Chapter 12

Thermal Analysis
Chapter 12 – Thermal Analysis
Overview Training Manual

INTRO
• In this chapter, we will describe the specifics of a thermal analysis.

ODUCTIO
• Th purpose is
The i two-fold:
t f ld
– To reiterate the general analysis procedure.
– To introduce you to thermal loads and boundary conditions

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-2
Chapter 12 – A. Preprocessing
Geometry
y Training Manual

INTRO
Geometry

ODUCTIO
• C either
Can ith be
b created
t d within
ithi ANSYS or imported.
i t d

• Include details to improve results:

– Goal is to sufficiently model the thermal mass of the structure.

ON TO AN
– Convection loads requires areas be correctly modeled.
– Heat generation loads requires the volumes be correctly modeled.

NSYS - Part
Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-3
Chapter 12 – A. Preprocessing
Meshing
g Training Manual

INTRO
• Element type
• The table below shows commonly used thermal element types.

ODUCTIO
• The nodal DOF is: TEMP.

Commonly used thermal element types

2-D Solid 3-D Solid 3-D Shell Line Elements

ON TO AN
Linear PLANE55 SOLID70 SHELL57 LINK31, 32, 33, 34
SHELL131
Quadratic PLANE77 SOLID90 SHELL132
PLANE35 SOLID87

NSYS - Part
• Material properties
– Minimum requirement is Kx, thermal conductivity for steady state
analysis.
analysis

P
– Setting preferences to “thermal” limits the Material Model GUI to
display only Thermal properties.

1
• R l constants
Real t t / Section
S ti properties
ti
– Primarily needed for shell and line elements. February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-4
 Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Overview Training Manual

INTRO
• Thermal loading conditions can be:
Temperatures Regions of the model where temperatures are known.

ODUCTIO
Heat flow Points where the heat flow rate is known.

Heat flux Surfaces where the heat flow rate per unit area is known.

ON TO AN
Convections Surfaces where heat is transferred to (or from)
surroundings by means of convection. Input consists of
film coefficient h and bulk temperature of the surrounding
fluid Tb.

NSYS - Part
Heat generation Regions where the volumetric heat generation rate is
known.

P
Adiabatic surfaces “Perfectly insulated” surfaces where no heat transfer takes
place.

1
Radiation*
Radiation Surfaces where heat transfer occurs by means of radiation
radiation.
Input consists of emissivity, Stefan-Boltzmann constant,
and optionally, temperature at a “space node.” February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-5
* Not covered in this course
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Nodal Coordinate System
y Training Manual

INTRO
• Unlike the structural analysis displacement and force boundary
conditions, the analogous thermal analysis temperature and heat

ODUCTIO
fl
flow b
boundary
d conditions
diti are nott dependent
d d t on the
th nodal
d l
coordinate system.

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-6
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Temperature Constraints Training Manual

INTRO
Temperature Constraints

ODUCTIO
• Used to specify a known temperature in the model
model.

• To apply displacement constraints :

– Main Menu > Solution > Define Loads > Apply
pp y >

ON TO AN
Thermal > Temperature
• Choose where you want to apply the
constraint.
• Pick the desired entities in the graphics
g p

NSYS - Part
window.
• Then enter the temperature value. Value
defaults to zero.
– Or use the D family of commands: DK, DL,

P
DA, D.

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-7
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Concentrated Heat Flow Training Manual

INTRO
• To apply a heat flow, the following information is needed:
– node or keypoint number (which you can identify by picking)

ODUCTIO
– heat flow magnitude (which should be consistent with the system of
units you are using)

Use:

ON TO AN
– Main Menu > Solution > Define Loads > Apply > Thermal > Heat Flow
– Or the commands FK or F

NSYS - Part
Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-8
 Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Heat Flux Training Manual

INTRO
Heat Flux:

ODUCTIO
• T apply
To l heat
h t flux:
fl
– Main Menu > Solution > Define
Loads > Apply > Thermal > Heat flux
• Choose where you want to

ON TO AN
apply the heat flux-- usually on
lines for 2-D models, on areas
for 3-D models.
• Pick the desired entities in the

NSYS - Part
graphics window.
• Then enter the heat flux
values.

P
• Or use the SF family of
commands: SFL, SFA, SFE,

1
SF.

February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-9
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Convections Training Manual

INTRO
Convective Loads

ODUCTIO
• T apply
To l a convection:
ti
– Main Menu > Solution > Define Loads > Apply
> Thermal > Convection
• Choose where you want to apply the

ON TO AN
convection -- usually on lines for 2-D
models, on areas for 3-D models.
• Pick the desired entities in the graphics
window.
window

NSYS - Part
• Then enter the film coefficient and bulk
temperature values.
y
• Or use the SF command family:

P
SFL, SFA, SFE, SF.

