and Y coordinates of individual identified surface points. The
grid generation for the perturbed shape is carried out, and then the temperature 140
solutions are obtained. By using the obtained temperature solutions, the sensitivity
of the temperature at point i to the perturbations of the coordinates of point j can be
evaluated and hence, qyi;M =qXj;d and qyi;M =qYj;d are evaluated. The choice of the
small perturbations to the X and Y coordinates of each identified surface point is
critical for the sensitivity analysis. In the study, these perturbations are ranged 145
between 0.0001 and 0.01 depending on the complexity of identified shape.
Based on the conjugate-gradient method, the coordinates of point i on the
identified surface are updated by

Xnþ1 n n
i;d ¼ Xi;d
bi Pi;x ð10aÞ

Ynþ1 n n
i;d ¼ Yi;d
bi Pi;y i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð10bÞ

where each of the search directions Pni;x and Pni;y is expressed as a linear combination 150
of the steepest descent directions and a modified vector, that is,

qJ
Pni;x ¼ þ gni;x Pn
1
i;x ð11aÞ
qXi;d
qJ
Pni;y ¼ þ gni;y Pn
1
i;y i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð11bÞ
qYi;d

Conjugate gradient coefficients gni;x and gni;y are calculated by

"
 n 
n
1 #2
qJ qJ
gni;x ¼ ð12aÞ
qXi;d qXi;d
"
 n 
n
1 #2
qJ qJ
gni;y ¼ i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð12bÞ
qYi;d qYi;d
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 495

The step sizes bi (i ¼ 1, 2, . . . , N) appearing in Eqs. (10a) and (10b) are to be 155
determined. In theory, the values of bi are selected to minimize the updated objective
function Jn þ 1. With the help of Eqs. (8) and (10), Jn þ 1 can be evaluated as
X
N
Jnþ1 ¼ ½ynþ1 nþ1 nþ1 nþ1 nþ1 nþ1 nþ1
2
i;M ðX1;d ; X2;d ; . . . ; XN;d ; Y1;d ; Y2;d ; . . . ; YN;d Þ
yi 
i¼1
X
N
¼ ½ynþ1 n n n n n n n
i;M ðX1;d
b1 P1;x ; X2;d
b2 P2;x ; . . . ;XN;d
bN PN;x ; Y1;d
i¼1

b1 Pn1;y ; Yn2;d
b2 Pn2;y ; . . . ; YnN;d
bN PnN;y Þ

yi 2 ð13aÞ

By introducing a first-order Taylor series approximation into the above

expression, the (n þ 1)th objective function becomes 160

X N 

qyi;M qyi;M qyi;M
Jnþ1 ¼ ðyni;M


yi Þ
b1 Pn1;x þ b2 Pn2;x þ    þ bN PnN;x
i¼1
qX 1;d qX 2;d qX N;d
2
qyi;M qyi;M qyi;M
þ b1 Pn1;y þ b2 Pn2;y þ    þ bN PnN;y ð13bÞ
qY1;d qY2;d qYN;d
Setting the derivative of Jn þ 1 with respect to bi equal to zero gives
XN X N


n qyi;M n qyi;M n qyi;M n qyi;M
bk Pk;x þ Pk;y  Pj;x þ Pj;y
i¼1 k¼1
qXk;d qXk;d qXj;d qYj;d
XN

qyi;M qyi;M
¼ ðyni;M


yi Þ  Pnj;x þ Pnj;y j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð14Þ
i¼1
qXj;d qYj;d

Equation (14) represents a set of linear algebraic equations which could be solved
simultaneously to obtained the optimal step sizes bi (i ¼ 1,2, . . . , N). The solution can 165
be performed numerically by means of the Gaussian elimination method or another
similar solver.
Since Eq. (14) is derived from the definition expression of the objective function
in Eq. (8), the traditional conjugate-gradient method is inherently limited to pro-
blems with the square-sum form of objective function and suitable only for single- 170
goal optimization.
Simplified conjugate-gradient method (SCGM). The application of the
method for the shape identification problems associated with various forms of
objective function is attempted. In addition, the method is also modified for a
multiple-goal optimization, in which the objective function is defined to involve 175
different kinds of thermal data at a time. These thermal data could be temperature
distributions, local heat flux distributions, overall heat transfer rates, or a
combination of them. For instance, the objective function could now be defined by
Z 
X  X   
J ¼ e1 yi;M


yi  þ e 2 qi;M
q
i  þ e3  q dS
Qo  ð15Þ
 
i i

where

yi and q
i are the dimensionless experimental temperature and local heat flux 180
data on the outer surface, respectively; yi,M and qi,M are the dimensionless iterative
496 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

