FLOTHERM (5.

1)
What is FLOTHERM?
FLOTHERM is a powerful 3D computational fluid dynamics software that predicts airflow and heat transfer in
and around electronic euipment! includin" the coupled effects of conduction! con#ection and radiation$
FLOTHERM is powerful 3D simulation software for thermal desi"n of electronic components and systems$ %t
ena&les en"ineers to create #irtual models of electronic euipment! perform thermal analysis and test desi"n
modifications uic'ly and easily in the early sta"es of the desi"n process well &efore any physical prototypes
are &uilt$ FLOTHERM uses ad#anced (FD )computational fluid dynamics* techniues to predict airflow!
temperature and heat transfer in components! &oards and complete systems$
+nli'e other thermal simulation software! FLOTHERM is a Desi"n,(lass or industry,specific analysis tool
specially desi"ned for a wide ran"e of electronic applications that include-
computers and data processin"!
telecommunications euipment and networ' systems
semiconductor de#ices! %(s and components
aerospace and defense systems
automoti#e and transportation systems
consumer electronics
.s a Desi"n,(lass tool! FLOTHERM features speciali/ation! &uilt,in intelli"ence and automation not found in
traditional analysis software$ This functionality ma0imi/es producti#ity for thermal desi"n e0perts! minimi/es
the learnin" cur#e for mechanical desi"n en"ineers and pro#ides the hi"hest le#els of return on in#estment
a#aila&le from analysis software$
%n a small to medium,si/ed company! FLOTHERM can pay for itself se#eral times o#er in 1ust one year and
e#en faster as the si/e of the company increases$ E0perience the &enefits of usin" FLOTHERM for thermal
desi"n of electronics! that include-
sol#in" thermal pro&lems &efore hardware is &uilt
reducin" desi"n re,spins and product unit costs
impro#in" relia&ility and o#erall en"ineerin" desi"n
How to Run FLOTHERM?
FLOTHERM is normally run interacti#ely! so pro&lem setup! flow calculation and results analysis can &e
completed in the same pro"ram session$
To 2tart an %nteracti#e 2ession
On 3T4Windows 5666478 8latforms
%n the Flotherm9: "roup use the followin" menu seuence-
2tart ,; 8ro"rams ,; Flomerics ,; FLOTHERM ,; FLOTHERM 9$:
E0itin" FLOTHERM -
To e0it from FLOTHERM! in the 8ro1ect Mana"er choose Exit from the Project menu$
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FLOTHERM then chec's for pro1ect chan"es &efore e0itin" the pro"ram$
%f chan"es are detected! you are "i#en the chance to sa#e them usin" a uery dialo"$ There are three
options-
a. [Yes] sa#es the pro1ect and solution data &efore e0itin"$
%f sa#in" a new pro1ect! the Save Project Dialog! appears so you can "i#e it a name! title and class$
.n e0istin" pro1ect is o#erwritten$
b. [No] does not sa#e the pro1ect &efore e0itin"$
c. [Cancel] cancels the e0it reuest$
Getting Started :-
:$ (reatin" a 3ew 8ro1ect-,
(reate a new pro1ect usin" the Default2% template$
3ame the 3ew 8ro1ect -
(hoose 2a#e .s$$$ from the 8ro1ect menu$
3ame < =asics
Title < Fundamentals of FLOTHERM
.dd Reminders -
(lic' on [Notes] to call the notepad editor dialo"$ +sin" the Edit 3otes dialo" you can add notes to
accompany the pro1ect$ For e0ample a chan"e lo" could &e included to identify the modelin" process
followed$
For the purposes of this e0ercise 1ust type >Learnin" the fundamentals of FLOTHERM> and append
the date to the te0t &y clic'in" on [Date] and clic' [OK] in the Edit 3otes dialo"$
5$ How to 2et the 2i/e of the 2olution Domain :-
Display the 2ystem Menu-
Mo#e the mouse o#er the Syste node and ri"ht,clic' to display the 2ystem menu$
Open the O#erall 2olution Domain dialo"-
