solutionofthediffusionequation.docVIP

College of Engineering and Computer Science Mechanical Engineering Department Notes on Engineering Analysis Larry Caretto January 18, 2009 Solution of the Diffusion EquationIntroduction and problem definition The diffusion equation describes the diffusion of species or energy starting at an initial time, with an initial spatial distribution and progressing over time. The simplest example has one space dimension in addition to time. In this example, time, t, and distance, x, are the independent variables. The solution is obtained for t ( 0 and 0 ( x ( xmax. The dependent variable, species or temperature, is identified as u(x,t) in the equations below. The basic diffusion equation is written as follows. [1] Here, ?, is a species or thermal diffusion coefficient with dimensions of length squared over time. The initial condition specifies the value of u at all values of x at t = 0. This initial condition is usually written as follows: u(x,0) = u0(x) [2] The boundary conditions at x = 0 and x = xmax, can be functions of time in general. These are written as follows (with subscripts L and R denoting left and right). u(0,t) = uL(t) u(xmax,t) = uR(t) [3] There is actually a discontinuity in the initial conditions and the boundary conditions. The initial conditions are assumed to hold for all times less than or equal to zero. The boundary conditions hold for t 0. This discontinuity only occurs at the boundaries. For example, the initial condition may be that u = 0 for all x and the boundary conditions may be that u = 100 at both boundaries for t 0. This creates a discontinuity at t = 0 for x = 0 and x = xmax. Fortunately, this discontinuity does not affect our ability to solve the problem. For the simplest cases we will consider both the initial and boundary conditions to be constant. However, in the most general case the boundary conditions may be given by any functional forms for u0(x). uL(t), and uR(t) Basic solution process The solut