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Set up and run thermal simulations to predict the heat flow and steady-state temperature distribution.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Transcript
00:06
In this video, I'll discuss Thermal analyses.
00:09
You may be wondering why should we run a thermal analysis?
00:13
Thermal analyses provide us with temperature profiles and insight into energy transfer.
00:19
This is most useful when we have parts that have a thermal failure criteria,
00:24
like a computer chip.
00:25
Or, when safety is a concern, like the radiator you see here.
00:30
We want to validate that this radiator would be safe to touch while it is in operating conditions.
00:36
Using probes and planes, we can obtain precise values anywhere in the model.
00:44
Planes can slice into the model
00:46
allowing us to see inside the model as well as the external surfaces.
00:54
Probes can be aligned to the model's external surfaces or placed internally as well.
01:03
Let's walk through how to set up and run a Thermal analysis.
01:13
We bring our geometry into the Simulation workspace.
01:16
As we enter the Simulation workspace, we are prompted to create a new simulation.
01:21
So we'll select Thermal.
01:23
At this time, we can access the study settings and modify our mesh settings if desired.
01:30
Here, I'll assign the same mesh size that I used in the Thermal tutorial.
01:37
Adaptive meshing can also be enabled here.
01:42
Adaptive meshing allows the mesh to
01:45
automatically change due to the result gradients
01:48
and the solution is recalculated.
01:50
This will increase the time it takes to solve the analysis.
01:55
To save time while running an analysis, it is often beneficial
01:59
to remove parts that are not necessary for the simulation.
02:02
This is typically referred to as suppressing objects.
02:06
To handle geometry changes for simulation, we do this in the Simplify workspace.
02:11
In this analysis, we are interested in the temperature of the fins.
02:14
So we can remove the fittings and the fluid.
02:18
To remove them, I right click on the bodies or components in the browser and select Remove.
02:30
Materials can be modified if they were not assigned in the modeling workspace (Design workspace).
02:50
We assign thermal loads to provide an energy balance.
02:54
Heat in has to equal heat out.
02:58
An applied temperature load will provide an infinite amount of energy
03:03
to maintain the specified temperature,
03:05
so it can be used as a heat sink or a heat source.
03:11
In this case, the inside walls of the pipe will be at the same temperature
03:16
as the water coming from the boiler / water heater.
03:28
We apply a convection load on the fins
03:30
where the air in the room would be removing heat from the fins.
03:37
This load is calculating the amount of energy to be removed
03:41
based on the reference temperature and the fin temperature.
03:45
We want to be careful with the selection process
03:48
not to select the area where the fins meet the pipes,
03:51
as they will not be cooled by air in that area.
03:54
Similarly, radiation loads calculate the energy transfer
03:58
based on the reference temperature and the surface temperature of the fins.
04:02
Radiation heat transfer can become the dominant form of heat transfer
04:06
due to the temperatures in the radiation heat transfer equation
04:09
being raised to the fourth power.
04:12
This is especially true when natural convection is cooling your design.
04:17
We define how the bodies contact each other.
04:19
In this case, we will use the automatic bonded contacts.
04:31
The model is ready to solve.
04:45
Once the analysis is finished, we have the results ready to be inspected and interpreted.
04:51
We can see that the temperature on the fins is pretty high
04:53
and could be dangerous to a person that touches them.
04:56
So we could decide to increase the size of our fins.
05:03
At the end of the day, there is a cost associated to the extra material,
05:06
but right now, finding out and understanding if we are underdesigned
05:11
or overdesigned is incredibly valuable.
05:13
Creating a new simulation model and rerunning the analysis with the same settings
05:18
allows us to use the Compare workspace
05:20
to look at results from both models at the same time.
05:24
We can see that the larger fins reduce the temperature
05:27
in the areas that people are most likely to touch.
05:34
I hope this helps. Happy simulating.
