Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Heating Circuit

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.6.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
Small heating circuits find use in many applications. For example, in manufacturing
processes they heat up reactive fluids. Figure 1 illustrates a typical heating device for this
model. The device consists of an electrically resistive layer deposited on a glass plate. The
layer causes Joule heating when a voltage is applied to the circuit. The layer’s properties
determine the amount of heat produced.

Electric heater

Air Glass plate

Heated fluid
stream

Figure 1: Geometry of a heating device.

In this particular model, you must observe three important design considerations:

• Noninvasive heating
• Minimal deflection of the heating device
• Avoidance of overheating the process fluid

The heater must also work without failure. You achieve the first and second requirements
by inserting a glass plate between the heating circuit and the fluid; it acts as a conducting
separator. Glass is an ideal material for both these purposes because it is nonreactive and
has a low coefficient of thermal expansion.

You must also avoid overheating due to the risk of self-ignition of the reactive fluid stream.
Ignition is also the main reason for separating the electrical circuit from direct contact with
the fluid. The heating device is tailored for each application, making virtual prototyping
very important for manufacturers.

For heating circuits in general, detachment of the resistive layer often determines the
failure rate. This is caused by excessive thermally induced interfacial stresses. Once the
layer has detached, it gets locally overheated, which accelerates the detachment. Finally, in
the worst case, the circuit might overheat and burn. From this perspective, it is also
important to study the interfacial tension due to the different thermal-expansion

2 | HEATING CIRCUIT
coefficients of the resistive layer and the substrate as well as the differences in temperature.
The geometric shape of the layer is a key parameter to design circuits for proper
functioning. You can investigate all of the abovementioned aspects by modeling the
circuit.

This multiphysics example simulates the electrical heat generation, the heat transfer, and
the mechanical stresses and deformations of a heating circuit device. The model uses the
Heat Transfer in Solids interface of the Heat Transfer Module in combination with the
Electric Currents, Layered Shell interface from the AC/DC Module and the Solid
Mechanics and Membrane interfaces from the Structural Mechanics Module.

Note: This model requires the AC/DC Module, Heat Transfer Module, and Structural
Mechanics Module.

Model Definition
Figure 2 shows a drawing of the modeled heating circuit.

Nichrome Circuit

Silver Pads

Figure 2: Drawing of the heating circuit deposited on a glass plate.

The device consists of a serpentine-shaped Nichrome resistive layer, 10 μm thick and

5 mm wide, deposited on a glass plate. At each end, it has a silver contact pad measuring
10 mm-by-10 mm-by-10 μm. When the circuit is in use, the deposited side of the glass
plate is in contact with surrounding air, and the back side is in contact with the heated
fluid. Assume that the edges and sides of the glass plate are thermally insulated.

3 | HEATING CIRCUIT
Table 1 gives the resistor’s dimensions.
TABLE 1: DIMENSIONS.

OBJECT LENGTH WIDTH THICKNESS

Glass Plate 130 mm 80 mm 2 mm

Pads and Circuit - - 10 µm

During operation the resistive layer produces heat. Model the electrically generated heat
using the Electric Currents, Layered Shell interface from the AC/DC Module. An electric
potential of 12 V is applied to the pads. In the model, you achieve this effect by setting the
potential at one edge of the first pad to 12 V and that of one edge of the other pad to 0 V.

To model the heat transfer in the thin conducting layer, use the Thin Layer feature from
the Heat Transfer in Solids interface. The heat rate per unit area (measured in W/m2)
produced inside the thin layer is given by

q prod = d Q DC (1)

where QDC = J · E = σ|∇tV|2 (W/m3) is the power density. The generated heat appears as
an inward heat flux at the surface of the glass plate.

At steady state, the resistive layer dissipates the heat it generates in two ways: on its up side
to the surrounding air (at 293 K), and on its down side to the glass plate. The glass plate
is similarly cooled in two ways: on its circuit side by air, and on its back side by a process
fluid (353 K). You model the heat fluxes to the surroundings using heat transfer
coefficients, h. For the heat transfer to air, h = 5 W/(m2·K), representing natural
convection. On the glass plate’s back side, h = 20 W/(m2·K), representing convective heat
transfer to the fluid. The sides of the glass plate are insulated.

