Blog Posts Tagged Heat Transfer Module
Modeling PSU Cooling with COMSOL
A forced convection cooling system, such as a PSU, is used for removing excess heat produced by electrical computer components. You can model this device in COMSOL Multiphysics®.
Conjugate Heat Transfer
Get an introduction to the concept of conjugate heat transfer and see some of its applications and modeling considerations.
Predicting Microwave Drying of Potatoes
You may not think of reheating food in the microwave as a drying process, but as we saw at the COMSOL Conference 2013 Boston, microwave technology — the same technology used in domestic microwave ovens — can be used for drying fruits and vegetables. One poster presented at the conference featured microwave drying of potatoes and how the heat and mass transfer that occurs can be modeled to predict the drying process.
Thermal Modeling of Surfaces with Wavelength-Dependent Emissivity
Whenever we are solving a thermal problem where radiation is significant, we need to know the emissivities of all of our surfaces. Emissivity is a measure of the ability of a surface to emit energy by radiation, and it can depend strongly upon the wavelength of the radiation. This is very relevant for thermal problems where the temperature variation is large or when there is exposure to a high-temperature source of radiation such as the sun. In this post on […]
Coupling Transport and Solid Mechanics Models for Better Puffed Rice
In my work at COMSOL, it’s always interesting to see how broad the field of heat transfer can be. Far from being limited to steel ingots and CPU fans, researchers often use COMSOL Multiphysics to study heat transfer in food manufacturing. One good example of this is the study of thermal and mechanical effects in the production of puffed rice, which was presented at the COMSOL Conference 2013 in Boston.
Mersen Simulates Joule Heating in Busbars and Fuses
Joule heating is a fairly standard type of simulation for COMSOL users nowadays. It involves solving for electrical voltage and temperature fields simultaneously with highly temperature-dependent material properties. Controlling Joule heating is very important when designing and manufacturing electrical systems components. The electric protection group at manufacturing company Mersen France used to base their busbar and fuse designs on trial-and-error, but these days they turn to COMSOL Multiphysics.
Research on Microwave Heating and Chemical Applications
There were many interesting posters at this year’s COMSOL Conference in Boston. A couple that caught my eye involved microwave heating and chemical applications. One of them showcases the use of microwave irradiation to speed up chemical reactions. Another — one of the recipients of the Best Poster award — used simulations to optimize their microreactor design with respect to microwave propagation.
MEMS Energy Harvester for Reusing Waste Heat
Today we welcome another guest post from Kyle Koppenhoefer of AltaSim Technologies, a COMSOL Certified Consultant. In this entry he will discuss modeling MEMS energy harvesting devices. During our recent webinar with COMSOL on thermal-structure interaction modeling, we at AltaSim Technologies demonstrated modeling of a MEMS energy harvester that scavenges waste heat. Examples of sources for waste heat range from microprocessor chips, to internal combustion engines, to chemical processing plants. If the waste heat generated from these cases could be […]
Simulating Thermal Stress in a Turbine Stator Blade
We can leverage simulation software to understand and optimize component design. Every simulation relies on a model that is a representation of the reality that the application finds itself in. Modeling enables us to represent this reality with enough detail to receive relevant information about the particular application or component. Let’s have a look at a thermal stress analysis of the turbine stator blade model from our Model Gallery and investigate the effects of heat transfer and thermal stress that […]
How to Model a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
Shell and tube heat exchangers are one of the most widely used type of heat exchanger in the processing industries (65% of the market according to H. S. Lee’s book, Thermal Design) and are commonly found in oil refineries, nuclear power plants, and other large-scale chemical processes. Additionally, they can be found in many engines and are used to cool hydraulic fluid and oil. There are a variety of different configurations for these heat exchangers, but their basic concept can […]
Thermal Insulation with Bubbles is Better
As a nuclear engineer, I’ve attended many thermal engineering classes. Whereas I’ve enjoyed learning techniques to enhance heat transfer, I’ve also found fascinating those applications where it is important to reduce heat transfer using the right choice and combination of materials and shapes. The design of this is vital for many industries, including the building and aerospace industries. Lately, I came across an interesting example of thermal insulation in the most mundane of these things: clothing design. I had to […]
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) in the Human Brain
It seems everyone and their kid brother has a cell phone these days — and we are constantly using them. We don’t just rely on them to make calls anymore, either; they serve as our maps, calendars, to-do lists, channel for social interaction, and so forth. This continuous use begs the question: “What about the radiation our phones emit, and how much of it is absorbed by our brains?” When considering this, scientists use the specific absorption rate (SAR) to […]
Turbine Stator Blade Cooling and Aircraft Engines
Technology and mechanics enthusiasts might agree that engines are very cool — and they also know how fussy they get when running into cooling problems. When it comes to aircraft propulsion, overheating is not an option. Most planes can’t fly safely without an engine, so why run the risk of overheating? While current engine designs limit that risk using clever cooling systems, another path to solve this problem would be to design more energy-efficient engines, exempt from excessive heat release. […]
Simulating the Freeze-Drying Process
When thinking about freeze-drying processes, I am reminded of astronaut food like the freeze-dried ice cream I tried as a kid. While this application of freeze-drying is important for preserving food being launched into space, there is also an incredible number of noteworthy applications that are used a little closer to home. Let’s take a look at the freeze-drying process, how it can be simulated, and some of the products and designs that rely on it to function.