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-10
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Heat Generation Training Manual

INTRO
Heat Generation

ODUCTIO
• T apply
To l heat
h t generation:
ti
– Maine Menu > Solution > Define Loads >
Apply > Thermal > Heat Generation
• Choose where you want to apply

ON TO AN
the heat generation-- usually on
areas for 2-D models, on volumes
for 3-D models.
• Pick the desired entities in the

NSYS - Part
graphics window.
• Then enter the heat generation
values.

P
• Or use the BF family of
commands: BFL, BFA, BFE, BF.

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-11
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Adiabatic Surfaces Training Manual

INTRO
• Adiabatic Surfaces

ODUCTIO
– “Perfectly
Perfectly insulated”
insulated surfaces where no heat transfer takes place
place.
– This is the default condition, i.e, any surface with no boundary
conditions specified is automatically treated as an adiabatic surface

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-12
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Modifying
y g and Deleting
g Loads Training Manual

INTRO
Modifying and Deleting Loads

ODUCTIO
• To modify
T dif a load
l d value,
l simply
i l reapply
l the
th load
l d
with the new value.

• To delete loads:

ON TO AN
– Main Menu > Solution > Define Loads > Delete
– When you delete solid model loads, ANSYS also
automatically deletes all corresponding finite element
loads.
loads

NSYS - Part
P 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-13
Chapter 12 – B. Solution
Solutions Options Training Manual

INTRO
Steady State vs. Transient Analysis

ODUCTIO
• A steady
t d state
t t analysis
l i assumes thatth t th
the lloading
di conditions
diti have
h
“settled down” to a steady level, with little or no time dependency.

• y
A transient analysis conditions that are changing
g g with time.

ON TO AN
• For example, consider the analysis of a clothes iron which takes 1
minute to reach a constant temperature

NSYS - Part
– The analysis of the clothes iron for the first 1 minute of operation would be
transient.

P
– After a constant temperature is reached
reached, the analysis would be steady
state.

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-14
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
Review Results Training Manual

INTRO
• Reviewing results of a thermal analysis generally involves:
– temperature distribution

ODUCTIO
– thermal gradient distribution
– thermal flux distribution

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-15
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
…Review Results Training Manual

INTRO
Temperature Distribution:

• To plot temperature contours

ODUCTIO
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solution > Temperature
– Or use the PLNSOL command.

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-16
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
…Review Results Training Manual

INTRO
Thermal Gradients:

• To p
plot thermal gradient
g contours:

ODUCTIO
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu or PLNSOL command
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Element Solu or PLESOL command

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-17
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
…Review Results Training Manual

INTRO
Thermal Flux:

• To p
plot thermal gradient
g contours:

ODUCTIO
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Nodal Solu or PLNSOL command
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Contour Plot > Element Solu or PLESOL command

ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-18
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
…Review Results Training Manual

INTRO
Reaction Forces

ODUCTIO
• The sum off the
Th th reaction
ti heat
h t flows
fl mustt balance
b l the
th sum off the
th
applied heat flows

• g
Best viewed as a listing:

ON TO AN
– General Postprocessor > List Results > Reaction Solution or PRRSOL
command

NSYS - Part
Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-19
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
Verify
y Results Training Manual

INTRO
It is always a good idea to do a “sanity check” and make sure that
the solution is acceptable. What you need to check depends on

ODUCTIO
th ttype off problem
the bl you are solving,
l i but
b t here
h are some typical
t i l
questions to ask:

• g
Do FEA results agree hand calculations or experimental
p data?

ON TO AN
• Is the temperature solution correct? Check the FEA temperature
solution first since FEA heat fluxes are second order results.

NSYS - Part
• Do the reaction heat flows balance the applied heat flows?

• Where is the maximum heat flux located?

P
– If it is at a singularity, such as a point load or a re-entrant corner, the
value is generally meaningless.

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-20
Chapter 12 – C. Postprocessing
…Verify
y Results Training Manual

INTRO
• Is the mesh adequate?
– This is always debatable, but you can gain confidence in the mesh by

ODUCTIO
using
i error estimation.
ti ti
– Other ways to check mesh adequacy:
• Plot the element solution (unaveraged stresses) and look for
elements with high heat flux gradients. These regions are

ON TO AN
candidates for mesh refinement.
• If there is a significant difference between the nodal (averaged)
and element (unaveraged) heat flux contours, the mesh may be too
coarse.
coarse

NSYS - Part
• Similarly, if there is a significant difference between
PowerGraphics and full graphics heat flux, the mesh may be too
coarse.

P
• Re-mesh with twice as many elements, re-solve, and compare the
results. (But this may not always be practical.)

1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-21
Chapter 12 – D. Workshop
Workshop Training Manual

INTRO
• Refer to your Workshop Supplement for instructions on:
W12. Axisymmetric Pipe with Fins

ODUCTIO
ON
ON TO AN
NSYS - Part
NSYS Part 1
February 7, 2006
Inventory #002268
12-22