In a thermal-electromagnetic analysis, coupling is done through Joule heating which occurs in a conductor carrying an electric current. Joule heat is proportional to the square of the current and is independent of the current direction. A typical application for this type of coupled-field analysis is low-frequency induction heating used in the metal industry.
The following related topics are available:
For a thermal-electromagnetic analysis, you need to use one of these element types:
| PLANE223 - coupled-field 8-node quadrilateral |
| SOLID226 - coupled-field 20-node brick |
| SOLID227 - coupled-field 10-node tetrahedron |
For detailed descriptions of these elements and their characteristics (degrees of freedom, KEYOPT options, inputs, outputs, and so on), see the element description.
For a coupled thermal-electromagnetic analysis, select the TEMP, VOLT and AZ element degrees of freedom (KEYOPT(1) = 10110). The elements supports static and transient simulations with voltage and current excitations.
For a static analysis, or for a transient analysis without the eddy current effect in the conductors, you can perform a coupled thermal-magnetic analysis by selecting the AZ and TEMP element degrees of freedom (KEYOPT(1) = 10010).
To perform a thermal-electromagnetic analysis:
Select a coupled-field element that is appropriate for the analysis (see Element Used in a Thermal-Electromagnetic Analysis), and set KEYOPT(1) = 10110 to activate the TEMP, VOLT and AZ element degrees of freedom.
Specify thermal material properties:
Specify electric material properties:
Specify electric resistivity (RSVX, RSVY, RSVZ) (MP).
Specify magnetic material properties:
Apply thermal, electric, and magnetic loads, initial conditions, and boundary conditions:
Thermal: temperature (TEMP), heat flow rate (HEAT), convection (CONV), heat flux (HFLUX), radiation (RDSF), and heat generation (HGEN).
Electric: scalar electric potential (VOLT) and current flow (AMPS). For a 2D model consisting of PLANE223 elements, couple (CP) all VOLT degrees of freedom in a conductor region.
Magnetic: magnetic vector potential or edge-flux (AZ), and velocity (VELO).
Specify analysis type (ANTYPE) and solve (SOLVE):
Analysis type can be static or full transient.
For an accurate transient analysis, specify the time step according to the electromagnetic field, which varies faster than the thermal field.
Post-process electromagnetic and thermal results:
Thermal results include temperature (TEMP), thermal gradient (TG), and thermal flux (TF)
Electric results include electric potential (VOLT), electric field (EF), and electric current density (JC).
Magnetic results include magnetic vector potential (AZ), magnetic flux density (B), magnetic flux intensity (H), conduction current density (JT), current density (JS), electromagnetic forces (FMAG), and Joule heat losses (JHEAT).
Note: Displacement current is ignored in a thermal-electromagnetic analysis.
To perform a thermal-magnetic analysis, follow the procedure described above for the thermal-electromagnetic analysis with the following adjustments:
Set KEYOPT(1) = 10010 to activate the AZ and TEMP degrees of freedom.
Specify current density (JS) as a magnetic body load.
For the Joule heat calculation, specify electric resistivity (RSVX, RSVY, RSVZ).