R
temperature and local heat flux, respectively; q dS and Qo represent the dimen-
sionless iterative and measured overall heat transfer rates on the outer surface,
respectively; and e1, e2, and e3 denote the weighting coefficients for these thermal
data. Different sets of experimental data can be collected on a same part or different 185
parts of the outer surface. Also note that the thermal data could be a set of mea-
surement results of thermal stress or deformation for some particular applications.
To make the IHTP suitable for a multiple-goal objective function, the
dependence of the expression for the step size bi on the definition of the objective
function must be eliminated. It has been shown that the expression of the step size bi, 190
Eq. (14), is derived by minimizing the updated objective function Jn þ 1. However, it
is noted that the values of the step size bi are not necessarily determined by this way.
As a matter of fact, bi for each of the identified surface points can be fixed at a
constant value without loss of convergence. That is,
bi ¼ C i ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð16Þ
The magnitude of C is determined in accordance with the resolution of the boundary
profile desired. In this study, the value of C is assigned to be 0.01 or 0.001. Note that
the convergence speed of the iteration of the optimization process may be appreci-
ably slowed down by a fixed step size; however, the dependence of the step size on
Pni;x , Pni;y , qyi;M =qXj;d , and qyi;M =qYj;d has been removed. As a result, the conjugate- 200
gradient method may be simplified as:

1. There is no need to calculate the sensitivity coefficients, qyi;M =qXj;d and

qyi;M =qYj;d .
2. Sensitivity of the objective function J to the perturbations of the shape
functions Xd(x) and Yd(x) can be evaluated directly by means of a direct 205
numerical differentiation. That is,

qJ DJ
¼ ð17aÞ
qXj;d DXj;d
qJ DJ
¼ j ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N ð17bÞ
qYj;d DYj;d

where DXj,d and DYj,d represent the small perturbations of Xd(x) and Yd(x),
respectively. It is important to note that since qJ=qXj;d and qJ=qYj;d are
determined by using a direct numerical differentiation now, instead of using 210
Eq. (9), the form of the objective function definition can now be free of
limitation to a sum-of-square form and be open to a multiple-goal opti-
mization. Note that in Eq. (15), the sum-of-square form is replaced with a
sum of absolute values of the differences.
3. The value of the step size bi is specified depending on the identification 215
resolution desired. Therefore, there would be no simultaneous equations to
solve for bi.

Figure 2 shows the respective flow charts for the traditional and the present
methods for comparison. The above-mentioned simplifications in the numerical
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 497

Figure 2. Flow chart showing the difference between traditional CGM and SCGM in shape identification.
498 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

procedure provide remarkable compensation in computer time for the slower con- 220
vergence speed caused by fixing the step size.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The SCGM has been applied to a number of test problems, single- or multiple-
goal, to investigate the validity of this method. Several typical cases are demon-
strated here. The outer surface profile of the solid body in these cases is a unit circle. 225
A grid system of 41621 grids for the solution domain is adopted typically in this
analysis.

Single-Goal Identification Based on Temperature Data Only

First, the single-goal identifications based on temperature data are performed
by the present method. For these cases, the objective function is defined by 230

X 
J¼ yi;M
yex i  ð18Þ
i

The above definition is a special situation of Eq. (15) with e1 ¼ 1 and e2 ¼ e3 ¼ 0. The
convergence process based on exact temperature data (yex) is displayed in Figure 3.
For this particular case, the initial guess of the inner surface profile is a circle, while
the desired exact shape is a square of length ‘ ¼ 0.6 located at the center. The grid 235
systems generated numerically by the body-fitted grid generator and the data of
outer surface temperature (yo) for all iterations are displayed in the left and the right
plots, respectively. In the right plot, the dashed and the solid lines represent the exact
and the iterative outer surface temperature data, respectively. The exact outer sur-
face temperature data are provided by the direct problem solver for the problem with 240
the square inner void of length ‘ ¼ 0.6. Notice that the iterative outer surface tem-
perature is uniform along the outer surface of the solid body initially; however, by
applying the optimization method, the iterative outer surface temperature distribu-
tion approaches the desired exact data eventually. The identification results for the
inner square are carried out in approximately 100 iterations. The sharp corners of 245
the square are clearly visible after the 25th iteration. Note that the number
of iteration required to reach the final shape is greatly dependent on the values of the
step sizes selected. A smaller step size will definitely lead to a larger number of
iterations but higher resolution.
Presented in the left and the right plots of Figure 4 are the shapes identified for 250
various geometric configurations and the data of outer surface temperature (yo),
respectively. Three cases with different exact inner surface profiles are considered in
this figure. They are (a) a concentric circle of radius R ¼ 0.2, (b) a square of length
‘ ¼ 0.6, and (c) an eccentric ellipse of long axis a
¼ 0.2, short axis b
¼ 0.25, and
eccentricities eX ¼ 70.1 and eY ¼ 70.05. For all three cases, a concentric circle of 255
radius R ¼ 0.45 is selected as the initial guess for the inner profile. In the right plots,
both the exact and the iterative outer surface temperature data are given. The goal
of the optimization method is to identify the unknown inner surface profile
according to the exact outer surface temperature data. The iterative temperature
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 499