The model simulates thermal expansion using static structural-mechanics analyses. It uses
the Solid Mechanics interface for the glass plate, and the Membrane interface for the
circuit layer. The equations of these two interfaces are described in the Structural
Mechanics Module User’s Guide. The stresses are set to zero at 293 K. You determine the
boundary conditions for the Solid Mechanics interface by fixing one corner with respect
to the x-, y-, and z-displacements and rotation.

Table 2 summarizes the material properties used in the model.

TABLE 2: MATERIAL PROPERTIES.

MATERIAL E [GPa] ν α [1/K] k [W/(m·K)] ρ [kg/m3] Cp [J/(kg·K)]

Silver 83 0.37 1.89e-5 420 10500 230

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TABLE 2: MATERIAL PROPERTIES.

MATERIAL E [GPa] ν α [1/K] k [W/(m·K)] ρ [kg/m3] Cp [J/(kg·K)]

Nichrome 213 0.33 1e-5 15 9000 20
Glass 73.1 0.17 5.5e-7 1.38 2203 703

Results and Discussion

Figure 3 shows the heat that the resistive layer generates.

Figure 3: Stationary heat generation in the resistive layer when 12 V is applied.

The highest heating power occurs at the inner corners of the curves due to the higher
current density at these spots. The total generated heat, as calculated by integration, is
approximately 13.8 W.

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Figure 4 shows the temperature of the resistive layer and the glass plate at steady state.

Figure 4: Temperature distribution in the heating device at steady state.

The highest temperature is approximately 428 K, and it appears in the central section of
the circuit layer. It is interesting to see that the differences in temperature between the
fluid side and the circuit side of the glass plate are quite small because the plate is very thin.
Using boundary integration, the integral heat flux on the fluid side evaluates to
approximately 8.5 W. This means that the device transfers the majority of the heat it
generates — 8.5 W out of 13.8 W — to the fluid, which is good from a design perspective,
although the thermal resistance of the glass plate results in some losses.

The temperature rise also induces thermal stresses due the materials’ different coefficients
of thermal expansion. As a result, mechanical stresses and deformations arise in the layer

6 | HEATING CIRCUIT
and in the glass plate. Figure 5 shows the equivalent stress distribution in the device and
the resulting deformations. During operation, the glass plate bends toward the air side.

Figure 5: The thermally induced von Mises stress plotted with the deformation.

The highest equivalent stress, approximately 13 MPa, occurs at the inner corners of the
curves of the Nichrome circuit. The yield stress for high quality glass is roughly 250 MPa,
and for Nichrome it is 360 MPa. This means that the individual objects remain structurally
intact for the simulated heating power loads.

You must also consider stresses in the interface between the resistive layer and the glass
plate. Assume that the yield stress of the surface adhesion in the interface is in the region
of 50 MPa — a value significantly lower than the yield stresses of the other materials in the
device. If the equivalent stress increases above this value, the resistive layer locally detaches
from the glass. Once it has detached, heat transfer is locally impeded, which can lead to
overheating of the resistive layer and eventually cause the device to fail.

Figure 6 displays the effective forces acting on the adhesive layer during heater operation.
As the figure shows, the device experiences a maximum interfacial stress that is an order of
magnitude smaller than the yield stress. This means that the device are OK in terms of
adhesive stress.

7 | HEATING CIRCUIT
Figure 6: The effective forces in the interface between the resistive layer and the glass plate.

Finally study the device’s deflections, shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Deviation from a plane surface on the fluid side of the glass plate.

8 | HEATING CIRCUIT
The maximum deviation from being a planar surface, is approximately 50 μm. For high-
precision applications, such as semiconductor processing, this might be a significant value
that limits the device’s operating temperature.

