Our software portfolio THESEUS‑FE consists of several professional simulation tools for solving engineering problems related to thermal management problems and automotive paint shops.
Historically, the core of THESEUS‑FE is deeply rooted in simulating all kinds of thermal processes.
Typical application cases range from simple conductive heating of individual parts to highly sophisticated multi-physics simulations coupling conductive, convective and radiative effects.
Initially designed mainly for use in the automotive, transportation and aerospace industry, the core thermal solver has successively been extended to be widely applicable for all domains where thermal behavior needs to be investigated.
The traditional part of THESEUS‑FE consists of
Over the years, more application cases arose which demanded highly specialized solutions.
Building on our expertise gained over decades of solving thermal problems, we developed in close cooperation with our automotive customers efficient and robust solutions for simulating automative paint shop processes.
In this context the following tools complete the THESEUS‑FE portfolio:
The classical THESEUS‑FE module is a full-featured thermal solver capable of simulating all major modes of heat transfer. By coupling the various physical effects of heat conduction, convection and radiation it allows the effective solution of nearly all thermal management problems occuring in practice.
Whenever the transient thermal development of any component part is of concern, THESEUS‑FE is the proper tool to simulate it. THESEUS‑FE makes use of established Finite-Element methods to treat thermal conduction in solids - supplemented by various models for simulating radiative and convective heat loads.
The heat transfer solver is complemented by the FIALA-FE module for virtual human thermal simulation. It allows accurate predictions of thermal comfort of passengers in a given environment. For cases requiring the detailled modelling of fluid flow patterns, we provide the Coupler module for performing co-simulation with major CFD simulation tools. With these packages even the most complex engineering challenges are easily tackled.
Find out how THESEUS‑FE can be applied to solve complex heat transfer problemsThe FIALA-FE module is one of the many unique features of the THESEUS‑FE portfolio. It is a virtual model for simulating human thermophysiology and evaluating thermal comfort sensation.
FIALA-FE takes into account the internal heat production of the body metabolism, excess heat from physical labour, and all significant thermoregulatory effects such as shivering, sweating and respiration. Combined with external environmental conditions such as solar radiation or convective heat exchange it can be used to analyze the transient development of human body temperatures.
Furthermore it can be used to predict the comfort sensation when a human is exposed to certain environmental conditions. Typical use cases are the evaluation of thermal comfort (too hot, too cold, comfortable, ...) inside vehicle cabins or air-conditioned offices. A large selection of widespread comfort evaluation indices are available for rapid and intuitive interpretation of the simulation results.
Read more about assessing human thermal comfort using THESEUS‑FEBody coating and finishing in the automotive business has become a highly complex process. The bare metal of the car body surface is covered with several additional layers, including an ultra-thin corrosion protection layer, a filler to cover irregularities and protect against environmental influences, and finishers to yield a unique visual appeal.
Between the application of some of these layers, a paint-drying oven is used to cure and harden the material. It is not uncommon to use 4-5 different drying facilities during the overall process.
THESEUS‑FE OVEN simulates the transient temperature development inside such a paint-drying oven. The thermal results are directly used to ensure that optimal baking time frames are met to guarantee optimal paint layer properties. Additionally, the temperature solution is as an input to a subsequent structural mechanics analysis for predicting mechanical deformations occuring due to the heating and abrupt cooling of the car body.
See how THESEUS‑FE is applied to computationally analyze car paint-drying processesElectrophoretic Deposition Coating (EDC) or short E-Coating has become a standard process in car manufacturing. It is usually used to apply a corrosion resistance layer to the car body frame. The pre-treated car body is dipped into a tank containing a coating emulsion based on polymers. A static electric field causes migration of the ionized paint particles in the emulsion and subsequent deposition on the metallic car body. The result is a thin and uniform protection layer extending all the way into recessed corners and cavities.
With THESEUS‑FE E-Coating the coat deposition and buildup can be fully simulated. Problematic areas where the protection layer remains too thin are quickly identified and counter-measurements tested with minimal turnaround times.
The simulation of the coat quality contributes to minimizing the need for cost- and time-intensive measurements on physical prototypes.
Read more about simulating E-Coating paint deposition processes for car body corrosion protection using THESEUS‑FEFor simulating the viscoelastic behavior of adhesive materials used in connecting structural car body parts, a special user-material subroutine for use in Simulia Abaqus FEA is available. It models the unique mechanical behavior of adhesives and comprises a viscoelastic material model, a reaction kinetics model for curing of adhesives and special reporting functionality.
