2D Mesh Collector dialog box (Thermal/Flow/SST/ESC)

Element Topology
The options described on this page are for:Element Family = 2D****Collector Type = Shell or Axi Shell ZX
Type
Appears when Collector Type is set to Shell.
Type	Specifies the type of 2D mesh collector to create.Thin ShellSpecifies a mesh with a single layer of elements or two identical layers of elements. Use the Create Top and Bottom as Two-Layer Shells option in the Top to Bottom Couplings group to control whether the software creates one or two layers.Null ShellSpecifies a mesh with a null thickness and null material properties. Elements with Null Shell properties cannot model in-plane conduction, though with the Top to Bottom Couplings option, they can model through-plane conduction.Multi-Layer Shell UniformSpecifies a mesh with any odd number of identical layers with the same material and thickness. Elements with this type are typically used to model detailed through-plane conduction rather than to model physical layers.Multi-Layer Shell Non-UniformSpecifies a mesh with multiple layers. Each layer can have a different material and thickness.PCB StackSpecifies a mesh that contains layers and vias. You model a PCB structure creating and arranging a sequence of PCB Layer and PCB Via modeling objects.Shell AxisymmetricModels circular solids using axisymmetric shell elements in a thermal model that has both axisymmetric elements and non-axisymmetric elements. The axisymmetric elements cannot share nodes with the non-axisymmetric elements.
Material
Appears when Type is set to Thin Shell, Multi-Layer Shell Uniform, or Shell Axisymmetric, or when Collector Type is set to Axi Shell ZX.
Material	Assigns an isotropic or orthotropic material with thermal properties to the mesh collector. Fluid materials are not supported for this type of collector.Select a material from the list of materials assigned to the model, or click Choose material to define a new material.Note: For Shell Axisymmetric type, you can only assign isotropic material.
Material Orientation
Appears when Type is set to Thin Shell or Multi-Layer Shell Uniform, or when Collector Type is set to Axi Shell ZX.
Material Orientation Method	Specifies the method used to define the material orientation for orthotropic or anisotropic materials and for directional specular reflectivity in radiation modeling.Coordinate SystemSpecifies the main conduction plane and the main conduction direction for a selected coordinate system. You specify the type of coordinate system in the Material Orientation Type list and the main conduction plane and direction in the Main Conduction Plane and Direction list. Material Orientation lets you use the standard coordinate system tools to define the material orientation based on a local coordinate system.Orientation AngleRotates the main conduction plane from the first edge of the element by a constant angle that you specify in the Orientation Angle box.Tangent CurveRotates the main conduction plane by a constant angle from a line that is tangent to the specified edge or curve. You specify the angle in the Rotation Angle box and the edge or curve using Select Edge or Curve .VectorRotates the main conduction plane by a constant angle from a specified vector. You specify the angle in the Rotation Angle box and the vector using Specify Vector .Tangent Curve and Vector are not available when Collector Type is set to Axi Shell ZX.
Physical Property
Appears when Collector Type is not set to Axi Shell ZX.
Thin Shell/Multi-Layer/Layer Stack	Specifies the thickness definition for single or multi-layer shells.Select None to define the thickness using the Mesh Associated Data.Select a physical property table from the list, or click Create Physical to define a new physical property table.Click Edit to modify the specified physical property table.Click More Options to search and filter physical property tables. The following options are available.FindLets you search for an object by entering the full name of the object. If the object is found, it is selected automatically.Example: To find a region named ABC_region, type ABC_region in the search box and press Enter or click Find .Filter by NameLets you filter the list by the names of the objects. This filter supports wildcards. The default wildcard is the asterisk (), and it displays all entries in the list.Example: To filter the list to display every object with a name starting with the letter “a, enter a as the filter string.
PCB Stack Property	Specifies the printed circuit board stack sequence physical property.Select a physical property table from the list, or click Create Physical to define a new physical property table.Click Edit to modify the specified physical property table.Click More Options to search and filter physical property tables.
Thermo-Optical Properties
Appears when Type is not set to Multi-Layer Shell Non-Uniform or Shell Axisymmetric.
Radiation	Appears when Type is set to Shell Axisymmetric.Activates radiation calculations for the elements in the mesh collector.