Application Library path: ACDC_Module/Layered_Shell/heating_circuit

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Structural Mechanics>Thermal-Structure Interaction>
Thermal Stress, Solid.
3 Click Add.
4 In the Select Physics tree, select AC/DC>Electric Fields and Currents>
Electric Currents in Layered Shells (ecis).
5 Click Add.
6 In the Select Physics tree, select Structural Mechanics>Membrane (mbrn).
7 Click Add.
8 Click Study.
9 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Stationary.
10 Click Done.

GEOMETRY 1
The Thermal Stress interface includes Heat Transfer in Solids and Solid Mechanics. In the
volume, these two interfaces solve for temperature and displacement, respectively. In the
shell representing the circuit, the temperature, the electrical potential and displacement are
solved by Heat Transfer In Solids, Electric Currents, Layered Shell, and Membrane interfaces,
respectively.

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GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

V_in 12[V] 12 V Input voltage
d_layer 10[um] 1E-5 m Layer thickness
sigma_silver 6.3e7[S/m] 6.3E7 S/m Electric conductivity
of silver
sigma_nichrome 9.3e5[S/m] 9.3E5 S/m Electric conductivity
of Nichrome
T_air 20[degC] 293.15 K Air temperature
h_air 5[W/(m^2*K)] 5 W/(m²·K) Heat transfer film
coefficient, air
T_fluid 353[K] 353 K Fluid temperature
h_fluid 20[W/(m^2*K)] 20 W/(m²·K) Heat transfer film
coefficient, fluid

GEOMETRY 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Geometry 1.
2 In the Settings window for Geometry, locate the Units section.
3 From the Length unit list, choose mm.

Block 1 (blk1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Block.
2 In the Settings window for Block, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Width text field, type 80.
4 In the Depth text field, type 130.
5 In the Height text field, type 2.
6 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)

1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Work Plane.
2 In the Settings window for Work Plane, locate the Plane Definition section.

10 | HEATING CIRCUIT
3 In the z-coordinate text field, type 2.
4 Click Show Work Plane.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Plane Geometry

Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Square 1 (sq1)

1 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Square.
2 In the Settings window for Square, locate the Size section.
3 In the Side length text field, type 10.
4 Locate the Position section. In the xw text field, type 7.
5 In the yw text field, type 10.
6 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Square 2 (sq2)

1 Right-click Component 1 (comp1)>Geometry 1>Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Plane Geometry>
Square 1 (sq1) and choose Duplicate.
2 In the Settings window for Square, locate the Position section.
3 In the xw text field, type 30.
4 In the yw text field, type 8.
5 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Polygon 1 (pol1)

1 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Polygon.
2 In the Settings window for Polygon, locate the Coordinates section.
3 From the Data source list, choose File.
4 Click Browse.
5 Browse to the model’s Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
heating_circuit_polygon.txt.

6 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Fillet 1 (fil1)

1 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Fillet.

11 | HEATING CIRCUIT
2 On the object pol1, select Points 2–8, 23–29, 34, 36, 37, 41, and 42 only.
It might be easier to select the points by using the Selection List window. To open this
window, in the Home toolbar click Windows and choose Selection List. (If you are
running the cross-platform desktop, you find Windows in the main menu.)

3 In the Settings window for Fillet, locate the Radius section.

4 In the Radius text field, type 10.

5 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Fillet 2 (fil2)

1 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Fillet.
2 On the object fil1, select Points 6–12, 26–31, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, and 50 only.
3 In the Settings window for Fillet, locate the Radius section.
4 In the Radius text field, type 5.
5 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Build All.

12 | HEATING CIRCUIT
Form Union (fin)
1 In the Home toolbar, click Build All.
The geometry should look like the figure below.

DEFINITIONS
Add a selection that you can use later when applying boundary conditions and shell physics
settings.

Circuit
1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Circuit in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 6–8 only.

Before creating the materials for use in this model, it is a good idea to specify which
boundaries are to be modeled as conducting shells. Using this information, COMSOL
Multiphysics can detect which material properties are needed.

13 | HEATING CIRCUIT
HEAT TRANSFER IN SOLIDS (HT)

Thin Layer 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click
Heat Transfer in Solids (ht) and choose Thin Structures>Thin Layer.
2 In the Settings window for Thin Layer, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.
4 Locate the Layer Model section. From the Layer type list, choose
Thermally thin approximation.

ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN LAYERED SHELLS (ECIS)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Electric Currents in Layered Shells (ecis).
2 In the Settings window for Electric Currents in Layered Shells, locate the
Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.

Conductive Shell 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>
Electric Currents in Layered Shells (ecis) click Conductive Shell 1.
2 In the Settings window for Conductive Shell, locate the Constitutive Relation D-E section.
3 From the εr list, choose User defined.

Use Layered Linear Elastic Material in membrane interface so that Layered Thermal Expansion
multiphysics coupling can be used for modeling thermal effects.

MEMBRANE (MBRN)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Membrane (mbrn).
2 In the Settings window for Membrane, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.

Layered Linear Elastic Material 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Layered Linear Elastic Material.
2 In the Settings window for Layered Linear Elastic Material, locate the Boundary Selection
section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.

14 | HEATING CIRCUIT
MULTIPHYSICS

Layered Thermal Expansion 1 (tel1)

In the Physics toolbar, click Multiphysics Couplings and choose Boundary>
Layered Thermal Expansion.

Now set up the materials.

ADD MATERIAL
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.
2 Go to the Add Material window.
3 In the tree, select Built-in>Silica glass.
4 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
5 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to close the Add Material window.

MATERIALS

Silver Layer
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Layers>Single Layer Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type Silver Layer in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Geometric Entity Selection section. From the Selection list, choose Circuit.
4 Locate the Orientation and Position section. From the Position list, choose
Downside on boundary.
5 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Young’s modulus E 83e9 Pa Basic
Heat capacity at constant Cp 230 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure
Density rho 10500 kg/m³ Basic
Thermal conductivity k_iso ; kii = 420 W/(m·K) Basic
k_iso, kij = 0
Poisson’s ratio nu 0.37 1 Basic

15 | HEATING CIRCUIT
Property Variable Value Unit Property
group
Electrical conductivity sigma_iso ; sigma_si S/m Basic
sigmaii = lver
sigma_iso,
sigmaij = 0
Coefficient of thermal alpha_iso ; 18.9e-6 1/K Basic
expansion alphaii =
alpha_iso,
alphaij = 0
Thickness lth d_layer m Shell
Nichrome Layer
1 Right-click Materials and choose Layers>Single Layer Material.
2 Select Boundary 7 only.
3 In the Settings window for Material, type Nichrome Layer in the Label text field.
4 Locate the Orientation and Position section. From the Position list, choose
Downside on boundary.
5 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property

group
Young’s modulus E 213e9 Pa Basic
Heat capacity at constant Cp 20 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure
Density rho 9000 kg/m³ Basic
Thermal conductivity k_iso ; kii = 15 W/(m·K) Basic
k_iso, kij = 0
Poisson’s ratio nu 0.33 1 Basic
Electrical conductivity sigma_iso ; sigma_nic S/m Basic
sigmaii = hrome
sigma_iso,
sigmaij = 0
Coefficient of thermal alpha_iso ; 10e-6 1/K Basic
expansion alphaii =
alpha_iso,
alphaij = 0
Thickness lth d_layer m Shell

16 | HEATING CIRCUIT
ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN LAYERED SHELLS (ECIS)
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Electric Currents in Layered Shells (ecis).

Ground 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Edges and choose Ground.
2 Select Edge 43 only.

Electric Potential 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Edges and choose Electric Potential.
2 Select Edge 10 only.
3 In the Settings window for Electric Potential, locate the Electric Potential section.
4 In the V0 text field, type V_in.

Continuity 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Edges and choose Continuity.
2 In the Settings window for Continuity, locate the Layer Selection section.
3 From the Source list, choose Silver Layer (mat2).
4 From the Destination list, choose Nichrome Layer (mat3).

With the materials defined, set up the remaining physics of the model. In the next section,
the resistive loss within the circuit is defined as a heat source for the thermal stress physics.
The resistive loss is calculated automatically within the Electric Currents, Layered Shell
physics interface. Add the coupling feature Electromagnetic Heating to take the resistive loss
into account.

