FLOTHERM tutorial.docx

1、FLOTHERM tutorialFLOTHERM (5.1)What is FLOTHERM? FLOTHERM is a powerful 3D computational fluid dynamics software that predicts airflow and heat transfer in and around electronic equipment, including the coupled effects of conduction, convection and radiation. FLOTHERM is powerful 3D simulation softw

2、are for thermal design of electronic components and systems. It enables engineers to create virtual models of electronic equipment, perform thermal analysis and test design modifications quickly and easily in the early stages of the design process well before any physical prototypes are built. FLOTH

3、ERM uses advanced CFD (computational fluid dynamics) techniques to predict airflow, temperature and heat transfer in components, boards and complete systems.Unlike other thermal simulation software, FLOTHERM is a Design-Class or industry-specific analysis tool specially designed for a wide range of

4、electronic applications that include: computers and data processing, telecommunications equipment and network systems semiconductor devices, ICs and components aerospace and defense systems automotive and transportation systems consumer electronics As a Design-Class tool, FLOTHERM features specializ

5、ation, built-in intelligence and automation not found in traditional analysis software. This functionality maximizes productivity for thermal design experts, minimizes the learning curve for mechanical design engineers and provides the highest levels of return on investment available from analysis s

6、oftware.In a small to medium-sized company, FLOTHERM can pay for itself several times over in just one year and even faster as the size of the company increases. Experience the benefits of using FLOTHERM for thermal design of electronics, that include: solving thermal problems before hardware is bui

7、lt reducing design re-spins and product unit costs improving reliability and overall engineering design How to Run FLOTHERM? FLOTHERM is normally run interactively, so problem setup, flow calculation and results analysis can be completed in the same program session. To Start an Interactive Session O

8、n NT/Windows 2000/XP Platforms In the Flotherm51 group use the following menu sequence: Start - Programs - Flomerics - FLOTHERM - FLOTHERM5.1 Exiting FLOTHERM :To exit from FLOTHERM, in the Project Manager choose Exit from the Project menu. FLOTHERM then checks for project changes before exiting the

9、 program. If changes are detected, you are given the chance to save them using a query dialog. There are three options: a. Yes saves the project and solution data before exiting.If saving a new project, the Save Project Dialog, appears so you can give it a name, title and class. An existing project

10、is overwritten. b. No does not save the project before exiting.c. Cancel cancels the exit request.Getting Started :-1. Creating a New Project:- Create a new project using the DefaultSI template. Name the New Project :Choose Save As. from the Project menu. Name = Basics Title = Fundamentals of FLOTHE

11、RM Add Reminders : Click on Notes to call the notepad editor dialog. Using the Edit Notes dialog you can add notes to accompany the project. For example a change log could be included to identify the modeling process followed. For the purposes of this exercise just type Learning the fundamentals of

12、FLOTHERM and append the date to the text by clicking on Date and click OK in the Edit Notes dialog. 2. How to Set the Size of the Solution Domain :- Display the System Menu:Move the mouse over the System node and right-click to display the System menu. Open the Overall Solution Domain dialog:Choose

13、Location. from the System menu. Set Size of Solution Domain:Leave the Position settings at zero, but define the Size as: X=0.07m, Y=0.40m, Z=0.30m. 3. Creating a Large Plate :- Create the Geometry Represent a large plate in the project by adding a cuboid made of mild steel. Open the New Object Palet

14、te Click on the Root Assembly to select it and click the palette icon at the top of the Project Manager to open the New Object Add a Cuboid In the New Object Palette, select a cuboid. A new cuboid is added to the data tree.This new cuboid is 10% the size of the solution domain. Call the Edit Primiti

15、ve Dialog to change the Cuboid Defaults :Right-click the new cuboid and choose Location. from the pop-up menu to call the Edit Primitive Dialog. Define the Large Plate :In the Edit Primitive dialog, change Name to Large Plate and set position to: X=0.03 m, Y=0.10 m and Z=0.10 m and set size to: X=0.