Radiation	Appears when Type is not set to Shell Axisymmetric.Specifies whether and where radiation calculations for the elements in the mesh collector occur.You can activate radiation calculation for the following faces of the shell: top face, bottom face, or both, top and bottom faces.
Thermo-Optical Properties / Top / Bottom	Thermo-Optical Properties available when Radiation is selected. Top available when the Radiation is set to Top or Top and Bottom. Bottom available when the Radiation is set to Bottom or Top and Bottom.Specifies the thermo-optical properties for modeling radiation.Black BodyDefines an emissivity of 1.Thermo-Optical Properties Defines a constant or temperature-varying emissivity.Thermo-Optical Properties-AdvancedDefines the infrared and solar thermo-optical properties for modeling gray radiation or wavelength-dependent thermo-optical properties for modeling non-gray radiation.Thermo-Optical Properties - StateDefines up to five thermo-optical property states. Each state references one Thermo-Optical Properties or Thermo-Optical Properties - Advanced modeling object. Use Thermo-Optical Properties - State to model optical property degradation.This modeling object is only available in Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow or Space Systems Thermal solver environments.Select Black Body or a modeling object from the list, or click Open Manager to define a new modeling object.Click Edit to modify the specified modeling object.Click More Options to search and filter modeling objects.
Top to Bottom Couplings
Appears when Type is set to Thin Shell or Null Shell and Radiation is set to Top and Bottom.
Create Top and Bottom as Two-Layer Shells	Creates null shell elements behind the main elements to represent the bottom elements. The thermal solver computes different temperatures for top and bottom elements. The conduction happens only in the main elements.If you do not select this option, the thermal solver models conduction in only two dimensions. Each element has a single temperature value with no distinction between top and bottom sides, for example, when through-plane temperature differential is insignificant.
Account for	Appears when Create Top and Bottom as Two-Layer Shells is selected.Specifies the type of heat transfer that takes place between the top and bottom sides of the element.ConductionSpecifies conductive heat transfer between the top and bottom layers using the value that you set in the Heat Transfer Coefficient box. No heat transfer is calculated based on the assigned material thermal conductivity or specified thickness value in the associated physical property table.RadiationSpecifies radiative heat transfer between the top and bottom layers using the value that you set in the Effective Emissivity box. No heat transfer is calculated based on the assigned material thermal conductivity or specified thickness value in the associated physical property table.You can calculate the effective emissivity value by multiplying the known emissivity of the layer by the known gray body view factor between the layers. The gray body view factor is the fraction of total radiative energy leaving one element that is absorbed by another.Conduction and RadiationSpecifies that both conductive and radiative heat transfer be accounted for using the specified Heat Transfer Coefficient and Effective Emissivity values.NoneSpecifies that no heat transfer exists between the top and bottom sides.
Axisymmetric Properties
Appears when Type is set to Shell Axisymmetric.
Revolve Axis	Lets you specify a vector and a point that define the axis of revolution for the axisymmetric elements. You specify the X-axis, Y-axis, or Z-axis of the absolute coordinate system only.
Number of Axisymmetric Segments	Sets the value for the number of axisymmetric segments that the thermal solver uses to complete one full revolution.

How do I

Create a Mesh Collector

Define 2D element material orientation (Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal)

Learn more

Mesh collectors

Defining materials for Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal

Shell thickness

Thin Shell

Thermo-optical properties

Understanding Top to Bottom Couplings for 2D shell elements (Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal)

PCB Stack

Look up more details

Summary of available Mesh Collector properties for Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal

Working with multi-layer shell elements

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

Simcenter 3D tutorials

Browse Simcenter 3D help by product area

Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal

Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal boundary conditions

2D Mesh Collector dialog box (Thermal/Flow/SST/ESC), Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

© 2020 Siemens

window.mainLanguage="en_US"

window.delivId=""

window.projectId=""

MathJax.Hub.Config({ TeX: { extensions: ["autoload-all.js"] }, tex2jax: { displayMath: [ ] }, "SVG": { scale: 125 } });