Performing Thermal Analysis
To perform thermal
analysis:
Create a thermal study. Right-click the top icon
in the Simulation study tree and select Study
to access the Study
dialog. Define the Properties
of the study to set the type of the study (transient or steady state),
interaction with SolidWorks Flow Simulation and the solver.
Define material
for each solid and shell. To define a material for a solid or shell, right-click
its icon in the Simulation study tree and select Apply/Edit
Material. You must define the thermal conductivity (KX) for steady
state thermal studies. Density and specific heat may also be required
for transient studies. Specify temperature-dependent properties if applicable.
Define thermal loads/restraints. You
can define temperatures, convection,
heat
flux, heat power, and radiation. Click here for a summary on thermal loads and restraints.
For transient studies, you specify thermal loads and restraints as a function
of time.
You can prescribe temperature
on faces, edges, and vertices. Specify thermal energy as heat flux or
heat power. Convection and radiation are applied as boundary conditions.
When specifying convection, you need to enter the convection coefficient
and the ambient temperature of the fluid or gas. Similarly, for radiation,
you need to specify the emissivity and the surrounding temperature. The
Stefan-Boltzmann constant is automatically defined.
For transient studies, you can define a thermostat.
For assemblies and multi body parts make sure
to define the proper contact settings. Contact conditions affect the flow
of heat through the contact areas. You can define thermal
contact resistance between contacting faces.
Mesh the model and run the study. Before running
the study, you can use the Result Options
to request generating
plots automatically.
If you run a study before
meshing it, the program meshes the study automatically before running
it. You can also request to run the study by checking Run
analysis after meshing in the Mesh
PropertyManager.
View the results:
To display a plot, double-click its icon.
To define a new plot, right-click the Results folder, and select Define
Thermal Plot. You can plot temperature, temperature gradients,
and heat flux.
To list results, right-click the Results
folder and select List Thermal.
To generate a report, right-click the Report folder and select Define.
For transient studies, you can graph results
using the Probe
tool.
When you run a study that
does not have any result folders, the software creates the folders and
plots specified in the result options for the study type. If result folders
are present, the software updates the existing plots.
More on viewing results of thermal
studies.