7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Subscribe

DigitalEdition

Advertise

ContactUs

RSS

REGISTER LOGIN
MachineDesign
Technologies

News

Markets

Community

LearningResources

Companies

PartSearch

HOME > ARCHIVE > WHAT DESIGNERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THERMAL ANALYSIS

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis
Whatyouknowaboutstructuralanalysiswillhelprunanaccuratethermal
analysis.Ofcourse,thereareafewvariations.
|MachineDesign

Jun7,2007
SHARE

Tweet

COMMENTS 0

EMAIL

PaulKurowskiPresident
DesignGeneratorInc.
London,Ontario,Canada
EditedbyPaulDvorak

Heatflowsthroughasolidrodfromhotfacetocoldintheabsenceofconvection(no
heatescapesalongtheway).

http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

1/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Vectors(bottom)showheatflowinabarafteraddingconvection.

Conductioncoefficientsshowthatthermalconductivitiesvarywidelyamongmaterials.

http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

2/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Plotscomparetemperaturedistributionsinthemicrochipassemblywithout(top)and
with(bottom)athermalresistancelayerseparatingthechipfromtheradiator.Outside
faceshavethesametemperaturebutthechipsurroundedbyathermalresistancelayer
runshotter.

Reflectorandlightbulbareexposedtovacuum.Theyellowsideofhousingisexposedto
air.Thebluesideisexposedtovacuum.

Thearrowpointstoasensorinacoffeepot.Coffeetemperatureoscillatesastheheater
(notshown)cyclesonandoff.Theplotshowsatemperaturecycle.

http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

3/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Theplotshowsthetemperatureatthetopofthecoolingfin(arrow)afterthepoweris
turnedonattimet=0.Everytransientthermalanalysisrequiresaninitialtemperature
andtimeduration.

Ringsaresupportedontheinnercircumferenceandloadeddownwardontheirouter
edges.Displacementsforthemodelwithaconstantmodulusofelasticity(left)
significantlydifferfromthemodelwithatemperaturedependentmodulus(right).

Correctheatfluxcomesfrommodelswithfillets(left).Incorrectvaluesareduetosharp
reentrantcornerswhichmakeheatfluxresultssingular(right).

Thermalandstructuralanalysesarethemostfrequentlyperformedfiniteelement
analyses.Bothusethesametypeofpartialdifferentialequationsandareanalogousin
otherwaysaswell.
SIMILARITIES
Let'sstartwiththermalanalyses.Theprimaryunknownsaretemperaturesatnodesofthe
finiteelementmesh.Temperatureisscalarsoitneedsonlyonedegreeoffreedomateach
node,whetherthemodelis2Dor3Dandregardlesswhatelementsmeshthemodel.Once
temperaturesarefoundatthenodes,theyareinterpolatedoverelementstocalculate
temperaturesintheentiremodel.Temperaturesarethendifferentiatedtofindthe
temperaturegradients.Finally,thesoftwarecalculatesheatfluxbasedonthe
http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

