resistive_heating.
book Page 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 1:36 PM
Example—Resistive Heating
SOLVED WITH COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS 3.5a
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resistive_heating.book Page 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 1:36 PM
Example—Resist ive Heating
For an example of a multiphysics model with thermal-electric couplings, look at
resistive heating in a copper plate.
Introduction
The material heats up when an electric current passes through it due to electric
resistance. This is called resistive heating or Joule heating. There is also a coupling
working in the opposite direction: the material’s electric resistance varies with the
temperature, increasing as the material heats up.
Model Definition
Imagine a copper plate measuring 1 m × 1 m that also contains a small hole. The
plate’s thickness has no effect on the model. Suppose that you subject the plate to an
electric potential difference across two opposite sides (all other sides are insulated).
The potential difference induces a current that heats the plate.
0.1 V 0V
Copper Plate
Current
1m
Figure 1: The model geometry and electric boundary conditions.
In the 2D model you view the plate from above.
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Modeling in COMSOL Multiphysics
This example sets up the coupled thermal-electric analysis using the predefined
multiphysics coupling for Joule Heating, which combines a Conductive Media DC
application mode with a Heat Transfer by Conduction application mode. The potential
distribution in the conductive media occurs almost instantly, but because unsteady heat
transfer is a transient phenomenon, the full multiphysics model uses a transient
analysis.
ADDITIONAL MULTIPHYSICS COUPLINGS
By adding a structural mechanics application mode to this model you could represent
a thermomechanical coupling with a body force proportional to the temperature
gradient. For more information on thermomechanical multiphysics, see the model
“Simulation of a Microrobot” on page 403 in the COMSOL Multiphysics Model
Library and the documentation for the Structural Mechanics Module.
Model Library path: COMSOL_Multiphysics/Multiphysics/
resistive_heating
Modeling Using the Graphical User Interface
MODE L NAVIGATOR
1 On the New page, select 2D from the Space dimension list.
2 In the list of application modes, open the COMSOL Multiphysics>Electro-Thermal
Interaction folder and then the Joule Heating folder. Select Transient analysis.
3 Click OK.
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OPTIONS AND SETTINGS
1 From the Options menu choose Constants.
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2 Enter the following constant names, expressions, and (optionally) descriptions:
NAME EXPRESSION DESCRIPTION
r0 1.754e-8[ohm*m] Resistivity at reference temperature
T0 20[degC] Reference temperature
alpha 0.0039[1/K] Temperature coefficient
V0 0.1[V] Electric potential
Enter the constant’s name in the Name edit field, then place its value and unit in the
Expression field, and finally add a description in the Description edit field:
3 Click OK.
GEOMETRY MODELING
Define the model geometry:
1 Shift-click the Rectangle/Square (Centered) toolbar button.
2 In the Square dialog box, click OK to use the default values and create a unit square
with corners at (0, 0) and (1, 1).
3 Click the Zoom Extents toolbar button (on the Main toolbar).
4 Shift-click the Ellipse/Circle (Centered) toolbar button.
5 In the Circle dialog box, type 0.1 in the Radius edit field and then type 0.5 in the x
and y edit fields in the Position area. Click OK.
6 To create a hole, select both geometry objects by pressing Ctrl+A.
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7 Click the Difference button on the Draw toolbar.
PHYSICS SETTINGS
The electric boundary conditions appear in Figure 1 on page 1. For the thermal
boundary conditions, an air stream at 300 K (27 °C) cools the plate except on the
thermally insulated upper and lower edges:
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Thermal Insulation
300 K
300 K
Copper Plate
300 K
Thermal Insulation
Figure 2: The model geometry and the thermal boundary conditions.