(hoose !ocation""" from the 2ystem menu$
2et 2i/e of 2olution Domain-
Lea#e the 8osition settin"s at /ero! &ut define the 2i/e as-
7<6$6?m! @<6$A6m! B<6$36m$
3$ (reatin" a Lar"e 8late -,
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(reate the Ceometry
Represent a lar"e plate in the pro1ect &y addin" a cu&oid made of mild steel$
Open the 3ew O&1ect 8alette
(lic' on the Root .ssem&ly to select it and clic' the palette icon at the top of the 8ro1ect
Mana"er to open the 3ew O&1ect
.dd a (u&oid
%n the 3ew O&1ect 8alette! select a cu&oid $
. new cu&oid is added to the data tree$
This new cu&oid is :6D the si/e of the solution domain$
(all the Edit 8rimiti#e Dialo" to chan"e the (u&oid Defaults -
Ri"ht,clic' the new cu&oid and choose Location$$$ from the pop,up menu to call the Edit 8rimiti#e
Dialo"$
Define the Lar"e 8late -
%n the Edit 8rimiti#e dialo"! chan"e
3ame to !arge Plate
and set position to-
7<6$63 m! @<6$:6 m and B<6$:6 m
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and set si/e to-
7<6$669 m! @<6$: m 6! B<6$:9 m
(lic' [#$$ly] to confirm the settin"s$
3ote that the num&ers entered are con#erted to scientific notation! howe#er! they can &e entered in
any format$ (lic' EOFG to dismiss the dialo" and the cu&oid can &e seen renamed in the tree$
.ttach a Material usin" the Li&rary -
Open the Li&rary Mana"er Open the Li&rary Mana"er &y either clic'in" a"ain on the palette
&utton! or the Li&rary Mana"er &utton
.ccess the .lloy Materials-
E0pand the Li&raries node down to-
!i%raries-&'loerics(!i%raries-&)aterials-&#lloys
.ttach .ttri&ute-
Left clic',dra" Steel *)ild* onto the !arge Plate$
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A$ How to (reate a Heated =loc' - .dd a cu&oid with an attached .lumina ceramic property to represent a
heated &loc'$
(reate the Ceometry$
.dd a (u&oid$ 2elect the +oot #sse%ly and add another cu&oid$
Open Edit 8rimiti#e dialo"$ Ri"ht,clic' the new cu&oid and choose !ocation""" from the pop,up
menu$
(han"e the (u&oid Definition$
Ma'e the followin" settin"s in the Edit Priitive dialo"-
Rename the o&1ect to Heated =loc'
2et 8osition to- 7<6$639 m! @<6$:5 m! B<6$:A m 2et 2i/e to- 7<6$669 m! @<6$6A m! B<6$6A m and
clic' EOFG$
.ttach a 8roperty usin" the Li&rary$
.ttach a Material 8roperty to the Heated =loc'
E0pand the Li&raries node down to- !i%raries-&'loerics(!i%raries-&)aterials-&Ceraics
Left clic',dra" #l,ina *-y$ical. onto the /eated 0loc1$
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(lose the Li&rary Mana"er-

(lose the li&rary &y clic'in" on the dou&le arrow! the palette icon or the '2 function
'ey$
.ttach a Thermal .ttri&ute usin" the Dialo"s-
=ecause the thermal attri&ute now reuired is not in the li&rary! now create a new attri&ute$
(all the Thermal 2election Dialo"-
Ri"ht,clic' the /eated 0loc1 cu&oid
and choose Thermal from the pop,up menu
to call the Thermal selection dialo"$
(reate a 3ew Thermal .ttri&ute-
(lic' [Ne3"""] in the Thermal Dialo" to display
the Thermal .ttri&ute$
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3ow ma'e the followin" settin"s-
3ame < 0loc1 /eat
Thermal Model 'ept as Cond,ction
Total 8ower < 4 W
(lic' EOK] to return to the Thermal selection dialo"$
.ttach the 3ew Thermal-
With 0loc1 /eat hi"hli"hted in the Thermal list! clic' on [#ttac5]$
3ote that the (urrently .ttached field updates when the attri&ute is successfully attached$
[Disiss] the dialo"$
2a#e the 8ro1ect-
(hoose Save from the Project menu or clic' the sa#e &utton$
3ote- Durin" model set up it is a #ery "ood idea to sa#e the pro1ect at re"ular inter#als$
9$ How to 2et the Crid -,
The Drawin" =oard can &e used to #iew the "rid as well as the "eometry structure$
