Heat Transfer shareware for 2 Dimensions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around finding affordable or shareware software for simulating heat transfer in a two-dimensional system involving various materials, specifically copper, acrylic, and ice. Participants explore options for software that can provide estimates for thermal gradients and consider the feasibility of using one-dimensional software as an alternative.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Mark seeks inexpensive or shareware software for modeling thermal gradients in a two-dimensional system with different materials.
  • Matt suggests using finite element software like ANSYS or NASTRAN but notes that these are not free. He also proposes starting with a one-dimensional analysis if thermal conductivities are known.
  • Mark mentions a demo version of WinTherm that allows for limited nodes and basic shape creation, asking if this is a reasonable option.
  • Matt expresses unfamiliarity with WinTherm but emphasizes the importance of grid independence in results and suggests performing hand calculations for verification.
  • Mark acknowledges Matt's advice and indicates he will report back on his experience with the software.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best software solution, and multiple viewpoints regarding the adequacy of different software options and methods for verification remain present.

Contextual Notes

There is an assumption that thermal conductivities are known and constant for initial calculations, though participants acknowledge that these properties can vary with temperature.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in thermal analysis, particularly those looking for software solutions for heat transfer modeling in engineering or materials science contexts.

WarpedWatch
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Greetings,

I'm trying to design a system that creates a thermal gradient in 2 dimensions through several layers of very different material (copper, acrylic, and ice). I was wondering if there's some cheap software available or even some kind of shareware out there that could give me at least some ballpark numbers. Anyone have any clue? I might even be able to use a 1-D software if you happen to know where I can find that, too.

many thanks,
Mark
 
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If you know the thermal conductivities of the materials then you could use any finite element software such as ANSYS, NASTRAN, etc ... None of them are cheap or free. Sorry. For starters though you could just assume that the problem is one dimensional and do it by hand. Consult any basic heat transfer text. Again, assuming that you know the thermal conductivities. Yes, thermal conductivities are a function of temperature but just assume the thermal conductivity is constant to get a quick hand calc started.

Thanks
Matt
 
Hi CFDFEAGURU,

someone suggested I look at the Demo version of WinTherm.

http://www.thermoanalytics.com/products/wintherm/index.html"

It limits me to about 300 nodes and it looks like I can use their "primitives" to create crude shapes, probably good enough for what I'm doing right now.

Does that sound reasonable?

thanks for helping,
Mark
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Never heard of that program before. Let me know how it works out.

As long as your results are grid independent with the small number of nodes and you are confident with the results, then accepting the results is up to you.

What I mean by grid independent is; The solution doesn't change when you increase the number of nodes.

Also, since you haven't used this software before, I highly recommend that you do a hand calc to see if the program results agree.

Thanks
Matt
 
Thanks again, Matt,

I'll take your advice on the node independent issue, and report back on whether or not I can get this to work for a newbie. It might be a while, though.

cheers,
Mark
 

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