Figure 3. Convergence process of shape identification based on exact temperature data: The exact inner
surface profile is a square of length ‘ ¼ 0.6 located at the center. (a) Initial guess. (b) 10th iteration. (c) 25th
iteration. (d ) Final solution.
500 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

Figure 4. Various inner surface profiles to identify based on exact temperature data. (a) A concentric circle
of R ¼ 0.2. (b) A square of length ‘ ¼ 0.6. (c) An eccentric ellipse of long axis a
¼ 0.2 and short axis
b
¼ 0.25, and eccentricities eX ¼ 70.1 and eY ¼ 70.05.
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 501

data associated with the profiles identified are the final surface temperature dis- 260
tribution accompanying the minimum objective function. For each of the geometric
configurations considered in this figure, the inner surface profile can be clearly
identified and the iterative temperature data agree closely with the exact temperature
data eventually.
It is critical to know whether the shape identification results based on the 265
temperature data are dependent on the initial guess. To clarify this, Figure 5

Figure 5. Dependence of shape identification on initial guess, based on exact temperature data. The exact
inner surface profile is an eccentric ellipse of long axis a
¼ 0.2, short axis b
¼ 0.25, and eccentricities of
eX ¼ 70.1 and eY ¼ 70.1. (a) Initial guess is a circle. (b) Initial guess is an isosceles triangle. (c) Initial
guess is an eccentric ellipse.
502 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

illustrates the shape identification results for a same geometric configuration, which
are obtained from different initial guesses. The desired exact inner surface profile for
the case is an eccentric ellipse of long axis a
¼ 0.2, short axis b
¼ 0.25, and eccen-
tricities eX ¼ 70.1 and eY ¼ 70.1. The initial guesses for cases shown in Figures 5a, 270
5b, and 5c are a circle, an isosceles triangle, and an eccentric ellipse, respectively,
which are indicated by the dashed lines in the plots. It is observed that for these three
cases, the unique inner eccentric ellipse profile is successfully identified from all
different initial guesses. However, it is found that if the initial guess is quite different
from an eccentric ellipse (say, an isosceles triangle), the profile identified by the 275
optimization method will inevitably be blurred. The occurrence of the blurs reduces
grid quality slightly during the convergence process.
In order to simulate random measurement errors in the outer surface tem-
perature data, a group of simulated experimental outer surface temperature data (
yi )
are generated by adding a fluctuation to the exact value. That is, 280

yi ¼ yex i þ sri ð19Þ

where yex is the exact outer surface temperature data provided by the direct problem
solver; ri is a random number evenly distributed between 71 and 1 and is provided
by a random number generator; and s is a value given to simulate the uncertainty of
experiments. The value of s is assigned to be 0, 0.005, and 0.01 in this report. Note 285
that at s ¼ 0, the exact outer surface temperature data (yex) are used directly for the
shape identification. The simulated experimental temperature data are introduced
into the identification approach for testing the influence of the uncertainty of
experiments.
Figure 6 displays the effects of the uncertainty of the simulated experimental 290
outer surface temperature data (s) on the shape identification. The dashed lines
represent the desired exact shape, a circle of radius R ¼ 0.3 located with eccentricities
eX ¼ 0.08 and eY ¼ 0.0. The uncertainties are set to be s ¼ 0, 0.005, and 0.01. For the
case at s ¼ 0, as shown in Figure 6a, the exact shape and the identified shape are
almost coincident, which implies a prefect inner surface identification. When an 295
uncertainty of finite value is introduced into the exact temperature data, as for the
cases at s ¼ 0.005 and 0.01 shown in Figures 6b and 6c, respectively, the profiles
identified by the optimization methods are blurred due to the uncertainty. Never-
thless, a circular profile of the inner void can still be clearly recognized even at
s ¼ 0.01. 300