Display the Drawin" =oard
(lic' the &utton in the 8ro1ect Mana"er to launch the Drawin" =oard$
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%n the Drawin" =oard we can see the two &loc's we ha#e 1ust created in 5D or 3D #iews$
Display the Crid
8ress " on the 'ey&oard to display the "rid$
3ote that! at present! the "rid is created &y the "eometry &oundaries alone )i$e$ the 'ey point "rid*$ This
will not &e sufficient to achie#e a solution! so more "rid must &e added$
.ddin" Crid-
Display the 2ystem Crid Dialo"
There are a num&er of methods a#aila&le! &ut here we will use a pre,set system "rid$ %n the Drawin"
=oard! choose Syste Grid""$ from the Grid menu to display the 2ystem Crid dialo"$
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.dd a Fine Crid
%n the Syste Grid dialo" acti#ate the Dynaic 6$date and clic' on ['ine]$ The "rid display in the
Drawin" =oard updates$
The pro"ram defines positions for the minimum and ma0imum cell si/es usin" a smoothin" al"orithm$
H$ 2ol#in" the 8ro1ect -,
The sol#er reuires less than 39 iterations for the solution to con#er"e$
2tart the 2olution
(lic' in either the Drawin" =oard or 8ro1ect Mana"er to start the solution$ . sanity chec' is
performed first and the messa"e window appears indicatin" an open e0ternal &oundary does not
ha#e an am&ient attached$
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For now! i"nore this since the default am&ient )set in the Clo&al 2ystem 2ettin"s dialo"* will &e
sufficient for our purposes$
.fter the sanity chec' has &een performed! the solution continues and the 8rofiles window opens
and the pro"ress &ar displayed$
The solution completes to show a con#er"ed plot$
?$ Iisuali/in" the Results -,
FLOMOT%O3 can &e used to display plots of results superimposed o#er the model$
Display FLOMOT%O3
Click to launch FLOMOTION.
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. 5D #iew of the "eometry is shown$
(han"e to a 3D Iiew- 8ress >i> in the 'ey&oard to chan"e to a 3D isometric #iew$
.dd a 8lane 8lot
%n the 8lane 8lot 8anel! chan"e the direction to B$
and clic' the (reate 8lane &utton
. temperature contour fill plot is displayed$
(han"e Ceometry to Wireframe
8ress >w> in the 'ey&oard to ma'e the
"eometry wireframe$
The "eometry &ecomes transparent allowin"
the hidden results to &e seen$ Warnin"- under some conditions! the
results will also &ecome wireframe! so you canJt see them$
K$ Ta&ulatin" the Results -,
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%n addition to #iewin" a "raphical representation of the results! we can loo' at ta&ulations of data
usin" the Ta&les window$ For e0ample! we can in#esti"ate the amount of heat conducted from the heated
&loc'! or! the amount of heat con#ected from the surface of the heated &loc' to the air$
Display the Ta&les Window- (lic' to launch the Ta&les window$
The default #iew shows a summary of the "eometry set up$
(hoose Data for 2olid (onductors
(lic' to display the Ceometry Ta&le 2elections dialo"$
(hec' Solid Cond,ctors and clic' [OK]$
Display 2ummary Results
(lic' to pa"e down to display the summary ta&le for
solid conductors$ .s you scroll across the surface
temperature! conducted heat and con#ected heat
are displayed for each surface of the conductin"
cu&oids$
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Extra Points: /ere 3e 3on7t %e $roviding as ,c5 detail8 so yo,7ll need to do soe investigating on
yo,r o3n"
:$ 3ow add a monitorin" point to the heated &loc' so we can determine its temperature$
Display the 8ro1ect mana"er window$
Hi"hli"ht the Root .ssem&ly and clic' on the icon at the ri"ht side of the 8ro1ect Mana"er to
add the Monitorin" 8oint$
