Thermal Modelling with Msc.Nastran

[men3ah]

I am currently trialling several different codes to find a good thermal analysis tool.

It has been suggested to me that Msc.Nastran may be worth looking into, however as this is mainly a structures code I am not sure how well suited it would be to modelling heat transfer.

If anyone has been using this code for heat transfer modelling then I would be grateful to hear their opinions so I can assess if an investigation into Msc.Nastran would be worthwhile.

Thank You.

 

[40818]

I have never used nastran for heat transfer as such, only to apply thermal loading to structures and assemblies.
Nastran is a stable and well trodden code with many pre/post applications to work with. I would give it a go.

 

[GBor]

What is your particular application?

I would call MSC.Nastran a "general FEA" code, not a structures code. General FEA packages seem to handle heat transfer pretty well unless you have internal air gaps within the structure and you want to see about radiated heat transfer across this gap.

 

[ThomasH]

Hi

Just like GBor says Nastran (MSC, NX and NEi) are general codes. They can all do thermal analysis to some extent. I have used both MSC and NEi for thermal analysis but no "high-end" applications.

Since thermal isn't really my field I can't compare to a more specialized code. I would ask for a testversion from the vendor.

Is there any reason you mentioned only MSC? They are probably the best known but may not always be the best for a certain application. What pre/post do you usually use?

Good Luck

/Thomas

 

[enriquelvarez]

As the other posters, I have always used NASTRAN to apply static thermal loads (a Thermal boundary condition) in structures in order to study deformations because of a thermal gradient.

The problem is how to get these thermal boundary conditions. I know you can solve fluxes with NASTRAN nbut in my case and until now, what I have used to solve heat transfer is I-DEAS. I think NASTRAN is not too "intuitive" while I-DEAS thermal module is.

Anyway, I think is a good idea to ask for free versions of the softwares and ask for examples similar to the cases you need to solve. I'm sure they will provide you in order to get a new client.

HAND,

Enrique

 

[ThomasH]

Hi again

Like I said I have used Nastran (MSC and NEi) for some simple thermal analysis. But I know that there is more advanced possibilities lika radiation and convection etc. At least the parameters exist in the manual ;-).

I also checked at their websites and the information regarding thermal is not very good. You can find som at NEiNastrans site (

http://www.Noraneng.com).

I think you'll find the same capabilities in MSC but I'm not sure regarding NX.

Like somebody else said, get a testversion and try them. But like you said, none of them is primarily a thermal code. On the other hand, that might not neccesarily be a problem. That's up to you and your needs.

Regards

Thomas

 

[fl11]

I have used in the Past IDEAS/TMG for thermal problems in aerospace. This is a program made for that kind of problem. You can make transient solutions, radiation, convection, conductivty. I personnally think it is pretty good.