4/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

temperaturegradientandthermalconductivityofthematerial.
Thisismuchlikestructuralanalysisinwhichprimaryunknowns,displacements,arefirst
foundfornodesthenareinterpolatedoverelements.Adisplacementfieldisthen
differentiatedtofindstrains,andstressesarecalculatedbasedonstrainandmaterial
elasticity.
However,displacementsarevectorsandsoaredefinedbymorethanonecomponent.It
takestwocomponents(twodegreesoffreedom)todescribenodaldisplacementsin2D
models,threecomponents(threedegreesoffreedom)in3Dmodelsmeshedwithsolid
elements,andsixcomponents(sixdegreesoffreedom)in3Dmodelswithshellelements.
Sinceeachnodaldegreeoffreedomisanunknownittakesmorecomputingpowerfor
structuralanalysisbecauseithasmoreunknowns.
Resultsfromstaticstructuralanalysisdescribeadeformedstructureinequilibrium
betweenappliedloadsandreactionsprovidedbysupports.Asteadystatethermal
analysisprovidesananalogyinwhichheatflowsataconstantrate.It'salsoin
equilibrium.
Thermalanalysisdealswithheatflowinasolidbody,sotheremustbeawayforheatto
enterandtoexitthatsolidbody.Ifheatentersabodywithnowaytoexit,thebody's
temperaturewouldtheoreticallyrisetoinfinity.Thisisanalogoustoapplyingastructural
loadtoanunsupportedmodel.Theresult:infinitedisplacements.
Heatflowinginsideasolid,andheatenteringandleavingthesolid,aregovernedby
differentmechanisms.Heatinsidemovesbyconduction,whileheatenteringorescaping
thesolidmovesbyconvection,orradiation,orboth.
Heattransferbyconduction,forexample,isheatflowingthroughawall.Itis
describedby:Qconduction=KA(ThotTcold)/LwhereQconduction=rateofheatflow,K
=thermalconductivity,A=areaofthewall,Thot=temperatureonthehotside,Tcold=
temperatureonthecoldside,andL=wallthickness.
Heattransferbyconvectionmovesheattoorfromanexternalfaceofasolidbody
andsurroundingfluid,suchasair,water,oroil.Theheatmovedbyconvectionis
describedby:Qconvection=hA(TsTf)whereQconvection=flowratebyconvection,h=
convectioncoefficient,Ts=surfacetemperature,andTf=fluidtemperature.
Theconvectioncoefficient,h,stronglydependsonwhetherconvectionisnaturalor
forced.Naturalconvectiontakesplaceonlyinthepresenceofgravitybecausefluid
movementdependsonthedifferenceinthespecificgravitybetweencoldandhotfluid.
Forcedconvection,suchasforcingairaroundawarmsolidwithafan,doesnotneed
gravity.Convectioncoefficientsalsostronglydependonthetypeofmediumsuchasair,
steam,water,oroil,whichsurroundsthesolidbody.
Nowconsiderasolidbarinwhichoneendiskeptat300Kandtheotherat600K.This
isanalogoustoprescribeddisplacementsinstructuralanalysis.Thetemperature
differencebetweentheendscreatesheatflow.Theheatflowstabilizesafteraninitial
transientperiod.
Assumethebarisinsulatedsonoheatescapesthroughthesides.Allheatenteringone
facemustexitthroughtheother.Heatfluxisavectorandcanbeplottedusingarrows
(besidecommonlyusedfringeplots).Allheatfluxvectorsaretangenttotheoutsidefaces
ofthebar,becauseintheabsenceofconvection,noheatmovesacrosstheboundaries.
Addingconvectionsignificantlychangesheattransfer.Forexample,makethe
surroundingfluidawatertemperaturebelow300K.Thetwoendsmaintaintheir
prescribedtemperatures,butheatenteringthemodelthroughthehotfacenowdoesnot
makeittotheotherend.Itallgetsdissipatedbyconvection.Infact,thedirectionofheat
flownearthecoldfacereverses.Definingalowerconvectioncoefficientwouldeliminate
thisbackflowofheat.
http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

5/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Consideraheatsinkinwhichaceramicmicrochipgeneratesheatthroughoutits
entirevolume.Heattravelstothealuminumradiatorbyconduction,thendissipatesto
ambientairbyconvection.
Addingacoolingfanorimmersingtheradiatorinwaterdoesnotchangethenatureof
heartransferintheheatsink.Theradiatorstillremovesheatbyconvection.FromanFEA
pointofview,theonlydifferencebetweenair,water,oroilascoolingmediumand
betweennaturalandforcedconvectionsaredifferentconvectioncoefficients.
Convectionrateontheoutsidefacesoftheradiatordeterminesthetemperatureofthose
faces,eventhoughthemicrochipproducesthesameamountofheat.Incaseofnatural
convectionandalowconvectioncoefficient,theoutsidefinsgethotterbecauseofa
steepertemperaturegradientbetweentheradiatorandambientair(TsTa)isrequiredto
movethegivenamountofheat.Incaseofforcedconvection,(ahighervalueof
convectioncoefficient)theradiatorstayscoolerbecauseasmallertemperaturegradient
movesthesameamountofheatfromsolidbodytosurroundingfluid.Plottingheatflux
asvectorsletsanalystsseeheatmovementfromradiatortoambientair.
There'sonemoreimportantissue:thermalresistanceattheboundarybetweenthe
microchipandradiator.Notwosolidsurfacesareeverinperfectcontact.Thereare
alwaystinyairgapsbetweenthem.
Therearetwomodesofheattransferthroughtheboundarybetweentwocontacting
faces.Thefirstisconductionthroughpointsofsolidtosolidcontact,whichworkswell.
Thesecondisconductionthroughthegaps,whichispoor.Toaccountforthis,userscan
addathermalresistancelayertotheFEAmodel.
Thermalresistancelayersdonotchangehowmuchheatisgeneratedorchangethe
outsidetemperatureoftheradiator.However,inthepresenceofathermalresistance
layer,themicrochipmustrunhotterbecauseahighertemperaturegradientacrossthe
thermalresistancelayerisrequiredtopushheatacrossit.
Heattransferbyradiationcanbeignoredbecauseattheworkingtemperaturesofthe
heatsink,it'snegligible,althoughtherearetimeswhenitisnot.
HEATTRANSFERBYRADIATION
Radiationmovesheatbetweenasolidbodyanditssurroundingsbycarryingitoffas
electromagneticradiation.
Heatexchangebyradiationalwaystakesplace,regardlessoftemperatureandwhether
bodiesareinafluidorvacuum.Atroomtemperatures,however,radiationislow
comparedtoconvectiveheattransfer.Hence,it'softenignored.
Allbodiesradiatethermalenergy.Radiationmovesheatbetweenbodiesofdifferent
temperaturesandcansendheatawayintospace.Theheatexchangedbyradiation
betweenfacesoftwosolidbodieswithtemperaturesT1andT2isdescribedby:
Qradiation=s(T14T24)
whereQradiation=heatflowbyradiation,s=StefanBoltzmanconstant,and=
emissivityoftheradiatingface.Becauseheattransferbyradiationisproportionaltothe
fourthpoweroftheabsolutetemperature,theamounttransferredbecomessignificantat
highertemperatures.
Forexample,consideraspotlightilluminatingalargevacuumchamber.Thechamberis
solargewecanignoreheatreflectedfromchamberwallsbacktothelight.Thelightbulb
andreflectorareinavacuum,whilethebackofthealuminumhousingissurroundedby
roomtemperatureair.
Heatradiatesfromthelightbulbtotheoutsidespaceandtheparabolicreflector.Onlya
smallportionofheatentersthehousingdirectlybyconductionwherethebulbcontacts
thehousing.Conductionmovesheatinsidethehousingfromvacuumsidetoairside.
http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