(all the Edit Monitor 8oint to chan"e the Monitor 8oint 8osition-
Ri"ht clic' the Monitorin" 8oint and choose LocationLfrom the pop,up menu to call the Edit Monitor
8oint$
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8ositionin" the Monitorin" 8oint-
%n the Edit Monitor 8oint! chan"e the 3ame and Location to the desired one &y allocatin" )0!y!/* co,ordinates$
(hoose coordinates to place the monitorin" point in the center of the heated &loc'$
5$ 3ow add a heat sin' to your heated &loc'$
Display the 8ro1ect mana"er window$
Hi"hli"ht the Root .ssem&ly and clic' on the icon at the ri"ht side of the 8ro1ect Mana"er to
add a Heat 2in'$
(all the Edit 2mart 8art to chan"e the Heat 2in' 8osition-
Ri"ht clic' the Heat 2in' and choose LocationLfrom the pop,up menu to call the Edit 2mart 8art$
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8ositionin" the Heat 2in'-
%n the Edit 2mart 8art! chan"e the 3ame and Location to place your heat sin' on top of the heated &loc'$
(hec' to ma'e sure that the heat sin' has &een placed in the proper location$ @ou may need to e0periment a
&it$ @ou will see that the heat sin' is placed in the 0,y dimension with the find e0tendin" in the / dimension!
which isnJt what we want$ Co to Tools,Rotate (loc'wise to rotate the heat sin' to the proper orientation$ @ou
will also need to pic' a material and "eometry for your heat sin'$ .luminum is the most common material$
(hoose whate#er "eometry youJd li'e )pin fins or channels! heat sin' hei"ht! etc$*
3$ 3ow add an enclosure! and cut holes in it for a fan and for an e0haust #ent$
Display the 8ro1ect mana"er window$
Hi"hli"ht the Root .ssem&ly and clic' on the icon at the ri"ht side of the 8ro1ect Mana"er to
setup an Enclosure$ Ma'e an enclosure lar"e enou"h to enclose your whole system! with some
room left o#er$
@ou can see that the Enclosure has si0 walls! so we can introduce a hole where#er desired$
(hoose a location for your fan and for the e0haust #ent$ (lic' on the wall where a hole is to &e
added and select the icon $
%n order to position the hole! we allocate the co,ordinates as desired$
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(all the Edit 2mart 8art to chan"e the HoleJs position-
Ri"ht clic' the Hole and choose LocationLfrom the pop,up menu to call the Edit 2mart 8art$
8ositionin" the Hole- %n the Edit 2mart 8art! chan"e the 3ame and Location to the desired one &y
allocatin" )0!y!/* co,ordinates$ 8ic' any reasona&le si/e for the wholes for your #ent and fan$
A$ 3ow add a fan$
Display the 8ro1ect mana"er window$ Hi"hli"ht the Root .ssem&ly and clic' on the icon at the
ri"ht side of the 8ro1ect Mana"er to add a Fan$
(all the Edit 2mart 8art to chan"e the FanJs 8osition-
Ri"ht clic' the Fan and choose LocationLfrom the pop,up menu to call the Edit 2mart 8art$
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8ositionin" the Fan-
%n the Edit 2mart 8art! chan"e the 3ame and Location to the desired one &y allocatin" )0!y!/* co,ordinates$
Co &ac' to the fan menu to chan"e the construction of the fan$ (hec' out the #arious options
a#aila&le$ For e0ample! you can set a fi0ed flow rate! or you can e#en enter your own fan cur#e$ For
this e0ercise! choose any reasona&le fi0ed flow rate$
9$ 3ow re,sol#e the pro1ect$
2tart the 2olution
(lic' in either the Drawin" =oard or 8ro1ect Mana"er to start the solution$ . sanity chec' is
performed! after the sanity chec' has &een performed! the solution continues and the 8rofiles
window opens and the pro"ress &ar is displayed$
2pend some time in#esti"atin" to solution in FLOMOT%O3
This ends the Flotherm Tutorial$ %f you ha#e e0tra time a#aila&le! spend some time in#esti"atin" other