Video transcript
00:06
In this video, I'll discuss Thermal analyses.
00:09
You may be wondering why should we run a thermal analysis?
00:13
Thermal analyses provide us with temperature profiles and insight into energy transfer.
00:19
This is most useful when we have parts that have a thermal failure criteria,
00:24
like a computer chip.
00:25
Or, when safety is a concern, like the radiator you see here.
00:30
We want to validate that this radiator would be safe to touch while it is in operating conditions.
00:36
Using probes and planes, we can obtain precise values anywhere in the model.
00:44
Planes can slice into the model
00:46
allowing us to see inside the model as well as the external surfaces.
00:54
Probes can be aligned to the model's external surfaces or placed internally as well.
01:03
Let's walk through how to set up and run a Thermal analysis.
01:13
We bring our geometry into the Simulation workspace.
01:16
As we enter the Simulation workspace, we are prompted to create a new simulation.
01:21
So we'll select Thermal.
01:23
At this time, we can access the study settings and modify our mesh settings if desired.
01:30
Here, I'll assign the same mesh size that I used in the Thermal tutorial.
01:37
Adaptive meshing can also be enabled here.
01:42
Adaptive meshing allows the mesh to
01:45
automatically change due to the result gradients
01:48
and the solution is recalculated.
01:50
This will increase the time it takes to solve the analysis.
01:55
To save time while running an analysis, it is often beneficial
01:59
to remove parts that are not necessary for the simulation.
02:02
This is typically referred to as suppressing objects.
02:06
To handle geometry changes for simulation, we do this in the Simplify workspace.
02:11
In this analysis, we are interested in the temperature of the fins.
02:14
So we can remove the fittings and the fluid.
02:18
To remove them, I right click on the bodies or components in the browser and select Remove.
02:30
Materials can be modified if they were not assigned in the modeling workspace (Design workspace).
02:50
We assign thermal loads to provide an energy balance.
02:54
Heat in has to equal heat out.
02:58
An applied temperature load will provide an infinite amount of energy
03:03
to maintain the specified temperature,
03:05
so it can be used as a heat sink or a heat source.
03:11
In this case, the inside walls of the pipe will be at the same temperature
03:16
as the water coming from the boiler / water heater.
03:28
We apply a convection load on the fins
03:30
where the air in the room would be removing heat from the fins.
03:37
This load is calculating the amount of energy to be removed
03:41
based on the reference temperature and the fin temperature.
03:45
We want to be careful with the selection process
03:48
not to select the area where the fins meet the pipes,
03:51
as they will not be cooled by air in that area.
03:54
Similarly, radiation loads calculate the energy transfer
03:58
based on the reference temperature and the surface temperature of the fins.
04:02
Radiation heat transfer can become the dominant form of heat transfer
04:06
due to the temperatures in the radiation heat transfer equation
04:09
being raised to the fourth power.
04:12
This is especially true when natural convection is cooling your design.
04:17
We define how the bodies contact each other.
04:19
In this case, we will use the automatic bonded contacts.
04:31
The model is ready to solve.
04:45
Once the analysis is finished, we have the results ready to be inspected and interpreted.
04:51
We can see that the temperature on the fins is pretty high
04:53
and could be dangerous to a person that touches them.
04:56
So we could decide to increase the size of our fins.
05:03
At the end of the day, there is a cost associated to the extra material,
05:06
but right now, finding out and understanding if we are underdesigned
05:11
or overdesigned is incredibly valuable.
05:13
Creating a new simulation model and rerunning the analysis with the same settings
05:18
allows us to use the Compare workspace
05:20
to look at results from both models at the same time.
05:24
We can see that the larger fins reduce the temperature
05:27
in the areas that people are most likely to touch.
05:34
I hope this helps. Happy simulating.
Want to try this? In the Fusion Data Panel, open the start file from Samples > Basic Training > 11 - Simulation > Radiator.
For more, see Thermal analysis.
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