How to verify if thermal couplings are correctly defined?

This article provides a checklist to verify if the thermal coupling is correctly defined.

Details

Use the following check list to verify if thermal couplings are correctly defined:

  • Investigate if the primary and secondary elements are correctly connected thermally using the Thermal Connection result sets.
  • Run conduction only simulation:
    • Remove all convective and radiative boundary conditions and loads, while leaving thermal contacts and joints in the model.
    • Apply constraints at either end of the model to verify that thermal contacts are properly modeled. This can also serve as a check for specific heat in transient runs.
  • Check warning messages.
  • Use the Report command to investigate heat flow between components in the assembly, as well as from each component to the environment. This helps identify areas with significant heat accumulation and highlights where thermal tapes or thermal standoffs could be most beneficial in the design. The data from reports is generated in both .html and .csv formats.
  • Verify and determine individual conductances of elements in a thermal coupling by inspecting scratch files. Use the FILES MODLCF, VUFF, MODLF IN ASCII advanced parameter to write intermediate files in ascii format.