Course in ANSYS

Lesson 14. Thermal

Introduction
Outline for Course in ANSYS:
Day 1
Lesson 1. Introduction to ANSYS
Lesson 2. Basics
Lesson 3. Solution phases
Day 2
Lesson 4. Modeling
Day 3
Lesson 5. Material
Lesson 6. Loading
Lesson 7. Solution
Day 4
Lesson 8. Structural analysis
Lesson 9. Postprocessing
Lesson 10. Constraint equations
Lesson 11. Parameters
Lesson 12. Macros
Day 5
Lesson 13. Vibration/dynamic analysis
Lesson 14. Thermal

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1
 Thermal
• A thermal analysis calculates the
temperature distribution and related
thermal quantities in a system or
component. Typical thermal quantities of
interest are:
– The temperature distributions
– The amount of heat lost or gained
– Thermal gradients
– Thermal fluxes

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• The basis for thermal analysis in ANSYS

is a heat balance equation obtained from
the principle of conservation of energy.
• Three primary modes of heat transfer:
– Conduction
– Convection
– Radiation

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2
 Convection
• You specify convection as a surface load on
conducting solid elements or shell elements.
• You specify the convection film coefficient and
the bulk fluid temperature at a surface; ANSYS
then calculates the appropriate heat transfer
across that surface.
• If the film coefficient depends upon temperature,
you specify a table of temperatures along with
the corresponding values of film coefficient at
each temperature.

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Radiation
• ANSYS can solve radiation problems,
which are nonlinear, in four ways:
– By using the radiation link element, LINK31
– By using surface effect elements with the
radiation option (SURF151 in 2-D modeling or
SURF152 in 3-D modeling)
– By generating a radiation matrix in AUX12
and using it as a superelement in a thermal
analysis.
– By using the Radiosity Solver method.
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3
 Special Effects
• In addition to the three modes of heat
transfer, you can account for special
effects such as change of phase (melting
or freezing) and internal heat generation
(due to Joule heating, for example). For
instance, you can use the thermal mass
element MASS71 to specify temperature-
dependent heat generation rates.

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Types of Thermal Analysis

• Two types of thermal analysis:
– A steady-state thermal analysis determines the
temperature distribution and other thermal quantities
under steady-state loading conditions. A steady-state
loading condition is a situation where heat storage
effects varying over a period of time can be ignored.
– A transient thermal analysis determines the
temperature distribution and other thermal quantities
under conditions that vary over a period of time.

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4
 Steady-State Thermal Analysis
• A steady-state thermal analysis calculates
the effects of steady thermal loads on a
system or component. Engineer/analysts
often perform a steady-state analysis
before doing a transient thermal analysis,
to help establish initial conditions. A
steady-state analysis also can be the last
step of a transient thermal analysis,
performed after all transient effects have
diminished.
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Steady-State Thermal Analysis

• You can use steady-state thermal analysis to determine
temperatures, thermal gradients, heat flow rates, and heat fluxes in
an object that are caused by thermal loads that do not vary over
time. Such loads include the following:
– Convections
– Radiation
– Heat flow rates
– Heat fluxes (heat flow per unit area)
– Heat generation rates (heat flow per unit volume)
– Constant temperature boundaries
• A steady-state thermal analysis may be either linear, with constant
material properties; or nonlinear, with material properties that
depend on temperature. The thermal properties of most material do
vary with temperature, so the analysis usually is nonlinear. Including
radiation effects also makes the analysis nonlinear.

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5
 Transient Thermal Analysis
• Transient thermal analysis determines
temperatures and other thermal quantities
that vary over time. Engineers commonly
use temperatures that a transient thermal
analysis calculates as input to structural
analyses for thermal stress evaluations.
Many heat transfer applications - heat
treatment problems, nozzles, engine
blocks, piping systems, pressure vessels,
etc. - involve transient thermal analyses.
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Transient Thermal Analysis

• A transient thermal analysis follows basically the
same procedures as a steady-state thermal
analysis. The main difference is that most
applied loads in a transient analysis are
functions of time. To specify time-dependent
loads, you can either use the Function Tool to
define an equation or function describing the
curve and then apply the function as a boundary
condition, or you can divide the load-versus-time
curve into load steps.
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6
 Radiation
• Radiation is the transfer of energy via
electromagnetic waves. The waves travel
at the speed of light, and energy transfer
requires no medium. Thermal radiation is
just a small band on the electromagnetic
spectrum. Because the heat flow that
radiation causes varies with the fourth
power of the body's absolute temperature,
radiation analyses are highly nonlinear.
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