MULTIPHYSICS

Electromagnetic Heating, Layered Shell 1 (ehls1)

In the Physics toolbar, click Multiphysics Couplings and choose Boundary>
Electromagnetic Heating, Layered Shell.

Add the coupling feature Solid-Shell Connection to connect the Solid Mechanics with
Membrane.

Solid-Thin Structure Connection 1 (sshc1)

In the Physics toolbar, click Multiphysics Couplings and choose Global>Solid-
Thin Structure Connection.

17 | HEATING CIRCUIT
HEAT TRANSFER IN SOLIDS (HT)
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Heat Transfer in Solids (ht).

Heat Flux 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Heat Flux.
2 Select Boundaries 4 and 6–8 only.

3 In the Settings window for Heat Flux, locate the Heat Flux section.
4 Click the Convective heat flux button.
5 In the h text field, type h_air.

6 In the Text text field, type T_air.

Heat Flux 2
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Heat Flux.
2 Select Boundary 3 only.
3 In the Settings window for Heat Flux, locate the Heat Flux section.
4 Click the Convective heat flux button.
5 In the h text field, type h_fluid.
6 In the Text text field, type T_fluid.

18 | HEATING CIRCUIT
SOLID MECHANICS (SOLID)
In order for the problem to be well posed, the glass plate must be constrained so that it
does not have any possible rigid body translations or rotations. The constraints must be
such that no stresses are induced by inhibited thermal expansion.

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Solid Mechanics (solid).

Rigid Motion Suppression 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Rigid Motion Suppression.
2 Select Domain 1 only.

MESH 1

Free Triangular 1
1 In the Mesh toolbar, click Boundary and choose Free Triangular.
2 Select Boundaries 4 and 6–8 only.

Size 1
1 Right-click Free Triangular 1 and choose Size.
2 In the Settings window for Size, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.
4 Locate the Element Size section. Click the Custom button.
5 Locate the Element Size Parameters section. Select the Maximum element size check box.
6 In the associated text field, type 2.

Swept 1
In the Mesh toolbar, click Swept.

Distribution 1
1 Right-click Swept 1 and choose Distribution.
2 In the Settings window for Distribution, locate the Distribution section.
3 In the Number of elements text field, type 3.
4 Click Build All.

STUDY 1
In order to improve the solver’s performance, set the scaling of Solid Mechanics degree of
freedom to 1e-3.

Solution 1 (sol1)
1 In the Study toolbar, click Show Default Solver.

19 | HEATING CIRCUIT
2 In the Model Builder window, expand the Solution 1 (sol1) node.
3 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 1>Solver Configurations>
Solution 1 (sol1)>Dependent Variables 1 node, then click Displacement field (comp1.u).
4 In the Settings window for Field, locate the Scaling section.
5 From the Method list, choose Manual.
6 In the Scale text field, type 1e-3.
7 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1>Solver Configurations>Solution 1 (sol1)>
Dependent Variables 1 click Displacement field (comp1.u2).
8 In the Settings window for Field, locate the Scaling section.
9 In the Scale text field, type 1e-3.
10 In the Study toolbar, click Compute.

RESULTS
The default plots show the von Mises stress including the deformation (Figure 5) and the
temperature (Figure 4) on the surface of the full 3D geometry, and the electric potential
and the von Mises stress on the circuit layer.

Surface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Stress (solid) node, then click Surface 1.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 From the Unit list, choose MPa.
4 In the Stress (solid) toolbar, click Plot.

Surface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Stress (mbrn) node, then click
Surface 1.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 From the Unit list, choose MPa.
4 In the Stress (mbrn) toolbar, click Plot.

Study 1/Solution 1 (2) (sol1)

1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Datasets node.
2 Right-click Results>Datasets>Study 1/Solution 1 (sol1) and choose Duplicate.

Selection
1 In the Results toolbar, click Attributes and choose Selection.
2 In the Settings window for Selection, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.

20 | HEATING CIRCUIT
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.

To generate Figure 3 follow the steps below.

Surface Losses
1 In the Results toolbar, click 3D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, type Surface Losses in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Data section. From the Dataset list, choose Study 1/Solution 1 (2) (sol1).

