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Introduction:
In this example you will learn to model a 2D block subjected to varying boundary conditions. Using
ANSYS will allow you to output the temperature distribution in an extremely simple and accurate
way. By using any combination of these boundary conditions one can model almost any 2D heat
transfer situation.
Problem Description:
5. Specify meshing controls / Mesh the areas to create nodes and elements.
Solution:
6. Specify boundary conditions.
7. Solve.
Postprocessing:
8. Plot the temperature distribution.
Exit:
9. Exit the ANSYS program, saving all data.
Starting ANSYS:
Click RUN
Material Properties:
Now that we have built the model, material properties need to be defined such that ANSYS
understands how heat travels through this steel solid.
Go to the ANSYS Main Menu
Click Preprocessor>Material Props>Material Models.
The pop-up window will now look like this:
Element Properties:
Now that weve defined what material ANSYS will be analyzing, we have to define how ANSYS
should analyze our block.
Click Preprocessor>Element Type>Add/Edit/Delete... In the 'Element Types' window
that opens click on Add... The following window opens:
Meshing:
This section is responsible for telling ANSYS how to divide the block such that it has enough
nodes, or points, to analyze to make an accurate enough analysis.
Go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Size Controls>Manual Size>Lines>All Lines. In the menu
that comes up type 0.1 in the field for Element edge length.
Click on OK. Now when you mesh the figure ANSYS will automatically create square meshes that
have an edge length of 0. 1m along the lines you selected.
Now go to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh Attributes>Default Attributes. The window is
shown below:
This window appears such that the program knows you are sure that you have selected the right
material to mesh (selected by the Element Type Number), and the right Material Number (1,
as defined in the Material Properties section). Once this has been verified, Click OK and proceed
to Preprocessor>Meshing>Mesh>Areas>Free
A popup window will appear on the left hand side of the screen. This window allows you to
select the area to be meshed.
Click anywhere within the blue rectangle you created to select the area and then click OK in the
pop-up window.
The block should now look like this:
Now that we have modeled the block and defined how ANSYS is to analyze the block we will
apply the appropriate Boundary Conditions. ANSYS refers to all Thermal Boundary Conditions as
Loads, so be aware that Load and Boundary Condition mean the same thing within the software
Go to Preprocessor>Loads>Define Loads>Apply>Thermal (from here one can apply any
of the loads, or Boundary Conditions, offered by ANSYS.)
First well apply the Convection Boundary layer at the base of the plate. For this click
Convection>On Lines within the Thermal Load category.
A popup window will appear on the left hand side of the screen. This window allows you to
select the line you wish the load to be applied.
Select the base of the plate and click OK. The following window will appear:
Fill in the h value in the Film Coefficient blank and the Air temperature in the Bulk
Temperature blank. Click OK when finished.
Now well apply the given temperature boundary condition on the right side of the block.
This time, within the Thermal Load category select Temperature>On Lines.
A popup window will appear on the left hand side of the screen. This window allows you to
select the line you wish the load to be applied.
Click the right side of the block and then OK.
Enter 100 in the popup window as the set temperature for the right side:
Now to apply the Heat Flux into the left side of the plate...
Within the Thermal Load category again, select Heat Flux>On Lines and click OK. Then enter
50 into the blank and Click OK.
Now we have applied all the necessary boundary conditions so we move on to the Solution.
Solution:
Post-Processing:
This section is designed so that one can list the results of their analysis as a nodal solution
Go to the ANSYS Main Menu. Click General Postprocessing>List Results>Nodal Solution.
The following window will come up:
Select DOF solution and Temperature. Click on OK. The nodal temperatures will be listed as
follows:
Within this window one can numerically find the maximum and minimum value of the
temperature within the block.
Select DOF solution and Temperature to be plotted and click OK. The output will be like this:
Important Notes:
Changing Boundary Conditions and Constraints
There are no easy ways to explain ways for actually changing existing constraints. The easiest
was to accomplish a change is the following: To change any of the boundary conditions simply
go to Preprocessor>Loads>Define Loads>Delete>Thermal then select the appropriate
condition (Temperature, Heat Flux, Heat Generation, etc )
The window that pops up will allow you to select the appropriate Line, Area or Volume that has
the constraints applied. Once you have selected the correct regions, click OK. Once the condition
has been deleted you may re-apply the appropriate condition as explained in the tutorial above.
Just recreate them using your desired parameters.
Saving Projects
Simply go to Utility Menu>File>Save As and save the project using the desired filename.
To open the file later, run Interactive (the first thing explained in this tutorial) as usual, and when
that is done, go to Utility Menu>File>Resume From and choose the saved job from the
directory it is saved in.