Chapter 5 Nonlinear Thermal Analysis

ANSYS Mechanical Heat Transfer

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Nonlinear Thermal Analysis

Chapter Contents
A. B. C. D. Nonlinear Theory Nonlinear Solution Setup Solution Feedback Workshop

Training Manual

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Nonlinear Thermal Analysis

A. Nonlinear Theory

Training Manual

The governing equation for thermal analysis of a linear system written in matrix form:

& [C ]{T }+ [K ]{T} = {Q}

If these quantities vary with temperature, the system is nonlinear and must be solved using an iterative process:

& [C (T )]{T }+ [K (T )]{T } = {Q(T )}

Any of the following cause the analysis to be nonlinear:
temperature-dependent material properties temperature-dependent film coefficients temperature-dependent heat sources
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. . . Nonlinear Theory
Consider the case of steady-state nonlinear analysis:

Training Manual

[K (T )]{T } = {Q(T )}

This equation can be viewed equivalently as:

Vector of Internal Nodal Heat Flows

{Q } = {Q }
nr a

Vector of Nodal Heat Flows From Applied Loads

Initially, internal nodal heat flows will NOT be equal to the applied nodal loads. The difference is called the out-of-balance heat flow vector or residual:

{} = {Q a } {Q nr }

The goal is to drive the magnitude of this residual to zero. In practice a convergence criteria is used to establish equilibrium.

{} < Q
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. . . Nonlinear Theory

Training Manual

To accomplish this the Newton-Raphson iterative solution technique is employed . . . T a nr

[K ]{T } = {Q } {Q }
i i i
Q Q

( i = 1 ,2 ,3 . . .)

Nodal temperatures are updated

{Ti +1 } = {Ti } + {Ti }

The convergence norm is computed and compared against the criterion:

Single DOF System

Q nr1 i+

{} < Q a
If equilibrium is not satisfied, [KT] is updated and another iteration is performed
Note: The default value for is 0.001
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How Close is Close Enough? Convergence Criteria Says When.

Q T

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. . . Nonlinear Theory
Temperature-Dependent Inputs:

Training Manual

The most common nonlinearities in a thermal model are temperaturedependent boundary conditions and material properties:
Temperature dependent film coefficient h(t) Temperature dependent thermal conductivity K(t)

Radiation also contributes nonlinear terms to the conductance matrix (K) which are functions of T4

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Nonlinear Thermal Analysis

B. Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

A nonlinear thermal solution often requires special loading controls to be employed in Mechanical:
Divide loads into smaller increments to insure convergence. Control convergence criteria. Manage the large volume of information that is typically generated during a nonlinear analysis .

Steps: differentiate periods of loading. Steps are not unique to nonlinear analysis. Steps are typically used when loads change value. Substeps are used to increment steps in a series of converged solutions. Each step and substep require a separate solve.

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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

In a non-linear steady state analysis we might want to increment the solution to ramp a severely nonlinear load or property on gradually. Multiple substeps are manually defined by turning On Auto Time Stepping and choosing to define by Substeps.
Here we have forced 5 substeps by setting initial, minimum and maximum all to 5. We will cover automatic time stepping later. When complete, there will be 5 result points for postprocessing. Note each substep may also require multiple Newton-Raphson iterations in order to converge.

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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

Mechanical activates the nonlinear option when conditions warrant (e.g. K(t), Q(t), etc.) Often one leaves Auto Time Stepping as Program Controlled and ANSYS will determine the initial, minimum, and maximum number of substeps to be used The user may set Auto Time Stepping to ON, and control these values manually for more severe nonlinearities (see next slide) In this example the solver will begin by attempting to solve 10 incremental solutions
If convergence struggles, the solution may bisect to take a smaller increment (up to 1000) If convergence is achieved quickly the solver may increase the substeps and finish more quickly (down to 2)

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Nonlinear Thermal Analysis

. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Automatic Time Stepping (ATS):

Training Manual

Time step size is adjusted automatically by ANSYS based on the response of the model The user supplies the Initial, minimum and maximum time step sizes which bound the action of ATS

ATS has two important functions:

It performs time step prediction based on iterations for previously converged substeps or the transient response of model (if not a steady state analysis) It performs time step reduction when the solution is expected to require more than the maximum allowed number of equilibrium iterations to converge

ATS is particularly valuable if the behavior of the model is expected to vary widely from load step to load step

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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

The incremental time step size is the most important solution parameter relating to nonlinear solution robustness, accuracy, and efficiency In general, when the time step size is reduced . . .
+ + + The solution is less likely to diverge Results become more accurate Fewer equilibrium iterations are required for each solution Analysis time increases

A number of factors will affect the optimum time step size for a given problem such as:
Types and severity of nonlinearities active Location and types of loads Mesh size Previous convergence behavior Transient effects (discussed in a later chapter)

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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

Nonlinear convergence criteria are used by Mechanical to determine if an iterative solution has converged or if more N-R iterations are needed Convergence criteria may be chosen manually or program chosen (default)
By default, ANSYS selects a criterion based on nodal heat flow rate imbalance (HEAT) Temperature based convergence checking is usually less conservative than convergence based on heat flow rate If more than one criterion is active, then the solution must meet all criteria before it is considered to be converged NOTE: If either criterion is chosen manually then ALL default criteria is removed and must be specified manually if desired.
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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

With multiple solutions come increased result file sizes (multi-step linear analyses or nonlinear multiple load step/substep analyses) Output Controls:
Users may choose to omit heat flux results (default is to calculate heat flux) Users may control the frequency with which results are written to the results file (default is to save all time points)
Choose to save only the last calculated time point (caution, no other results will be available to review) Choose to save results at equally spaced points (e.g. every 4th step/substep)

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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

The reference Value can be specified, or it is calculated to be the norm of the applied heat flow rate (default) This reference value is multiplied by a Tolerance to establish the convergence criterion Recall from the nonlinear theory section that we want to satisfy:

{} < Q a
In Workbench terms we can think of this as: Residual < Tolerance Value

Value < Minimum Reference then the minimum reference value is If used
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. . . Nonlinear Solution Setup

Training Manual

Line Search is an augmentation to the Newton Raphson nonlinear solution scheme

Generally line search is applicable to unstable problems (e.g. phase change, radiation, etc.) and should not be activated for general problems In situations where oscilliatory behavior is noticed while solving, line search can enhance convergence Line Search is program chosen by default

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C. Solution Feedback

Training Manual

Much can be learned by examining the Solution Information, Solver Output during a nonlinear thermal analysis

Heat Flow Convergence Norm is Decreasing.

Incremental Temperature Change is Decreasing.

We are Done With LS 2, SS 3. Conv.Value Less Than Criterion.

This Substep Took 7 Iterations to Converge. So Far, 28 Total Iterations Have Been Performed.
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. . . Solution Feedback

Training Manual

In addition to solver output (previous page), a number of solution parameters can be plotted to track solution progress

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Workshop 5 Fin Tube Heat Exchanger

ANSYS Mechanical Heat Transfer

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