Thermal analysis

In many machines, the drives lead to an uneven heating of the individual parts. The resulting thermal expansion causes length changes and internal tensions. A deterioration of the processing quality is the result.

In thermal FE analysis, temperature fields and their distribution in components and assemblies are determined using FEA.

In many cases, the steady state of the temperature distribution is determined (static analysis).
In some cases, however, a dynamic (transient) simulation of the temperature fields is necessary. For example, when the heat source is mobile and the heat input depends on the speed of the movement.

In a second step, the deformations and stresses caused by the temperature differences are calculated. The temperature loads are automatically taken from the previous thermal simulation. Additional loads can also be applied to the structure now.

A difficulty in thermal FE analysis is the correct definition of the boundary conditions. Especially convection and radiation coefficients shall be mentioned here. A correct model can only be developed by a precise understanding of the simulation task and the physical phenomena.

The thermal analysis leads to an improvement in the processing quality of machines.