Assigning Hollow Block Properties

A hollow block is a block with a solid material assigned and the Solve Inside option disabled. Hollow blocks represent three-dimensional regions of the model for which only side characteristics are important. Icepak does not mesh or solve for temperature or flow within regions bounded by the sides of a hollow block. Hollow-block surfaces can be specified as adiabatic (impervious to heat flow) or as possessing a fixed, uniform temperature or heat flux.

Icepak hollow block boundary condition dialog box General tab.

The Block Thermal Model dialog box contains the following general and thermal information for the selected boundary condition.

Note:
  • If needed, you can enter a temperature dependent expression for Total Power, Heat Flux, and Heat Transfer Coefficient. See Temperature Dependent Thermal Properties for more information.
  • If needed, you can define Total Power as a spatial, or volumetric, profile using an expression and a 3D dataset. See Adding 3D Datasets for more information.
Name

The Name of the boundary condition appears in the Project Manager window and 3D Modeler window.
Thermal Conditions: Fixed heat
Total Power Total Power specifies the total power dissipated by the solid block.
Heat flux Heat flux specifies a constant uniform heat flux into or out of all block surfaces.
Thermal Conditions: Fixed temperature
Fixed Temperature Fixed Temperature specifies a constant uniform temperature for all the block surfaces.
Thermal Conditions: Internal conditions
Internal Thermal Conditions Internal Thermal Conditions specifies a Heat Transfer Coefficient and a reference Temperature for the internal volume of space inside the block.

Assigning a Hollow Block and Defining Thermal Properties

To assign a hollow block boundary condition and define its properties:

  1. Press O to enable object-selection mode.
  2. Select and right-click a three-dimensional geometry component in the 3D Modeler window or the history tree.
    Note:

    To assign a hollow block type, ensure that the material assigned is solid and the Solve Inside option is disabled.

  3. From the right-click menu, select Assign Thermal>Block.
  4. In the Block Thermal Model dialog box, enter a Name for the block.
  5. Select a Thermal Conditions and enter the associated values:
    • Fixed heat: Total Power or Heat flux
    • Fixed temperature: Fixed Temperature
    • Internal conditions: Heat Transfer Coefficient and a reference Temperature
  6. Click OK.
Note:

The boundary condition dialog has a Defaults tab, which contains information related to default settings for the boundary condition properties and the following buttons:

  • Save Defaults saves the currently defined properties as the default for newly created boundary conditions.
  • Revert to Standard Defaults sets the boundary condition properties to the saved default values.
Related Topics:

Assigning Thermal Boundary Conditions