5.

Thermal Analysis
Thermal Analysis

• In this chapter, we will briefly describe the procedure to do a

steady-state thermal analysis.
• The purpose is two-fold:
– To reiterate the typical analysis steps that were introduced in
Chapter 4.
– To introduce you to thermal loads and boundary conditions.

• Topics covered:
A. Overview
B. Procedure
C. Workshop
Thermal Analysis
A. Overview
• Thermal analyses are used to determine the temperature
distribution, thermal gradient, heat flow, and other such
thermal quantities in a structure.
• A thermal analysis can be steady-state or transient.
– Steady-state implies that the loading conditions have “settled
down” to a steady level, with little or no time dependency.
Example: An iron that has already reached the desired
temperature setting.
– Transient* implies conditions that are changing with time.
Example: A casting in the process of cooling down from molten
metal to solid.

* Not covered in this course

Thermal Analysis
...Overview
• Thermal loading conditions can be:
Temperatures Regions of the model where temperatures are known.
Convections Surfaces where heat is transferred to (or from)
surroundings by means of convection. Input consists
of film coefficient h and bulk temperature of the
surrounding fluid Tb.
Heat flux* Surfaces where the heat flow rate per unit area is
known.
Heat flow* Points where the heat flow rate is known.
Heat generation* Regions where the volumetric heat generation rate is
known.
Radiation* Surfaces where heat transfer occurs by means of
radiation. Input consists of emissivity, Stefan-
Boltzmann constant, and optionally, temperature at a
“space node.”
Adiabatic surfaces “Perfectly insulated” surfaces where no heat transfer
takes place.

* Not covered in this course

Thermal Analysis
B. Procedure
• The procedure to do a steady-state thermal analysis is similar
to that for a static stress analysis:
– Preprocessing
• Geometry
• Meshing
– Solution
• Loading
• Solve
– Postprocessing
• Review results
• Validate the solution

• Setting GUI preferences (Main Menu > Preferences) to thermal

may be helpful.
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
Preprocessing
Geometry
• Can either be created within ANSYS or imported.
• Details of both methods will be covered later.
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Preprocessing
Meshing
• First define element attributes: element type, real constants,
and material properties.
Element type
– The table below shows commonly used thermal element types.
– There is only one DOF per node: TEMP.

Commonly used thermal element types

2-D Solid 3-D Solid 3-D Shell Line Elements

Linear PLANE55 ■ SOLID70 ■ SHELL57 ■ LINK31,32,33,34

PLANE77 ■ SOLID90 ■
Quadratic
PLANE35 ▲ SOLID87 ▲
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Preprocessing
Material properties
– Minimum requirement is thermal conductivity, KXX.
– Specific heat (C) will be needed if internal heat generation is to
be applied.
– ANSYS-supplied material library (/ansys56/matlib) contains both
structural and thermal properties for a few common materials,
but we recommend that you create and use your own material
library.

Real constants
– Mainly needed for shell and line elements.
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Preprocessing
• Then mesh the geometry.
– Save the database.
– Use the MeshTool to create the mesh. The default smart-size
level of 6 produces a good initial mesh.

• This completes the preprocessing step. Solution is next.

Thermal Analysis - Procedure
Solution
Loading
• Prescribed Temperatures
– DOF constraints for a thermal analysis
– Solution > -Loads-Apply > Temperature
– Or the D family of commands (DA, DL, D)

• Convections
– These are surface loads
– Solution > -Loads-Apply > Convection
– Or the SF family of commands (SFA, SFL, SF, SFE)
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Solution
• Adiabatic Surfaces
– “Perfectly insulated” surfaces where no heat transfer takes
place.
– This is the default condition, i.e, any surface with no boundary
conditions specified is automatically treated as an adiabatic
surface.

• Other possible thermal loads:

– heat flux
– heat flow
– heat generation
– radiation
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Solution
Solve
• First save the database.
• Then issue SOLVE or click on Solution > -Solve- Current LS.
– Results are written to the results file, jobname.rth, as well as to
the in-memory database.

• This completes the solution step. Postprocessing is next.

Thermal Analysis - Procedure
Postprocessing
Review Results
• Typically consists of contour plots of temperature, thermal
gradient, and thermal flux.
– General Postproc > Plot Results > Nodal Solu… (or Element Solu…)
– Or use PLNSOL (or PLESOL)
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Postprocessing
• A useful option for contour plots in 3-D solid models is
isosurfaces — surfaces of constant value. Use the /CTYPE
command or Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Style > Contours >
Contour Style.
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
...Postprocessing
Validate the Solution
Are temperatures within the expected range?
– You can generally guess the expected range based on
prescribed temperatures and convection boundaries.

Is the mesh adequate?

– Just as in the case of stresses, you can plot the unaveraged
thermal gradients (element solution) and look for elements with
high gradients. These regions are candidates for mesh
refinement.
– If there is a significant difference between the nodal (averaged)
and element (unaveraged) thermal gradients, the mesh may be
too coarse.
Thermal Analysis - Procedure
C. Workshop
• Refer to your Workshop Supplement for instructions on:
W3. Axisymmetric Pipe with Fins