Unifying Thermal and Fluid Analysis

Thermal management is a widespread challenge across most industries. Take Transport and Mobility for instance, where OEMs are looking into maximizing the thermal efficiency of the engines and are asked to meet ever more challenging regulations that add thermal challenges, while guaranteeing the vehicles’ thermal safety. For electric vehicles, the battery’s temperature needs to be accurately predicted to ensure its durability, as well as the vehicle’s mileage. It also affects the passenger’s comfort, as the cabin needs to be cooled in summer and warmed up in winter, while the windshield needs to be defrosted as quickly as possible on a cold freezing morning.

The challenges listed above are just a small selection of thermal challenges that need to be accurately addressed when designing a product in the industries, ranging from Transport and Mobility, Aerospace and Defense, or Industrial Equipment.

Dassault SystemesSIMULIA has the solutions to the design challenges in the industry. When it comes to the issues described above, an accurate solution is needed to model both the fluid (the air in most cases) and the thermal side of the problem.

To guarantee products’ endurance and performance in the automotive industry, solving the heat in the solid while braking is not enough. It is necessary to simulate the airflow that cools the brake as the brake pedal is released, decreasing the temperature of the disc as fast as possible before the next curve.

SIMULIA PowerFLOW accurately predicts these behaviors and empowers leading OEMs to get the most performance out of their brake systems, always pushing the boundaries of physics.

Offering a best in class solution doesn’t means we stop innovating. SIMULIA PowerFLOW is great at predicting accurately, but we listened to our customers and identified potential improvements. In PowerFLOW 6-2019 R2, the Analysis part of the Thermal simulations has been dramatically simplified, allowing the customer to get the most value from their PowerFLOW thermal simulations, and identifying potentials for solving complex thermal problems in a much easier and robust way.

Until now, thermal analysis and fluid analysis required separate tools. In the new PowerFLOW 6-2019 R2, both types of analysis have been unified in PowerFLOW’s Post-Processor, PowerVIZ. Engineers can now solve complex aero-thermal problems and hit always-increasing performance and regulatory targets with creative solutions, while meeting the industry’s increasing standards for productivity and predictability, leading to a future of efficient and safe designs.

Clare Scott

Clare Scott is a SIMULIA Creative Content Advocacy Specialist at Dassault Systèmes. Prior to her work here, she wrote about the additive manufacturing industry for 3DPrint.com. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hiram College and a Master of Arts from University College Dublin. Clare works out of Dassault Systèmes’ Cleveland, Ohio office and enjoys reading, acting in local theatre and spending time outdoors.