Applying an Average Temperature in Ansys Mechanical

In a recent tech support call, a user asked our team if they knew of a way to apply a constraint that kept the average temperature at some point to a specified value. They had a relatively coarse thermal model of a large object that worked just fine for their thermal characterization. But they needed to run a detailed model of a small feature. The coarse model gives the average temperature at that feature but not the variation in the future. They needed to know the temperature variation across the feature but needed to keep the average matching the value in the coarse model.

PADT’s Alex Grishin felt the question was an interesting one, and the solution was certainly blog-worthy. After helping the customer, he created the presentation below that goes through all the theory and shows you how to do it. Not to give too much away, he used constraint equations with an APDL script that can be applied to the model.

Holding Nodes an Ansys Mechanical Model to a Specified Average Temperature

Here is Alex’s presentation, which goes through the whole process and uses a real model to show how it works for both static and transient thermal analyses.

Here is a zip file with the Ansys Mechanical model he used:

This presentation is an example of how PADT’s engineering team combines an understanding of fundamental engineering principles with the leading simulation tools from Ansys. It would be easy to just import the CAD model, put some pressure loads on, and run it. However, an approach that includes some looks at some basic equations can help us make sure we are modeling the real situation.

This is one of the many reasons why companies around the world use PADT’s simulation consulting team to supplement their own engineering teams. Reach out today, and let’s talk about how we can help.