Single-Goal Identification Based on Overall Heat Transfer Data Only

In order to investigate the merits of the simplified conjugate gradient method in
dealing with various forms of the objective function, the overall heat transfer rate on
the outer surface is now regarded as the thermal data for identifying the inner surface
profile. However, when the overall heat transfer rate is used as the thermal data, it is 305
reasonable to anticipate a nonunique-solution situation. In other words, there could
be a number of inner surface shapes that lead to a equal overall heat transfer rate. An
efficient shape identification method ought to be able to provide multiple solutions
for this case. Note that in the SCGM, the dependence of the identified profile on the
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 503

Figure 6. Effects of uncertainty on inner surface identification. The dashed exact inner surface shape is an
eccentric circle of radius R ¼ 0.3 and eccentricities eX ¼ 0.08 and eY ¼ 0.0. (a) s ¼ 0. (b) s ¼ 0.005. (c)
s ¼ 0.01.

initial guess is of major concerns. Therefore, Figure 7 presents the effects of initial 310
guess on the inner surface shape identification based on a given overall heat transfer
rate on the outer surface. In this figure, the dimensionless overall heat transfer rate is
fixed at Qo ¼ 2.3, and the objective function is defined by
Z 
 
J ¼  q dS
Qo 
 ð20Þ
504 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

Figure 7. Dependence of shape identification on initial guess, based on overall heat transfer rate data at
Qo ¼ 2.3.

which is also a special situation of Eq. (15) with e1 ¼ e2 ¼ 0 and e3 ¼ 1. Four kinds of 315
initial guesses are investigated, which are (a) an eccentric circle, (b) an eccentric
ellipse, (c) a concentric rectangular, and (d ) a concentric isosceles triangle. The
dashed line in the plots reveals the shapes of various initial guesses. For all cases, the
value of the objective function is eventually reduced to 161078 by the iteration
toward minimization. It is interesting to find that the SCGM produces different 320
solutions associated with different initial guess, and all the solutions satisfy the
thermal condition of Qo ¼ 2.3. This demonstrates the capability of SCGM in
handling a nonunique-solution problem.
 SIMPLIFIED CONJUGATE-GRADIENT METHOD 505

Figure 8. Multiple-goal shape identification satisfying three kinds of thermal data at a time. These thermal
data include: (1) temperature data (
yi ) in area B (see Table b); (2) local heat flux data in area A (see Table
a); and (3) overall heat transfer rate Qo ¼ 2.75.

Multiple-Goal Identification Based on General Thermal Data

Next, a multiple-goal identification based on general thermal data is performed 325
by the SCGM method. For this purpose, the objective function is defined by
506 C.-H. CHENG AND M.-H. CHANG

Z 
X  X   
J¼ yi;M


yi  þ qi;M
q
i  þ  q dS
Qo  ð21Þ
 
i i

to include different kinds of thermal data at a time by letting e1 ¼ e2 ¼ e3 ¼ 1 from

Eq. (15). Figure 8 shows an identified inner surface based on temperature data, local
heat flux data, and overall heat transfer rate, which are measured in different areas of 330
the outer surface. These thermal data include: (a) temperature data (
yi ), which are
measured in area B and displayed in Table b of this figure; (b) local heat flux data
measured in area A and displayed in Table a, and (c) overall heat transfer rate
Qo ¼ 2.75. The nodal points on the outer surface are numbered to illustrate the
positions of areas A and B and display the thermal data. The iteration process starts 335
from a initial guess of a circle of R ¼ 0.4 and then in about 140 iterations the
convergence is achieved. The boundary profile of the inner void that satisfies all these
three kinds of thermal data at a time is shown in the upper plot of Figure 8. For this
case, the objective function can be minimized to 561076 by the SCGM.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
The present study provides a novel optimization method by simplifying the
traditional conjugate gradient method. In the present method, the values of the step
size bi for the optimal searches are fixed at constant value, which may be specified
depending on the resolution of the identifications. In this manner, there is no need to
solve the simultaneous equations for bi and the complexity in mathematical 345
manipulation and the constraint of the form of the objective function are then
removed.
The application of the method for the shape identification problems associated
with various forms of objective function is attempted. In addition, the method is also
applied for a multiple-goal optimization, in which the objective function is defined to 350
involve different kinds of thermal data at a time. These thermal data could be
temperature distributions, local heat flux distributions, overall heat transfer rates, or
a combination of them.
The capability of the simplified conjugate-gradient method in seeking the
boundary profile of the inner structures of a solid body is tested for several cases. 355
Results show that for all test cases the optimization process leads to satisfaction in
the shape identification for problems having various forms of the objective functions
with various thermal data on the outer surface.

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