6/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

Convectiondissipatesheatfromfacesexposedtoair.
Becauseradiationbecomeseffectiveonlyathightemperatures,thelightbulbmustgethot
todissipatethegeneratedheat.Thetemperatureofthealuminumhousingispractically
uniformbecauseheatconductseasilyinaluminum.
Thisexampleillustratesthatcoolinginvacuumisamajorchallengeforspacecraft
designers.Eventhoughspacevehiclesoperateinnear0K,electroniccomponentscan
easilyoverheatbecauseradiation,theonlycoolingmechanism,iseffectiveonlyathigh
temperatures.Toreachsteadystate,wheretheheatgeneratedequalstheheatdissipated
byradiation,anelectronicdevicemustreachhighertemperaturesthanthesamedevice
cooledbyconvection,whichiseffectiveatlowertemperatures.
Theheatsinkandspotlightdealtwithheattransferinsteadystateandwithenoughtime
tostabilizeheatflow.Ananalysisofsteadystateheattransferisnotbasedontheinitial
temperaturesorhowlongasystemtooktoreachasteadystate.Thatcouldtakeseconds
ordays.
TRANSIENTTHERMAL
Acoffeepotandtheheateritsitsonprovideanexampleoftransientthermalanalysis.
Theheaterturnsonwhencoffeetemperaturedropsbelow88Candturnsoffwhenit
reaches93C.Becauseofthermalinertia,coffeetemperaturesoscillateoutsideofthis
range.
Twoheattransfermechanismsareatworkinthepot.Acombinationofconvectionand
conduction(thepot'sbottomdoesnotcompletelycontacttheheater)movesheatfrom
heatertoglass.Conductionmovesheatacrosstheglasstosurroundingairandtothe
coffee.Convectionmovesheatfromthecoffee'stopsurfaceandfromexternalsurfacesof
thepot.Animportantconsiderationinthecoffeepotmodelisthedefinitionofthe
conductioncoefficientforcoffee.Inreality,heattransferincoffeetakesplace
predominantlybyconvectionduetofluidmovementinducedbyheating.InanFEA
model,however,coffeemustbemodeledasasolidbodybecausethesoftwarecannot
simulatefluidflow.Allheattransferincoffeemustbemodeledbyconduction,soan
artificiallyhighconductivitymustbeassignedtocoffeetocompensateforthelackof
convectiveheattransfer.Also,nophasechangeeffects(boiling)canbemodeledeither.In
fact,FEAisnotrecommendedtosolvethisproblem,whichwouldbebetterhandledusing
ComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)tools.Showingthisproblemprovidesan
opportunitytoemphasizethefactthatFEAisatoolforanalysisofheattransferinsolids,
notinfluids.
Asolidbodywithheatflowingthroughitwillnotallbeatonetemperature.Consequently,
differentportionsofthebodyexpandandshrinkatdifferentrates.Stressescausedbythis
expansionorshrinkagearecalledthermalstresses.
Supposehotcoffee(93C)ispouredintoaporcelainmug.Whatarethethermalstresses
inthemug?Tofindout,runathermalanalysisthatrevealsthetemperaturedistribution.
Applyatemperatureof93Ctotheinsidefacesofthemuganddefineconvection
coefficientsfortheoutsidefaces.Becausecoolingisrelativelyslow,useasteadystate
thermalanalysistocalculatethetemperaturedistributioninthecoffeemug.Itwon'tbe
uniform,sotherewillbethermalstresses.Havingfoundatemperaturefieldinthemug,
calculatethermalstressesbyexportingthetemperaturefieldfromthermalanalysisto
structuralstaticanalysis.
NONLINEARTHERMALANALYSIS
Allexamplessofarinvolvedpropertiescharacterizingheattransfermaterial
conductivity,convectioncoefficients,emissivity,andheatpowerthatremainconstant
andindependentoftemperature.Theseassumptionsareoftenacceptablefortraditional
engineeringmaterialssuchassteelandaluminum,whichareoftensubjectedtoanarrow
rangeofoperatingtemperatures.
Thermalanalysisofadvancedmaterialssuchascomposites,mayrequireanonlinearapproach
whenconductivityisafunctionoftemperature,whileheatloadandconvectioncoefficientsare