In Joule heating, the temperature increases due to the resistive heating from the
electric current. The electric potential V is the solution variable in the Conductive
Media DC application mode. The generated resistive heat Q is proportional to the
square of the magnitude of the electric current density J. Current density, in turn, is
proportional to the electric field, which equals the negative of the gradient of the
potential V:
2
Q∝ J
The coefficient of proportionality is the electric resistivity ρ = 1/σ, which is also the
reciprocal of the temperature-dependent electric conductivity σ = σ(T). Combining
these facts gives the fully coupled relation
1 2 1 2 2
Q = --- J = --- σE = σ ∇V
σ σ
This resistive heating source term is directly available as the variable Q_dc (Q_emdc if
you use the AC/DC Module) and is predefined as the source term in the heat transfer
application mode when using the Joule Heating predefined multiphysics coupling.
Quantities other than σ also vary with temperature. For example, the thermal
conductivity is temperature dependent, and a refined model would take this into
account.
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Over a range of temperatures the electric conductivity σ is a function of temperature
T according to
σ0
σ = -----------------------------------
1 + α ( T – T0 )
where σ0 is the conductivity at the reference temperature T0. α is the temperature
coefficient of resistivity, which describes how the resistivity varies with temperature. A
typical value for copper is 0.0039 per kelvin.
In the Conductive Media DC application mode you can specify the electric
conductivity for Joule heating in terms of this equation. The predefined multiphysics
coupling sets up this specification of sigma with the variable for temperature in the T
edit field and default values suitable for copper. The only thing you have to add is the
reference temperature, T0.
Boundary Conditions—Heat Transfer
1 Make sure that Heat Transfer by Conduction (ht) or General Heat Transfer (htgh) (if
you use the Heat Transfer Module) is the selected application mode in the
Multiphysics menu.
2 Open the Boundary Settings dialog box from the Physics menu.
The thermal boundary conditions are:
SETTINGS BOUNDARIES 1, 4–8 BOUNDARIES 2, 3
Type Temperature Thermal insulation
T0 300
3 Select all boundaries.
4 Select Temperature from the Boundary condition list.
5 Type 300 in the T0 (temperature) edit field. This value corresponds to holding all
boundaries at 300 K by positioning them in an air stream at room temperature.
6 Select Boundaries 2 and 3, the top and bottom boundaries, and then select Thermal
insulation from the Boundary condition list.
7 Click OK.
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Subdomain Settings—Heat Transfer
The material properties for heat transfer are:
PROPERTY VALUE
ρ 8930
Cp 340
k (isotropic) 384
Q Q_dc
1 From the Physics menu choose Subdomain Settings.
2 Select Subdomain 1 from the Subdomain selection list.
3 Type 8930 in the Density edit field (the density of copper in kg/m3).
4 Type 340 in the Heat capacity at constant pressure edit field. The unit for heat
capacity in this model is J/(kg·K), the SI unit.
5 Type 384 in the k (isotropic) edit field for the thermal conductivity.
This coefficient has the SI unit W/(m·K) and represents the material’s ability to
conduct heat per unit time.
6 The predefined setting in the Heat source edit field is Q_dc (or Q_emdc). This is a
predefined variable for the resistive heating from the Conductive Media DC
application mode and includes the temperature-dependent conductivity and the
gradient of the electric potential.
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Initial Conditions—Heat Transfer
Also enter the initial value for the temperature, which is 300 K just as the boundary
condition:
1 Click the Init tab in the Subdomain Settings dialog box.
2 Type 300 as the initial value in the edit field for T(t0).
3 Click OK.
Application Mode Selection
To define the settings for the copper plate’s electric properties, switch to the
Conductive Media DC (dc) application mode, selecting it from the Multiphysics menu
or using the Model Tree.
Boundary Conditions—Conductive Media DC
1 Open the Boundary Settings dialog box by choosing Boundary Settings from the
Physics menu. The boundary conditions for the Conductive Media DC application
mode in this example are:
SETTINGS BOUNDARY 1 BOUNDARY 4 BOUNDARIES 2, 3, 5–8
Type Electric potential Ground Electric insulation
V V0
2 Press Ctrl+A to select all boundaries.
3 From the Boundary condition list select Electric insulation.
Change the conditions on Boundaries 1 and 4:
4 From the Boundary selection list select Boundary 1, the left boundary.
5 From the Boundary condition list select Electric potential and type V0 in the V0 edit
field.
