Numerical methods flow analysis network

At this point we introduce a very useful interpretation for Eq. (8-38). If the denominator of the right side is considered as the surface resistance to radiation heat transfer, the numerator as a potential difference, and the heat flow as the current, then a network element could be drawn as in Fig. 8-24 to represent the physical situation. This is the first step in the network method of analysis originated by Oppenheim 120]. 

Numerical methods to obtain the temperature distributions include finite element method (FEM), finite difference method (FDM), flow network modeling (FNM), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The FEM can also provide structural analysis. 

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