Engineering Analysis And Design

Thermal DeskTopÔ

Thermal DesktopÔ is a PC based software tool for generating thermal simulation models.  Thermal DesktopÔ, which uses the AutoCAD design software as its underlying geometry modeler, was originally developed under NASA sponsorship to provide detailed thermal models of spacecraft.  However, it has general applicability to a wide range of thermal problems and it allows the user to quickly build a thermal model using either a lumped parameter or a finite element representation.  Advanced modeling features within the code permits the user to simulate complex heat transfer processes such as:

·         temperature dependant thermal properties,

·         time or temperature dependant heat loads,

·         contact conductance,

·         surface insulation and coatings,

·         point and volumetric heat loads,

·         constant-temperature heaters,

·         one-way thermal conductors,

·         extensive radiation modeling capabilities including multiple reflections for low emissivity surfaces,

·         single and multi-phase flow,

·         interface with structural codes (NASTRAN, ANSYS, etc.).

Thermal DesktopÔ utilizes one of the finest thermal radiation analysis modules available to accurately calculate the radiation heat transfer.  Even complex structures with numerous surfaces, each with unique radiative thermal properties, can be handled easily.  The engineer can specify the thermal properties for emissivity, reflectance, and transmissivity as either diffuse value or as a table of values that are a function of the incident angle.

The thermal models can contain articulated assemblies move during a transient solution and/or which are altered during the code’s automated system design optimization module.  Thermal DesktopÔ provides full design parameterization using spreadsheet-like variables and arbitrarily complex expressions as input, rather than hardwired numbers. This allows complex models to be rapidly manipulated using a few keystrokes, meaning that updating or maintaining a model is trivially easy, as is performing sensitivity studies and investigating what-if scenarios.

Thermal DesktopÔ has been validated under NQA-1 and 10CFR71, Subpart H for use in evaluating the thermal performance of safety related systems for nuclear designs.

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Last modified: September 06, 2002