MSC Sinda for Patran provides a variety of thermal contact loading options, depending on the mode of heat transfer and the type of interconnection required. MSC Sinda for Patran provides the following thermal contact load options:

For contact and convection, the heat transfer coefficient (h) can be specified directly or by referencing special fluid materials. Two methods also exist to specify emissivity value(s) for radiation contact loads – direct numerical specification and reference to special coating materials. These special fluid and coating materials expose the more advanced capabilities of the advanced features. For example, fluid materials allow the use of advanced Nussult equations, and coating materials allow the specification of special properties.

SDB2SG draws heavily from existing FE (finite element) to SINDAG translator routines developed for the MSC Sinda for FEMAP product, including contact algorithms. In MSC Sinda for FEMAP, contact is modeled as an element rather than a load, and either method is perfectly valid. In FEMAP, a contact element connects two contact segments. Sufficient equivalence exists between the contact segment and the Patran application region to permit straightforward load to element conversion.

The following table summarizes the 2x2 matrix of contact options – columns delineate between convection and radiation, and rows between contact topology.

All contact elements/loads require two application regions, one to describe each side of the contact. One application region is designated the “master” and the other “slave”. The contact algorithm computes a matrix of node couplings that connect the two application regions, and these couplings become the SINDAG Conductor Data. The details of the method depend on the contact topology of the slave according to the applicable row in the previous table.