Thermal Expansion Analysis
Thermal Expansion Analysis
(OP)
Are there any software packages out there that do a decent job of predicting deformation or complex shapes due to thermal effects?
The parts I want to analyze will be castings, so material is uniform. I am looking to minimize the angular distortion of mounting points, so as to maintain overall mechanical accuracy when the part is subjected to a moderate, uniform temperature rise.
Better still, would be the ability to assign a temperature gradient, and determine how the shape changes.
This must be similar to what designers of machine tools do...but I can not find a software package that describes this capability. Perhaps I am not using the right search terms, or talking to the right people.
The parts I want to analyze will be castings, so material is uniform. I am looking to minimize the angular distortion of mounting points, so as to maintain overall mechanical accuracy when the part is subjected to a moderate, uniform temperature rise.
Better still, would be the ability to assign a temperature gradient, and determine how the shape changes.
This must be similar to what designers of machine tools do...but I can not find a software package that describes this capability. Perhaps I am not using the right search terms, or talking to the right people.






RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Tara
http://tinyurl.com/4ydjg7m
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Uniform material at uniform temperature does not expand uniformly?
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(2B)+(2B)' ?
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
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(2B)+(2B)' ?
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Of course, in the real world, the temperature is never uniform, so a proper analysis would indeed assume a gradient, or custom temperature mapping....
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services
http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Tara
http://tinyurl.com/4ydjg7m
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
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(2B)+(2B)' ?
RE: Thermal Expansion Analysis
Yes, theoretically, an unconstrained component which is made of a single homogeneous isotropic material and subject to a uniform temperature change should expand / contract uniformly. However, many (most? all?) "real world" scenarios break at least one of those assumptions:
Unconstrained? Probably not - the part is probably attached to something or is sitting on something (most things are!), which may locally constrain its thermal expansion / contraction.
Single homogeneous isotropic material - OK, many components would approximate to this condition
Uniform temperature rise or fall? Probably not - many heating / cooling scenarios will produce some sort of thermal gradient ( a hot side and a cold side), and / or the attachment to another component can act like a "heat sink" leading to local thermal gradients.
As soon as you have thermal gradients, you have a non-trivial condition, and thermal analysis (including possibly FEA) may be warranted.
Cheers!
http://julianh72.blogspot.com