Physics setup overview

Overview of the Physics Setup in Twin Fabrica

The Physics step is a critical phase in the design of a virtual thermal sensor within Twin Fabrica. This phase allows you to define the physical behavior of your system by configuring essential elements, which form the foundation for your sensor model.

Steps to Set Up the Physics

1. Define Core Elements:

In this phase, users define three core elements that govern the thermal behavior of the system:

1. Materials: Specify the thermal properties of each component.
2. Heat Sources: Model internal or external thermal energy inputs.
3. Boundary Conditions: Set the thermal interactions at the surfaces of the geometry (e.g., convection, insulation, fixed temperature).

These elements ensure the model accurately represents the component's thermal behavior, directly impacting the quality of the virtual sensor and simulation results.

2. Configure Materials:

Materials are essential for modeling how heat propagates through different parts of the system. Users must define the following thermal properties for each material:

1. Thermal Conductivity
2. Mass Density
3. Specific Heat Capacity

By accurately assigning materials and understanding their physical properties, users reduce the effort required in the calibration phase and ensure more accurate simulations.

3. Define Heat Sources:

Heat sources represent all internal heat generation phenomena within the component. These may include:

1. Electromagnetic heating
2. Joule effects (typical in electrical systems)

Users can configure multiple heat sources to simulate these thermal behaviors, which is especially important for components where internal power dissipation is significant, such as PCBs, power electronics, and electric motors.

4. Set Boundary Conditions:

Boundary conditions are crucial for modeling how the component exchanges heat with its surroundings. Twin Fabrica offers several boundary condition types to simulate different physical scenarios:

1. Convective Boundary Conditions
2. Constant Temperature (for components in thermal contact with fixed-temperature elements)
3. Advection Phenomena (for moving fluid domains or surface cooling)

Properly setting these boundary conditions ensures the system behaves realistically during simulations.

5. Use Advanced Features for Customization:

For more complex models, users can define custom mathematical expressions to refine their thermal models. These can be used to:

1. Describe complex heat loss mechanisms
2. Apply customized thermal loads
3. Import and model velocity fields or spatially varying parameters

This advanced feature gives expert users the flexibility to extend the model’s capabilities and improve the accuracy of the simulations.

6. Complete the Physics Setup:

After defining materials, heat sources, boundary conditions, and any advanced expressions, the user completes the Physics step by assembling and parameterizing the Full Order Model (FOM). This model serves as the baseline for the subsequent stages in the virtual sensor design workflow.

By setting up the physics accurately in Twin Fabrica, you ensure that the thermal behavior of your components is well-represented, which is crucial for the success of the following stages of your project.