16、005 m, Y=0.1 m 0, Z=0.15 m Click Apply to confirm the settings. Note that the numbers entered are converted to scientific notation, however, they can be entered in any format. Click OK to dismiss the dialog and the cuboid can be seen renamed in the tree. Attach a Material using the Library :Open the

17、 Library Manager Open the Library Manager by either clicking again on the palette button, or the Library Manager button Access the Alloy Materials:Expand the Libraries node down to: Libraries-Flomerics_Libraries-Materials-Alloys Attach Attribute:Left click-drag Steel (Mild) onto the Large Plate.4. H

18、ow to Create a Heated Block : Add a cuboid with an attached Alumina ceramic property to represent a heated block. Create the Geometry. Add a Cuboid. Select the Root Assembly and add another cuboid. Open Edit Primitive dialog. Right-click the new cuboid and choose Location. from the pop-up menu. Chan

19、ge the Cuboid Definition.Make the following settings in the Edit Primitive dialog: Rename the object to Heated Block Set Position to: X=0.035 m, Y=0.12 m, Z=0.14 m Set Size to: X=0.005 m, Y=0.04 m, Z=0.04 m and click OK. Attach a Property using the Library. Attach a Material Property to the Heated B

20、lock Expand the Libraries node down to: Libraries-Flomerics_Libraries-Materials-Ceramics Left click-drag Alumina (Typical) onto the Heated Block. Close the Library Manager: Close the library by clicking on the double arrow, the palette icon or the F7 function key. Attach a Thermal Attribute using th

21、e Dialogs:Because the thermal attribute now required is not in the library, now create a new attribute. Call the Thermal Selection Dialog:Right-click the Heated Block cuboid and choose Thermal from the pop-up menu to call the Thermal selection dialog. Create a New Thermal Attribute:Click New. in the

22、 Thermal Dialog to display the Thermal Attribute.Now make the following settings: Name = Block Heat Thermal Model kept as Conduction Total Power = 8 W Click OK to return to the Thermal selection dialog. Attach the New Thermal:With Block Heat highlighted in the Thermal list, click on Attach. Note tha

23、t the Currently Attached field updates when the attribute is successfully attached.Dismiss the dialog. Save the Project:Choose Save from the Project menu or click the save button. Note: During model set up it is a very good idea to save the project at regular intervals.5. How to Set the Grid :-The D

24、rawing Board can be used to view the grid as well as the geometry structure. Display the Drawing Board Click the button in the Project Manager to launch the Drawing Board.In the Drawing Board we can see the two blocks we have just created in 2D or 3D views. Display the Grid Press g on the keyboard t

25、o display the grid.Note that, at present, the grid is created by the geometry boundaries alone (i.e. the key point grid). This will not be sufficient to achieve a solution, so more grid must be added. Adding Grid: Display the System Grid Dialog There are a number of methods available, but here we wi

26、ll use a pre-set system grid. In the Drawing Board, choose System Grid. from the Grid menu to display the System Grid dialog. Add a Fine Grid In the System Grid dialog activate the Dynamic Update and click on Fine. The grid display in the Drawing Board updates.The program defines positions for the m

27、inimum and maximum cell sizes using a smoothing algorithm.6. Solving the Project :- The solver requires less than 35 iterations for the solution to converge. Start the Solution Click in either the Drawing Board or Project Manager to start the solution. A sanity check is performed first and the messa

28、ge window appears indicating an open external boundary does not have an ambient attached.For now, ignore this since the default ambient (set in the Global System Settings dialog) will be sufficient for our purposes. After the sanity check has been performed, the solution continues and the Profiles w

29、indow opens and the progress bar displayed. The solution completes to show a converged plot.7. Visualizing the Results :-FLOMOTION can be used to display plots of results superimposed over the model. Display FLOMOTION Click to launch FLOMOTION.A 2D view of the geometry is shown. Change to a 3D View:

30、 Press i in the keyboard to change to a 3D isometric view. Add a Plane Plot In the Plane Plot Panel, change the direction to Z.and click the Create Plane button A temperature contour fill plot is displayed. Change Geometry to Wireframe Press w in the keyboard to make the geometry wireframe. The geom

31、etry becomes transparent allowing the hidden results to be seen. Warning: under some conditions, theresults will also become wireframe, so you cant see them.8. Tabulating the Results :-In addition to viewing a graphical representation of the results, we can look at tabulations of data using the Tables window. For example, we can investigate the amount of heat conducted from the heated block, or, the amount of heat co