6 Select Boundary 4.
7 From the Boundary condition list select Ground.
8 Click OK.
Subdomain Settings—Conductive Media DC
1 From the Physics menu choose Subdomain Settings.
2 Select Subdomain 1 from the Subdomain selection list.
3 From the Conductivity relation list, select Linear temperature relation.
4 Make sure that the T edit field contains the field variable for temperature, T.
5 Type r0 in the ρ0 edit field for the resistivity at the reference temperature.
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6 Type alpha in the α edit field for the temperature coefficient.
7 Type T0 in the T0 edit field for the reference temperature.
Initial Conditions—Conductive Media DC
1 In the Subdomain Settings dialog box, click the Init tab.
2 Type V0*(1-x[1/m]) in the edit field for V(t0). This expression means that the
initial potential distribution varies linearly from V0 (0.1 V) at the left boundary (x =
0) to 0 V at the right boundary (x = 1). This is an initial condition that matches the
boundary conditions. The reason for the multiplying x with the unit [1/m] is to
make it dimensionless.
3 Click OK.
MESH GENERATION
Click the Initialize Mesh button on the Main toolbar to create a mesh using the default
settings.
COMPUTING THE SOLUTION
The heat transfer in this model is a transient process, so the model uses a
time-dependent solver for a transient analysis. First specify the simulation’s time
interval and the points in time to present solution data.
1 Open the Solver Parameters dialog box from the Solve menu.
2 Type range(0,50,2000) in the Times edit field. Doing so produces a vector of 41
output times, linearly distributed every 50 seconds from 0 to 2000 seconds, for
which the solution is available for postprocessing.
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3 Click OK.
COMPUTING THE SOLUTION
You can now run the transient analysis. To do so, click the Solve button on the Main
toolbar.
PO S T P RO C E S S I N G A N D V I S U A L I ZAT I O N
The default plot from this analysis shows the temperature or the potential distribution.
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Visualizing Heat Flux Using Arrow Plots
A quantity that is interesting to animate is the heat flux:
1 Open the Plot Parameters dialog box from the Postprocessing menu.
2 Click the Arrow tab.
3 Select the Arrow plot check box.
4 Select Heat Transfer by Conduction (ht)>Heat flux from the Predefined quantities list.
5 Click the Color button and select a color for the arrows, for example, white.
6 Click OK.
Checking Heat Transfer Dynamics
Use a plot of temperature over time to determine if the time span for the simulation is
sufficient to reach steady state:
1 From the Postprocessing menu choose Cross-Section Plot Parameters.
2 Make sure to select all time steps in the Solutions to use list on the General page.
3 Click the Point plot button.
4 Click the Point tab.
5 Select Heat Transfer by Conduction (ht)>Temperature in the Predefined quantities list.
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6 In the Coordinates area, type 0.5 in the x edit field and 0.75 in the y edit field.
7 Click OK.
The plot of temperature as a function of time shows that it has reached a steady state.
The temperature hardly increases at all if you extend the simulation over a longer time
span.
Figure 3: Heat transfer dynamics visualized as temperature versus time.
COMPUTING THE SOLUTION USING A SEGREGATED STATIONAR Y SOLVER
You can also solve this model for the steady-state condition. There is no problem
solving this coupled multiphysics model using the standard stationary solver because
the model is small. For large models, a segregated solver approach can be beneficial.
This example shows how to solve a multiphysics model using the segregated stationary
solver. You continue with the Resistive Heating model, adding the following steps:
1 From the Solve menu, choose Solver Parameters.
2 Select Stationary from the Analysis list.
3 Select Stationary segregated from the Solver list. COMSOL Multiphysics has two
predefined groups, one for each application mode (the temperature T and the
electric potential V). All you need to do is to specify the tolerances so that the
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segregated solver scheme converges to the same solution as the standard stationary
solver. Use the default linear solver settings (the direct solver UMFPACK).
4 Type 1e-6 in the Tolerance edit field for both groups (Group 1 for T and Group 2
for V). The following figure shows the settings for the stationary segregated solver.
5 Click OK.
6 Click the Solve button on the Main toolbar.
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