Objective:
Learn how to use the Thermal Bonded Contact block.Procedure:
In the figure below, a user would like to tie a copper slug into an aluminum frame. The CAD model on the left represents the geometry of the two materials and the subsequent mesh of the two regions is on the right. Since the FEA meshes of two regions do not necessarily share common nodes and element faces it is necessary to “tie” these two regions together mathematically. As such, this approach allows the user to mathematically “bond” two different objects (of different materials) together and couple them thermally.
| Material | Surface Condition | Roughness (µm) | Temperature (°C) | Pressure (MPa) | hc* (W/m²·°C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identical Metal Pairs | |||||
| 416 Stainless steel | Ground | 2.54 | 90–200 | 0.3–2.5 | 3,800 |
| 304 Stainless steel | Ground | 1.14 | 20 | 4–7 | 1,900 |
| Aluminum | Ground | 2.54 | 150 | 1.2–2.5 | 11,400 |
| Copper | Ground | 1.27 | 20 | 1.2–20 | 143,000 |
| Copper | Milled | 3.81 | 20 | 1–5 | 55,500 |
| Copper (vacuum) | Milled | 0.25 | 30 | 0.7–7 | 11,400 |
| Dissimilar Metal Pairs | |||||
| Stainless steel-Aluminum | - | 20–30 | 20 | 10–20 | 2,900–3,600 |
| Stainless steel-Aluminum | - | 1.0–2.0 | 20 | 10–20 | 16,400–20,800 |
| Steel Ct-30-Aluminum | Ground | 1.4–2.0 | 20 | 10–35 | 50,000–59,000 |
| Steel Ct-30-Aluminum | Milled | 4.5–7.2 | 20 | 10–30 | 4,800–8,300 |
| Aluminum-Copper | Ground | 1.3–1.4 | 20 | 5–15 | 42,000–56,000 |
| Aluminum-Copper | Milled | 4.4–4.5 | 20 | 10–35 | 12,000–22,000 |
