Create a Volume Source

Allows you to specify a volume heat source in solid or in fluid.

  • The volume source in solid can only be specified if you consider Conjugate Heat Transfer (if the Conduction option is enabled on the Analysis type tab of the General Settings or Wizard dialog).

  • To specify a volume source in fluid, a component (a part or subassembly in assemblies, as well as a body in multibody parts must be used to represent the volume of the fluid region.

Additionally, the component must be disabled via the Component Control dialog (see “Component Control” for details). Once disabled, the component is treated as a fluid and you can specify an internal fluid thermal source.

Tip

You can import the volume heat sources from the SOLIDWORKS model (see “Import Data from Model” for details).

Prerequisites

  • The Fluid Flow and/or Conduction option must be enabled on the Analysis Type tab of the General Settings or Wizard dialog.

Procedure

  1. Open the Volume Source  dialog:

    • On the ribbon, click Flow Simulation > Insert > Conditions > Volume Source.

    • On the toolbars, click Volume Source on the Flow Simulation Features toolbar.

    • In the menu, select Tools > Flow Simulation > Insert > Volume Source.

    • In the Flow Simulation Analysis tree, right-click the Heat Sources item and select Insert Volume Source.

  2. Under Selection, select a component which you want to consider as the volume source in the flyout FeatureManager design tree (see “Selection List” for details).

    You can also select a component in the graphics area. These components appear in the Components to Apply the Volume Source  list.

    If you have selected several components and intend to specify several individual sources, one for each component, rather than to treat the selected components on the whole as one body, select the Create source for each component check box.

    You can also select a reference coordinate system, if you intend to specify a non-uniform thermal parameter distribution:

    • The reference Coordinate System  selected by default is the Global Coordinate System (see “Global Coordinate System” for details).

      Tip

      You can replace the default coordinate system by selecting your coordinate system in the flyout FeatureManager design tree.

      To create a coordinate system, click Insert > Reference Geometry > Coordinate System.

    • If you want to use a cylindrical Coordinate System, select the axis of the specified Coordinate System as the Reference axis. The selected Coordinate System and Reference axis also define a local spherical coordinate system.

  3. If you want the volume source in a time-dependent analysis (if the Time-dependent option is enabled on the Analysis type tab in the Wizard or General Settings dialog) to toggle on/off depending on time or a goal, under Toggle  click Dependency .
    Note:

    Note that a goal-dependent heat source can affect the calculation convergence.

  4. Under Parameter select the appropriate source type from the following types and specify the heat source value:

    • Heat Generation Rate  in W.

      Specify the value for the heat generation rate.

      Note:

      If you specify Heat Generation Rate in a body which is partially outside the Computational Domain, then the heat generation rate in the analysis will be proportional to the body’s volume protruding inside the computational domain.

      The specified Heat Generation Rate is distributed among the selected bodies in proportion to bodies volumes.

    • Volumetric Heat Generation Rate  in W/m3.

      Specify the value for the volumetric heat generation rate.

    • Temperature  in K.

      Specify the value for the temperature.

    If you want to specify a time- or coordinate-dependent value, click Dependency  to the right of the parameter value input box (see “Dependency” for details).

    Note:

    Please note that Heat Generation Rate is an integral parameter, which is applied to the whole solid volume and cannot be specified as a table or formula dependency on coordinates.

    Also you can specify a goal- or parameter-dependent value for the heat source, i.e. the temperature or the amount of heat generated by the heat source will change together with the selected goal or parameter value during calculation according to the specified dependency. See “Dependency” and “Parameters” for more information.

    Note:

    Please note that while you can specify a dependency on any goal existing in the project, it is recommended to create heat sources dependent only on the goals of the Temperature type. Also, the goal-dependent heat source can affect the calculation convergence.

  5. Under Goals you can select goals to associate with the volume source.

    Those goals are created together with the volume source and remain connected with the same geometry.

  6. When creating a new volume source, in the Name Template box you can specify a template for its name.

    The default template is an acronym for volume source (“VS”) followed by <Parameter> and <Number>, where <Parameter> is the parameter name and <Number> is the sequential number of the volume source in the Flow Simulation Analysis tree. When volume source is created, <Parameter> is replaced by the parameter name (for instance, “Heat Generation Rate”) and <Number> is replaced by the sequential number of the surface source (for example, if the volume source named “VS Heat Generation Rate 1” already exists, the new volume source will be named “VS Heat Generation Rate 2” and soon). You can combine these standard elements in any order and add any appropriate characters to the template. To add a new standard element to the template, click the Parameter or Number button.

  7. Click OK .

    -or-

    Click Keep Visible  before clicking OK  to keep the dialog open and define more volume heat sources.

Results

The new Volume Source item (VS) appears in the Flow Simulation Analysis tree.

To edit definition of a Volume Source, in the Flow Simulation Analysis tree, double-click the Volume Source item, or right-click the item and select Edit Definition.

Also you can use a callout in the graphics area to edit definition of a Volume Source or a multiple condition definition to edit multiple items at once (see “Feature Callout” and “Editing Multiple Items at Once” for details).

Parent Topic: Heat Sources