http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

7/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign

functionsoftemperatureandtime.Furthermore,propertiesthatdeterminestructuralresponse,
suchasthemodulusofelasticity,mayalsobefunctionsoftemperature.

Toillustrate,consideracomponentheatedsoastocauseanonuniformtemperature
distribution.Alsomakethematerial'smodulusofelasticitytemperaturedependent.
Resultsfromsuchastructuralstaticanalysisunderabendingloadshowthatignoring
theeffectoftemperatureonthemodulusofelasticityproducesa40%displacementerror.
MOREMODELINGCONSIDERATIONS
Similaritiesbetweenthermalandstructuralanalysismeanmostmodelingtechniquesare
identicalandthatskillsacquiredinonetypeofanalysisareusefulintheother.The
differenceinmodelingtechniques,however,beginswiththermalboundaryconditions.
Thedefinitionofsymmetricboundaryconditionsinthermalanalysisisbasedonthe
observationthatifgeometryandboundaryconditionsaresymmetrical,noheatflows
throughtheplaneofsymmetry.Therefore,aftersimplifyingthemodelto1 (or1 incase
ofadoublesymmetry),nothingmustbedonetothefacesexposedbycuts.Aconvection
coefficientofzeroforthosefacesmeansnoheatflowsacrossthem.
Analysisofheatfluxrequiresadetailededgemodel.Sharpreentrantcornersthosenot
blendedwithjoiningsurfacesarenotsuitableforheatfluxanalysesnearcorners.Heat
fluxishighandmeaningless,asingularity,insharpinsidecorners.Thisisdirectly
analogoustosharpinsidecornersthatgeneratestresssingularitiesinstructuralmodels.

Heatconvectioncoefficientsvaryamongdifferentmedia.
MAKECONTACT
DesignGeneratorInc.,designgenerator.com
AllimagesarecreatedusingCosmosWorksFEAsoftware.
http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

8/9

7/21/2016

WhatdesignersshouldknowaboutThermalAnalysis|ArchivecontentfromMachineDesign
SHARE

PRINT

REPRINTS

FAVORITE

Tweet

EMAIL

PleaseLogInorRegistertopostcomments.

Related Articles
FEALoadsandConstraints:WhatDesignersShouldKnow
Tooltargetsthermalanalysis
WhatYouShouldKnowAboutDesigningforSheetMetal
IntegratedanalysispackagegeneratesthermalandEMCmeshes
SimpleThermalAnalysisForComplexProblems
Searchbynumberormanufacturer
SEARCH

poweredby:

MachineDesign.com
Technologies News Markets Community LearningResources Companies PartSearch

Site Features

Penton Corporate

RSS

AboutUs

Sitemap

ContactUs

SiteArchive

PrivacyPolicy

Newsletter

TermsofService

ViewMobileSite

Follow Us

Search MachineDesign.com

Design, Engineering & Sourcing Related Websites

ElectronicDesign SourceESB Microwaves&RF PowerElectronics Hydraulics&Pneumatics DefenseElectronics GlobalPurchasing
ElectronicDesignEurope

Copyright2016Penton

http://machinedesign.com/archive/whatdesignersshouldknowaboutthermalanalysis

9/9