Investigation of the influence of conductivity of two-component geometry in Ansys Transient Thermal PART 2

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Investigation of the influence of conductivity of two-component geometry in Ansys Transient Thermal PART 2

In the next stage, we define the finite element mesh. Due to the fact that we are dealing with simple geometry, the only variable we will determine is the size of the finite element. In our case it will be a cube with a side length of 1mm.

Defining the finite element mesh in Ansys Workbench

In the next step, we define the initial temperature condition (black box). We can do it globally by setting the Initial Temperature Option (see the picture below) or for each part separately in the tree from the Geometry item. Then we define the parameters of the transient analysis. We set the total simulation time to 600 s. Due to the simple geometry, we set the time step value at 1 s. So from the parameters defined we have 600 time steps to analyze.

Transient Simulation definition in Ansys Workbench - Transient Thermal

In the next step, we define the boundary conditions in the Transient Thermal section. I have described the values and types of boundary conditions earlier, and besides, all the parameters can be seen in the figure below.

Boundary Conditions in Ansys Workbench

After the stimulation is over, we get the following temperature distribution after 600 s.

Temperature Distribution in Ansys Transient Thermal

In the next step, we want to examine the temperature gradient at the two ends of the part made of Structural Steel. For this purpose, we will generate the temperature value in individual selected finite elements. First, we need to change the selection option (green frame) to selecting individual finite elements. In the Geometry option (blue frame) we choose the finite element we are interested in.

How to plot temperature from one separated finite element in Ansys Workbench

Similarly, we perform the same operation for the finite element on the other side of the part.

Picked opposite finite element to plot temperature over time in Ansys Workbench

Thanks to the possibility of plotting the temperature from individual finite elements, we are able to create (in commercially available or free spreadsheets) a temperature gradient graph for the part of interest. As you can see, the gradient is negligible and does not exceed 4 ° C during the cooling process.