Surface 1
1 In the Surface Losses toolbar, click Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the Expression section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>
Electric Currents in Layered Shells>Heating and losses>ecis.Qsh - Surface loss density,
electromagnetic - W/m².
3 In the Surface Losses toolbar, click Plot.
4 Click the Scene Light button in the Graphics toolbar.
5 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

The following steps generate a plot of the norm of the surface traction vector in the surface
plane (see Figure 6):

Interface Stress
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 3D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, type Interface Stress in the Label text
field.
3 Locate the Data section. From the Dataset list, choose Study 1/Solution 1 (2) (sol1).

Surface 1
1 In the Interface Stress toolbar, click Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type sqrt(solid.Tax^2+solid.Tay^2).
4 From the Unit list, choose MPa.
5 In the Interface Stress toolbar, click Plot.
Finally, to obtain Figure 7, proceed as follows:
6 In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Surface.

21 | HEATING CIRCUIT
Surface 1
Select Boundary 3 only.

Displacement, Bottom Boundary

1 In the Results toolbar, click 2D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, type Displacement, Bottom Boundary in
the Label text field.

Surface 1
1 Right-click Displacement, Bottom Boundary and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the Expression section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>Solid Mechanics>
Displacement>solid.disp - Displacement magnitude - m.
3 Locate the Expression section. In the Unit field, type um.
4 In the Displacement, Bottom Boundary toolbar, click Plot.

The absolute displacement is not important in itself, since it is just a function of how the
rigid body constraints are applied. Instead, you want to see how much the boundary
deviates from being planar. To display that, create a linear approximation to the
deformation using a least-squares fit. Then, plot the deviation from that plane.

DEFINITIONS (COMP1)

Integration 1 (intop1)
1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Nonlocal Couplings and choose Integration.
2 In the Settings window for Integration, type intBelow in the Operator name text field.
3 Locate the Source Selection section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose
Boundary.
4 Select Boundary 3 only.
5 Locate the Advanced section. From the Frame list, choose Material (X, Y, Z).

Variables 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Definitions and choose Variables.
2 In the Settings window for Variables, locate the Variables section.
3 Click Load from File.
4 Browse to the model’s Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
heating_circuit_variables.txt.

5 Click the Show More Options button in the Model Builder toolbar.

22 | HEATING CIRCUIT
6 In the Show More Options dialog box, in the tree, select the check box for the node
General>Variable Utilities.
7 Click OK.

Matrix Inverse 1 (matinv1)

1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Variable Utilities and choose Matrix Inverse.
2 In the Settings window for Matrix Inverse, type AInv in the Name text field.
3 Locate the Input Matrix section. From the Matrix format list, choose Symmetric.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:

A1 Ax Ay
Ax Axx Axy
Ay Axy Ayy

STUDY 1
In the Study toolbar, click Update Solution.

RESULTS

Surface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results>Displacement, Bottom Boundary click
Surface 1.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type w-(w_0+w_x*X+w_y*Y).

23 | HEATING CIRCUIT
4 In the Displacement, Bottom Boundary toolbar, click Plot.

To calculate the values for the total generated heat and the integrated heat flux on the fluid
side, perform a boundary integration:

Surface Integration 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click More Derived Values and choose Integration>
Surface Integration.
2 Select Boundary 3 only.
3 In the Settings window for Surface Integration, click Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expressions section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>
Heat Transfer in Solids>Boundary fluxes>ht.q0 - Inward heat flux - W/m².
4 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
The result should be close to 8.5 W.

RESULTS

Surface Integration 2
1 In the Results toolbar, click More Derived Values and choose Integration>
Surface Integration.

24 | HEATING CIRCUIT
2 In the Settings window for Surface Integration, locate the Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Circuit.
4 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the Expressions section. From the
menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>Electric Currents in Layered Shells>
Heating and losses>ecis.Qsh - Surface loss density, electromagnetic - W/m².
5 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
The result should be close to 13.8 W.

25 | HEATING CIRCUIT
26 | HEATING CIRCUIT