Given heat loads and material properties, what is the temperature of a plate? That's how our tools work by default. But you can reverse the question too: What heat load is needed to heat the plate one hundred degrees in ten minutes? That "goal seeking" problem is one example of optimization. Another more complex example might be: What set of orifice sizes should I use at the exits of my heat exchangers to achieve even flows without any one component overheating?
Optimization, combined with Thermal Desktop Measures (thermocouple models), can also be used to automate the adjustment of uncertainties to better match available test data or CFD predictions.
Some uncertainties just can't be adjusted away. Or maybe you don't yet have test data and need to understand how tolerances and environmental variations affect your design.
All of the above tasks are part of our Advanced Design Modules. Come learn about them in a series of upcoming webinars:
- Tuesday November 14: Introduction to Optimization
- Wednesday November 15: Automatic Calibration to Test Data
- Thursday November 16: Reliability Engineering (Statistical Design)
All three webinars are at 1pm PT, 4pm ET.