Regularized variable metric method versus the conjugate gradient method in solution of radiative boundary design problem

In this paper, an appropriate distribution of the heating elements' strengths in a radiation furnace is estimated using inverse methods so that a pre-specified temperature and heat flux distribution is attained on the design surface. Minimization of the sum of the squares of the error function is performed using the variable metric method (VMM), and the results are compared with those obtained by the conjugate gradient method (CGM) established previously in the literature. It is shown via test cases and a well-founded validation procedure that the VMM, when using a “regularized” estimator, is more accurate and is able to reach at a higher quality final solution as compared to the CGM. The test cases used in this study were two-dimensional furnaces filled with an absorbing, emitting, and scattering gas.