Given: A stainless steel wire is passing a current of 200 A. The wire is 1 m long and 3 mm in diameter. The wire is submerged in a 110°C fluid. the convection coefficient between the fluid and the wire is 0.004 W/(mm°C)
Material Properties:
Thermal conductivity: 0.019 W/(mm°C) Resistivity: 0.0007 ωmm
Find: The temperature at the center of the wire.
This example only covers creating the model. For instructions on setting up and performing the analysis, see Heat Generation Due to Electrical Current.
The temperature distribution through the cross section of the wire is constant along the length. We will build an axisymmetric model of a 10-mm length of the wire. Design Scenario 1 is the electrostatic analysis to determine the current flow, and Design Scenario 2 is the heat transfer analysis to determine the temperature distribution.
- Start a new FEA model.
- Set the analysis type to Electrostatic: Electrostatic Current and Voltage.
- Set the unit system to be consistent with the problem statement. Click Override Default Units and select Metric mks (SI) from the Unit System drop-down menu, but then change to Custom. Change the units of length to mm. Click OK to set the units.
- Click New and enter a model name.
- Use Mesh
Structured Mesh 4 Point Rectangular to create a structured mesh of the wire. - Type 4 in the AB field. Type 20 in the BC field. For an axisymmetric model, the mesh must be in the YZ plane, with the Y axis representing the radius and the Z axis representing the centerline. Define Point A as (0,0,0), Point B as (0,1.5,0), Point C as (0,1.5,10) and Point D as (0,0,10). Click Apply.
- Click the X button to close the Point Mesh Setup dialog box.
- Use View Navigate Orientation Right View to view the mesh.
- For the heat transfer analysis, apply a convection load to the right edge of the model (the outside surface of the wire). Use Selection Shape Rectangle and Selection Select Lines to select the lines along the right edge of the model. Use Draw Modify Attributes to place these lines in Surface 2.