aspects of the pro"ram or add some new element to your pro1ect$ %t will ta'e uite a &it of time &efore it
&ecomes easy for you to use this )or any other (FD* pro"ramM
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Possi%le Sol,tion Scenarios:
When the solution process is initiated! the most li'ely scenario is that the solution will con#er"e! &ut there are
the followin" possi&ilities reflected &y the residual error plots shown &elow$
Controlling t5e Sol,tion
%f your solution fails to con#er"e or con#er"es e0tremely slowly! then you can reset the solution control
panels! &ut first consider the followin" rules for assessin" a solution con#er"ence pro&lem as the pro&lem
may well lie in the pro1ect set,up$
+,les 9or #ssessing Convergence Pro%les
:$ %f a solution di#er"es! it is almost "uaranteed to &e a pro&lem definition pro&lem$ =e immediately
suspicious of the set up and chec' all defined o&1ects and attri&utes &efore proceedin" to alter any
solution control parameters$
5$ %f a solution fails to con#er"e successfully! then it is important to chec' the "rid$ %f there are poor
aspect ratio "rid cells and lar"e 1umps in "rid si/e &etween ad1acent "rid cells! then this is the li'ely
cause of the pro&lem$
3$ %f you are happy with the set up and the "rid! then and only then should the solution control
parameters &e ad1usted$
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4. Do not 3aste tie 9orcing lo3-level sta%le or lo3-level oscillation convergence $ro9iles do3n
to a resid,al error level o9 :" +se the monitor points and error field to sensi&ly assess whether the
solution is con#er"ed to a defined le#el of accuracy! and then stop the solution$
%f you do need to chan"e the control parameters! then the followin" section pro#ides an o#er#iew of how to
resol#e and mana"e the solution process$
-ec5ni;,es 9or Controlling t5e Sol,tion
FLOTHERM contains a num&er of techniues! &oth automatic and manual! which can &e used to optimi/e
the solution process$ %n discussin" their use! it is important to note that it is only possi&le to "i#e "eneral
"uidelines rather than hard and fast rules on how they should &e altered for particular situations$
%n FLOTHERM! e0tremely comple0 and hi"hly non,linear systems in#ol#in" multiple modes of heat transfer
are &ein" modeled and it is impossi&le to automatically "enerate appropriate solution control parameters that
will "uarantee con#er"ence under all circumstances$ The automatic settin"s ha#e &een desi"ned to "i#e a
reasona&le con#er"ence profile for the ma1ority of applications! &ut may need to &e ad1usted in more
comple0 situations$
olution !"o#il$ !o%%ibl$ &ction
Con'$"($nc$ Inc"$a%$ )t# *"$)ucin( )a+,in(- to %,$$) u, con'$"($nc$ #o" '$lociti$% an)
t$+,$"atu"$.
.i'$"($nc$ Ch$ck ,"obl$+ %$t/u, an) ("i). !o%%ibl0 )$c"$a%$ )t# *inc"$a%$) )a+,in(- to
#o"c$ $1t"$+$ ca%$% to con'$"($.
2i(h/l$'$l
tabl$
Inc"$a%$ )t# *"$)uc$) )a+,in(- to t"0 to #o"c$ con'$"($nc$ #o" '$lociti$% an)
t$+,$"atu"$. In thi% ca%$3 "$)ucin( )t# *inc"$a%$) )a+,in(- can al%o %o+$ti+$%
b$ b$n$#icial3 )$,$n)in( on th$ co+,l$1it0 o# th$ %0%t$+ b$in( anal04$).
Lo5/l$'$l
tabl$
No action. 6a%$ )$ci%ion on con'$"($nc$ on +onito" ,oint an) $""o" #i$l)
a%%$%%+$nt.
2i(h/l$'$l
O%cillation
7$)uc$ )t# *inc"$a%$) )a+,in(- to t"0 to %tabili4$ th$ %olution.
Lo5/l$'$l
O%cillation
No action. 6a%$ )$ci%ion on con'$"($nc$ on +onito" ,oint an) $""o" #i$l)
a%%$%%+$nt.
Much of this tutorial has &een copied directly from the online Flotherm manual$ %t has &een put to"ether in
this form &y Cirish 2uppa with additions4modifications &y 3icole O'amoto$
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