Tutorial thermal stress page 1 Dr.

Hilger & Daniel Software GmbH

Tutorial heat tension simulation

This tutorial describes how the heat tension simulation works and some examples are given.

SIMU-THERM expansion ‘thermal stress’

Thermal expansion and Young’s modulus
Stress calculation dialog
Visualize transient results
Brick stress calculation mode

SIMU-THERM expansion ‘thermal stress’

The heat tension simulation of SIMU-THERM is intended to compare the heat tensions in refractory
layers caused by different time schedules for heating.
The heat tension is calculated at every time step of the simulation with the present temperature dis-
tribution at this time. In refractory applications the temperature can be supposed as not depending
on the tension, because the external impact on temperature is much larger.
For each layer the maximum compressive stress and tensile stress are recorded. They can be visu-
alized in the module transient calculation as time curves.
In the current S-T version the tension is calculated as one dimensional stress in horizontal or verti-
cal direction for even walls and in direction of the axis for tubes.
Dense refractory materials can tolerate a lot of compressive stress, but rather low tensile stress.
Therefore the thermal stress simulation is used in most cases to design a heating schedule that
keeps the maximum tensile stress as low as possible.

For the simulation a group of layers must be determined which can move consistently and inde-
pendent from the other layers, but can not bend. For instance the movement of a dense layer of
bricks or concrete on the hot face does not depend much on soft insulation layers behind it. Thus
the tension in the dense layer can be calculated ignoring all other layers.
The temperature distribution in the wall yields a different thermal expansion for every fiber of the
wall. However, because the wall cannot bend due to external forces, every fiber is stretched to the
same length. This length depends on the forces caused by Young’s modulus. The fibers on the hot
face are in compressive stress that is in balance with the tensile stress of the fibers on the cold face.
Tutorial thermal stress page 2 Dr. Hilger & Daniel Software GmbH

Thermal expansion and Young’s modulus

When a wall is heated up, the hottest fibers are compressed and the coldest fibers are stretched.
The thermal tension is calculated from a balance between the corresponding pressure and traction
forces. These forces are proportional to the Young’s modulus of the fiber material.
In order to calculate the thermal stress in a group of layers, we have to know the thermal expansion
and the Young’s modulus for each layer. Due to the wide temperature range in refractory applica-
tions it is not sufficient to use an expansion coefficient for all temperatures. Instead SIMU-THERM
uses a temperature curve of the expansion in mm/m (i.e. thousandth part of the length).
This curve is often part of the material data sheet. In this case the curve should be entered into the
data base together with the material. Click on “Reversible thermal expansion” and enter the curve in
the same way like other curves, for instance the thermal conductivity.

In order to follow the SIMU-THERM convention, please

start the curve at 0 °C with 0 mm/m. (image 2)

What to do if Young’s modulus is not available ?

For many metals and alloys Young’s modulus is quoted (at least for a normal temperature), because
it is important for structural analysis. However for many refractory materials you will not find it.
Fortunately, it turns out that an estimated value will do also. In most refractory applications it is not
possible anyway to calculate the stress exactly:
- Tensile strength is much lower than compressive. In many real cases cracks will occur un-
avoidably. Then the calculation is just an idealization, but not mathematically correct in the
same sense as with metals.
- In brick layers the final tension strongly depends on suggestions about the mortar in the joins
and the friction forces between the bricks. The stress can not be calculated reliably even in
the range of elastic deformation.

In most refractory applications the main objective of the thermal stress simulation is optimization of
heating schedules. This means to compare different heating schedules and select that one causing
the least tensile stress. It turns out in practical tests that a schedule which is best in the simulation
with one value of Young’s modulus, will also be the best for all similar values. Thus the estimation of
Young’s modulus generally has no impact on the order of the considered schedules.
Tutorial thermal stress page 3 Dr. Hilger & Daniel Software GmbH

Stress calculation dialog

Let’s work through a sample. Please load the file ‘tut_tension.ht1’. Select the item ‘thermal stress’ in
the drop down menu ‘extras’. In order to calculate the stress in the first layer (200 mm
HIGH_ALUMINA_BRICK) enter 1 “layer numbers from – to”. Now the first layer is shown in the
layer list (image 3). Young’s modulus and the last vertex of the expansion curve are displayed. This
information comes from the material data base. If these figures are missing, they can be added
here without updating the material data base. Click on the small button ‘1’ to get the input dialog for
the thermal expansion curve (image 4).
Note that the first vertex of the curve must be (0 °C | 0 mm/m).

