System Requirements

SINDA/FLUINT

Operating System

  • 64 bit Windows 7, 8, or 10

Fortran Compiler

Since SINDA/FLUINT allows user logic and generates a unique executable each time it is run, you MUST have a copy of the correct compiler.

The following compiler is required:

Note: Only the Composer Edition of any version is required. The Professional or Cluster editions will also work, but those editions add features that are not required by SINDA/FLUINT.

Note:  Intel Parallel Studio XE 2011 Updates 0 through 9 contained a bug that causes SINDA to fail.   Only updates 10-13 work with SF6.0

Also see  Intel Visual Fortran System Requirements

The Intel compiler requires Microsoft Visual Studio or Visual Studio Shell (free) to be installed. Check the Intel system requirements to see which versions of Visual Studio are supported. If Visual Studio is not found on the computer, the installer will automatically install the shell version. No purchase of the Microsoft visual studio is required.

Evaluations: Please contact CRTech to learn how to evaluate CRTech software if you do not already have the Intel compiler.

Minimum Memory

  • 2GB (4GB recommended)

Thermal Desktop®, RadCAD®, and FloCAD®

Operating System

  • 64 bit Windows 7, 8, or 10

Required Software

  • SINDA/FLUINT, which is the solution engine
  • CAD Package: AutoCAD® 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018
    Also see Autocad system requirements
  • Note: Thermal Desktop 6.0 is the last version that will support AutoCAD 2013 and 2014 

Minimum Memory

  • 8 GB

Hardware

  • Discrete graphics card recommended, see Autodesk's website for certified graphics cards
  • Display resolution: 1024x768 minimum, 1280x1024 or finer with 100% font size recommended​

TD Direct®

Required Software

FloCAD model of a loop heat pipe
Training: All about Loop Heat Pipes

Since a significant portion of LHPs consists of simple tubing, they are more flexible and easier to integrate into thermal structures than their traditional linear cousins: constant conductance and variable conductance heat pipes (CCHPs, VCHPs). LHPs are also less constrained by orientation and able to transport more power. LHPs have been used successfully in many applications, and have become a proven tool for spacecraft thermal control systems.

However, LHPs are not simple, neither in the details of their evaporator and compensation chamber (CC) structures nor in their surprising range of behaviors. Furthermore, there are uncertainties in their performance that must be treated with safety factors and bracketing methods for design verification.

Fortunately, some of the authors of CRTech fluid analysis tools also happened to have been involved in the early days of LHP technology development, so it is no accident that Thermal Desktop ("TD") and FloCAD have the unique capabilities necessary to model LHPs. Some features are useful at a system level analysis (including preliminary design), and others are necessary to achieve a detailed level of simulation (transients, off-design, condenser gradients).

CRTech is offering a four-part webinar series on LHPs and approaches to modeling them. Each webinar will last 60 minutes and are designed to be attended in the order they were presented. If you miss one in the series, please check out our video page for a recording, or contact us before the next webinar starts. While the first webinar presumes little knowledge of LHPs or their analysis, for the last three webinars you are presumed to have a basic knowledge TD/FloCAD two-phase modeling.

Part 1 provides an overview of LHP operation and unique characteristics
Part 2 introduces system-level modeling of LHPs using TD/FloCAD.
Part 3 covers an important aspect of getting the right answers: back-conduction and core state variability.
Part 4 covers detailed modeling of LHPs in TD/FloCAD such that transient operations such as start-up, gravity assist, and thermostatic control can be simulated.

Part 1: Introduction to LHP Modeling

May 31, 2018, 1-2pm (PT), 4-5pm (ET)

This webinar provides an overview of LHP design and operation, from a basic understand of components to a review of important performance considerations and limitations.

Many topics will be covered, from start-up issues to the purpose of the evaporator bayonet to capillary flow regulators to load balancing in parallel LHP units. However, we will cover these topics only in enough depth that you will be able to understand the reasons for various modeling approaches that will be covered in later webinars. In other words, this webinar will survey the various ways in which LHPs require a specialized approach to design analysis and simulation.

This webinar is one of a four-part webinar series on LHPs and approaches to modeling them. Each webinar will last 60 minutes and is designed to be attended in the order they were presented. If you miss one in the series, please check out our video page for a recording, or contact us before the next webinar starts.

Prerequisites: Basic understanding of two-phase thermodynamics and heat transfer.
Please register for Part 1 here

Part 2: Introduction to LHP Modeling

June 5, 2018, 8-9am (PT), 11am-noon (ET)

This webinar explains how the toolbox approach of Thermal Desktop and FloCAD can be used to design and simulate LHPs at a system level, where the focus is on predicting conductance of nominally operating LHP, including thermostatic control (variable conductance).

This webinar is one of a four-part webinar series on LHPs and approaches to modeling them. Each webinar will last 60 minutes and is designed to be attended in the order they were presented. If you miss one in the series, please check out our video page for a recording, or contact us before the next webinar starts.

Prerequisites: Basic understanding of Thermal Desktop and FloCAD operation as applied to two-phase systems. Basic familiarity with LHP components and operation (see Part 1).
Please register for Part 2 here

Part 3: Modeling Wick Back-conduction in LHPs

June 7, 2018, 8-9am (PT), 11am-noon (ET)

Modeling wick back-conduction in an LHP is critical to accurate prediction of the overall loop conductance and operating point. This prediction can't be separated from an understanding of what is happening in the wick core. This webinar presents time-honored methods of dealing with these complex topics in a relatively simple (if abstract) thermal/fluid network.Prerequisites:

This webinar is one of a four-part webinar series on LHPs and approaches to modeling them. Each webinar will last 60 minutes and is designed to be attended in the order they were presented. If you miss one in the series, please check out our video page for a recording, or contact us before the next webinar starts.

Basic understanding of Thermal Desktop and FloCAD operation as applied to LHP modeling (see Part 1 and Part 2).
Please register for Part 3 here

Part 4: Advanced LHP Modeling

June 12, 2018, 1-2pm (PT), 4-5pm (ET)

This webinar explains how Thermal Desktop and FloCAD can be applied to simulate complex and transient phenomena in LHPs, including condenser design, start-up, thermostatic control, and gravity assist (evaporator below condenser). The design of an actual LHP will be used to demonstrate concepts; the implications of attaching large masses to the evaporators (cooled electronics and support structures) will become clear as a result.

This webinar is one of a four-part webinar series on LHPs and approaches to modeling them. Each webinar will last 60 minutes and is designed to be attended in the order they were presented. If you miss one in the series, please check out our video page for a recording, or contact us before the next webinar starts.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with LHP modeling approaches in TD/FloCAD (see Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).
Please register for Part 4 here