Determine thermal effects on a given design—or the impact of design changes on component temperatures—using fast, efficient thermal structural analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
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Tightly integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD, thermal structural analysis using SOLIDWORKS Simulation can be a regular part of your design process—reducing the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework and delays, and saving time and development costs.
Thermal Structural Analysis Overview
Thermal structural analysis is the application of the finite element method to calculate the temperature distribution within a solid structure, which is due to the thermal inputs (heat loads), outputs (heat loss), and thermal barriers (thermal contact resistance) in your design. Thermal structural analysis solves the conjugate heat transfer problem with the simulation calculation of thermal conduction, convection, and radiation.
Two methods of heat transfer—convection and radiation—are applied as boundary conditions in thermal structural analysis. Both convection (set by a surface film coefficient) and radiation (surface emissivity) can emit and receive thermal energy to and from the environment, but only radiation transfers thermal energy between disconnected bodies in the assembly.
Radiation—In order to calculate the effect of heat leaving one component and being transported by a moving fluid to another component, a SOLIDWORKS Simulation thermal fluid analysis must be carried out, as the fluid impact has to be calculated.
Convection—Overcome the difficulty of determining accurate convection surface film coefficients for complex geometries as SOLIDWORKS Simulation simply imports accurate film coefficients from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation to calculate a more accurate thermal structural analysis.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation calculates either the steady state or transient temperature fields due to:
- Applied fixed or initial temperatures
- Heat power/flux input or outputs
- Surface convection rates
- Radiation—removing heat from the systems
- Thermal contact resistance between components
Investigate the buckling strength of a design with and without environmental loads with easy-to-use SOLIDWORKS Simulation to ensure that it meets product requirements for strength, performance, and safety.
Tightly integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD, buckling analysis using SOLIDWORKS Simulation can be a regular part of your design process—reducing the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework or delays, and saving time and development costs.
Buckling Analysis Overview
Buckling analysis calculates the critical failure loads of slender structures under compression. Understanding a design’s buckling strength is important in predicting possible failure modes or types of analysis required to best understand performance.
Forces that act perpendicular to the “thin” direction of a slender structure are called membrane forces, which can alter the bending stiffness of a structure. Tensile membrane forces increase lateral stiffness; compressive membrane forces decrease lateral stiffness.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation analyzes for linear elastic buckling, where there is a critical load (Pcrit) after which the structure is incapable of supporting any incremental load. At this load, any slight disturbance makes the structure unstable.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation calculates the buckling load factor which is a scale factor for the applied load to obtain the critical load, which is similar in nature to the stress factor of safety (FoS).
Quickly and efficiently investigate the natural frequencies of a design—with and without loads and boundary conditions—with easy-to-use SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Ensure that the natural modes of vibration are away from environmental forcing frequencies, indicating that the design will meet the required service life.
Tightly integrated with SOLIDWORKS CAD, frequency analysis using SOLIDWORKS Simulation can be a regular part of your design process, reducing the need for costly prototypes, eliminating rework and delays, and saving time and development costs.
Frequency Analysis Overview
Understanding the natural frequency is important in predicting possible failure modes or the types of analysis required to best understand performance. Every design has its preferred frequencies of vibration, called resonant frequencies, and each such frequency is characterized by a specific shape (or mode) of vibration.
Frequency analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation uses an Eigen value approach to determine the natural modes of vibration for any geometry. If a design’s natural modes and its expected service vibration environment are closely matched, a harmonic resonance may occur and lead to excessive loads which will result in failure.
Frequency analysis with SOLIDWORKS Simulation uses an Eigen value approach to determine the natural modes of vibration for any geometry. If a design’s natural modes and its expected service vibration environment are closely matched, a harmonic resonance may occur and lead to excessive loads which will result in failure.
By understanding the design’s natural modes of vibration, you can carry out preventative measures, such as changes in material, component sections, mass dampers, and so forth, so that component natural frequencies do not coincide with the frequency of the loading environment. This results in a design that would not only perform as desired, but also have a longer service life.
To push the natural frequency of a design out of the critical range, you can:
- Change geometry
- Change materials (resonant frequencies are directly proportional to the materials [Young’s (elastic) modulus]
- Change the characteristics of the shock isolators
- Strategically place mass elements
