Thermal analysis is used in many fields including the design of heat sinks and other components of cooling systems for stereo systems, televisions and computers. Other uses of thermal analysis and coupled thermal-fluid analysis is in the design of home heating and cooling systems. Medical researchers working in the field of hyperthermia are using heat transfer to treat cancer. Thermal analysis with radiation transport was used in the design of the tiles covering the lower surface of the Space Shuttle to withstand re-entry. Nuclear fuel shipment containers are designed using thermal analysis to analyze and design the container to withstand the heat generated by the fuel.

Simulation codes which offer thermal analysis coupled with structural analysis are able to simulate several challenging manufacturing processes which could not be otherwise handled (e.g., extrusion, forging):

   Figure #70 Extrusion AVI
   Click for larger image

Extrusion #70: A non-isothermal back extrusion forging is modeled as shown above. A hot workpiece is placed in a cold die and a cold punch is used. The AVI animation shows color fringes of temperature. Note the heat transfer across the part-die and part-punch boundaries. Automatic adaptive meshing is used to model the large deformation taking place in the extruded part

   Figure #71 Forging Click for larger image
   or   AVI Library 71 for AVI file