Close both dialogs with ‘OK’ to return to the steady state dialog and press ‘calculate’. The first layer
is highlighted to indicate the stress calculation. S-T has switched the two info columns to display the
tensile and compressive stress in steady state. Note that even the steady state tensile stress ex-
ceeds the tensile strength of the brick, thus we cannot avoid cracks completely.
This result has been calculated as ‘free longitudinal plate expansion’ and holds for the horizontal
expansion of the wall and the vertical expansion near the top of the wall. Does it hold as well
10 meters below the top, where the bricks are compressed by the weight of the bricks above ?.

The load from 10 meters wall height is 10 * 3200 kg * 9.81 m/s2 / m2 ≅ 320000 N/ m2 = 0.32 MPa

Switch to the thermal stress dialog and enter 0.32 MPa in the field ‘additional load’. Then return to
steady state and calculate again. The tensile stress has been reduced for 0.32 MPa or 2.6 percent.
So the weight of 10 meters has little impact on the tensile stress.

Switch to the thermal stress dialog once more to test another feature. Reset the additional load to
zero and select ‘limited longitudinal plate expansion’. Now you can enter a limit for the thermal ex-
pansion of the wall. Suppose that there are only 3 mm expansion joins per meter height and
enter 3 mm/m.
Return to steady state and calculate again. The tensile stress is zero, but the compressive stress
has grown to an amount that would probably destroy brackets or crush the bricks.
Tutorial thermal stress page 4 Dr. Hilger & Daniel Software GmbH

Visualize transient results

If thermal stress calculation has been determined in the steady state dialog for a group of layers,
this group is used as well in any transient simulation without further action of the user. The time
curves of tensile and compressive stress are recorded automatically and can be visualized after the
simulation in the same way as any other time curves.
Please reload our sample file ‘tut_tension.ht1’. Then switch to transient head transition and open the
heating schedule ‘heatup.tim’. Start the simulation with ‘calculate new’.
Afterwards open the ‘time curves’ dialog, press ‘Reset’ to create a new selection and select the
curves ‘maximum tensile stress in layer 1’ and ‘maximum compressive stress in layer 1’.

The critical curve for refractory materials

is the tensile stress in curve No. 1
In every heating process the tensions
become constant in the final steady
state.
Image 5 shows that the heating schedule
does not exceed the tensile stress in
steady state too much. Therefore
modifications of the heating schedule
cannot avoid a lot of tensile stress.

Can we shorten the heating schedule ?

Return to the time schedule dialog and double click line 4 (20 hours from 400°c to 900°C)
Set the duration 10 hours instead of 20 hours. Repeat the simulation and visualize again.

Image 6 shows that the maximum tensile

stress has increased from 13 to 16 MPa.
Tutorial thermal stress page 5 Dr. Hilger & Daniel Software GmbH

Brick stress calculation mode

Up to this point we have assumed a monolithic layer like concrete and that there was no bending
possibility for the whole wall. In case of a brick wall that means that the cement between the bricks
must be as hard as the bricks und that the cement connects the bricks absolutely stiff.
What happens if the bricks can move freely because there is no mortar or the mortar is very soft?
The whole thermal expansion is compensated in the joins as shown in image 7. The bending can
take place as a small movement of every brick, not as a bending of the whole wall. Be aware that
this movement requires a (of course very small) sliding of the bricks across each other. A hard ce-
ment or a heavy weight on the bricks pressing them together can prevent the sliding. Then the brick
wall behaves like a monolithic block.

Free brick expansion:

No external forces prevent a brick from
changing shape. The change in shape is
entirely compensated in the joins.
If the brick material has a linear curve of
thermal expansion and the temperature in the
brick is linear, then the thermal stress in the
brick is zero.
The temperature in the brick is linear if
- The wall is in steady state and
- The wall is even (no tube) and
- The thermal conductivity is constant

Let’s test this mode with the previous sample.

Please reload the file ‘heatup.tim’, then switch to steady state and select the mode ‘free brick
movement’. Then return to the transient dialog , start the simulation and visualize the tensions.
The result looks like in image 8 and is quite different from the one in image 5:

During the transient stage the thermal stress

is much lower than in the case of a monolithic
block.
After the steady state has been reached, the
thermal stress becomes almost zero, if the
expansion curve of the brick is linear in the
temperature interval.
When a free movable brick is heated up, it
can crack in the transient phase only, but not
in the steady state phase.

Which mode is suitable for a brick wall ?

The two modes (monolithic versus brick movement) are the opposite extremes of what can happen
in a real brick wall. In reality thermal stress is always between both results, but one can never know
exactly where. This depends on very small differences in the way the cement is processed. The
thermal stress in brick walls is not repeatable in the sense of scientific tests. However we know that
large sized bricks as well as large weight force make the wall tend to monolithic behavior and re-
verse. As the thermal stress cannot be figured out exactly, the use of the simulation in most cases is
comparing different heating or cooling schedules.