Analyzing Electrical and Thermal Conductance in a Contact Switch
A contact switch is used to regulate whether or not an electrical current is passing from a power source and into an electrical device. These switches are found in many types of equipment and they are used to control, for example, the power output from a wall socket into a device when it is plugged in; the currents passing across the circuit board of a computer; or the electricity powering a light bulb when the switch is flipped on. Because of their […]
Simulating Thermal and Electrical Stresses in Medium Voltage Cables
Underground medium voltage cables are often used to deliver electrical power from a transmission system and into the home of consumers. In the United Kingdom, these cables carry hundreds of amps at voltages between 11 and 33 kV, a typical voltage of electrical transmission cables around the world. Analyzing the stresses that these cables are exposed to over their lifetime is important for ensuring both consumer safety and energy efficiency. Researchers from the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland used COMSOL […]
Can You Use Heat Transfer to Predict Migration of Contaminants?
The flow of fluid through a porous medium is usually described by Darcy’s Law. However, what if you wanted to look at a combination of fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transport in a porous medium? Instead of using Darcy’s Law, which calculates an average linear velocity for fluid flow in porous media, the Navier-Stokes equations would be necessary in order to obtain accurate results. In addition, heat convection and conduction, as well as mass transport would need to be […]
Simulating Plate Heat Exchangers
It’s not always obvious what a major role temperature control plays in modern technology, as the interchange happens in the background. Plate heat exchangers, made up of successions of metal plates and various coiled pipes, regulate and manipulate temperature, and they get the job done quickly — thanks to an active surface that is large with respect to their volume.
Thermal Analysis Measures Blistering Heat
If you roast a turkey for dinner and you need to check the temperature, the technology exists to find it. But what happens if the temperature is so hot that a consumer-grade thermometer, or any man-made device, really, would instantly melt and be destroyed? This might not be a common occurrence in your kitchen, but it is a real concern in blast furnaces, where temperatures can reach close to 1,500°C. Simply guessing is far from safe. Luckily, by simulating with […]
A Recipe for Induction Stove Design Using Multiphysics Simulation
When I was little, I used to love spending the night at my grandparents’ house, where I was allowed to watch TV, stay up late, and in the morning, help my grandmother make pancakes. The hardest part was always waiting for her old, slow electric burner to heat up — to my six-year-old self, it seemed to take hours for the burner to become hot enough after we’d finished mixing the batter. Luckily for me, and for other impatient chefs […]
The Greenhouse Effect
Given the title of this blog post you might expect it to be about global warming, and I won’t blame you for it; greenhouse effect has become another popular term used when debating climate change. However, its original and literal meaning refers to a very different process, in particular when it comes to heat retention. Here we will describe the effect of heating up an actual greenhouse and suggest steps for optimizing its design.
Cooling Flange Performance Analysis
Chemical reaction fluids can be cooled using glass flanges. The reaction fluid is passed through the flange and the air surrounding the flange then serves as the coolant. Engineers looking to optimize the cooling performance of such flanges can look to simulation for help.
The Graphene Revolution: Part 2
In a previous blog entry I discussed some of the exotic properties of graphene. The fact that graphene consists of a single layer of atoms means the aspect ratio of any graphene-based structure may be very high. High aspect geometries present their own array of modeling challenges.
Modeling Temperature of a Wine Cellar
A lot of effort is put into inventing or improving existing technologies used to cool buildings, food, or any goods that need to be stored at a definite temperature. The reason is simple: adopting more efficient designs will result in achieving the same goal while consuming less energy. Both our balance sheet and the environment will benefit from these solutions. Here we will explore modeling temperature of a passive cooling design using a wine cellar as an example.