It is generally activated during a deformation analysis within Simulia Abaqus FEA using temperature results from the THESEUS‑FE OVEN module as input.
Inform yourself about the sophisticated viscoelastic material models for polymeric adhesives
The thermal solver at the core of THESEUS‑FE can look back on a successful history of over 40 years. This makes THESEUS‑FE one of the oldest and most mature CAE tools in the field of numerical thermal simulations.
At the center of our software portfolio THESEUS‑FE is the tool chain for thermal analysis simulations suitable for solving a wide range of heat transfer problems. The tools include
THESEUS‑FE is always a first-choice candidate whenever the transient thermal development of a component has to be analyzed. The application range of THESEUS‑FE encompasses but is not limited to:
THESEUS‑FE offers a steady-state and transient solver based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving heat transfer problems. Different types of thermal boundary conditions can be applied such as:
Most boundary conditions can be time-dependent or temperature-dependent. For full flexibility the user can import element-wise values from result files.
The numerical solver itself allows for
FIALA-FE, a virtual human thermal model based on latest research results in the area of thermophysiology, is included as well. Its purpose is the simulation of the temperature distribution of the human body on the surface as well as internally. Life-like simulations can be performed taking into account aspects as blood flow, respiration, evaporation, metabolic responses, sweating, shivering, cardiac output and local heat exchange between the manikin and its environment. The thermal manikin FIALA-FE is fully integrated in our solver THESEUS‑FE. It is a powerful tool providing both local and global thermal comfort indices. FIALA-FE is commonly used for determining optimal settings for automotive HVAC systems while maintaining passenger comfort. For electric vehicles an additional objective is maximizing vehicle range by reducing the HVAC energy consumption.
The easy-to-learn and clearly structured graphics user interface (GUI) of THESEUS‑FE is a highly valuable tool for reducing model building time. To further minimize model setup time, a vast material database including thermal properties of the most common materials is readily available. Default clothing datasets for typical summer and winter clothing settings are available as well. All simulation results are written to a single output file in the publicly documented HDF format which is perfectly suitable for storing numerical results. These simulation results can be visualized within the GUI at any time during and after the simulation. Various ways of displaying and interpreting results are possible, ranging from simple 2d plots to fully-featured 3d views. Results from THESEUS‑FE can be exported or mapped to various formats for use in third-party CAE simulation software and post-processing tools.
Simulation of heat transfer by conduction is done within THESEUS‑FE using established Finite Element approaches. The thermal conduction solver offers all features necessary for modelling highly complex cases of thermal conduction:
Thermal convection can be modelled using various means within THESEUS‑FE. For prescribing convective heat transfer, analytical models are available as well as direct user-input to apply heat transfer coefficients, fluid velocities or temperature value for each element individually. Special entities called 'Ventilation', 'Volumes' and 'Airzones' can be used to model ventilation systems and regions of air flow such as vehicle cabins.
For modelling heat transfer by convection, the following features are at hand:
THESEUS‑FE comprises many different mathematical models for representing energy exchange by thermal radiation. The overall spectrum of thermal radiation is separated into two bands, the so-called short-wave and long-wave radiation ranges.
The short-wave range includes all wavelengths below the ultraviolet spectrum, the entire spectrum of visible light and higher-frequency parts of the infrared spectrum. This is the typical domain of energy sources dominated by radiative energy exchange, including solar energy, domestic light sources and infrared radiators. This kind of radiation exchange usually takes place in a highly directional manner. Within the radiation solver, material parameters and interaction effects such as specular and diffuse reflection, transmission and absorption can be treated in a physically correct manner as a function of wavelength. Major effects covered by the short-wave radiation solver include:
The long-wave range is used to model intra-model thermal radiation energy exchange based on the current part temperature. Depending on the temperature, this type of thermal radiation can reach into the visible spectrum but is usually maximal in the non-visible, deep infrared range. The intra-model radiative exchange is modelled in a highly efficient manner using view factors calculated between all the surfaces of the finite element mesh.
Virtual human simulation model including all major thermal physiological effects.
Basal human body physiology.
Body temperature regulation mechanisms.
Measuring human thermal comfort.
Simulate human thermophysiological mechanisms and evaluate human thermal comfort.
FIALA-FE is a virtual computer model of the human body based on the latest research results in the area of thermophysiology for the simulation of human thermal responses and thermal comfort predictions. Realistic simulations can be performed taking into account aspects such as blood flow, breathing, evaporation, metabolic responses, sweating, shiver, cardiac output and the local heat exchange between the manikin and its environment. Insulation resulting from clothing can be assigned to each individual body part. The application possibilities of FIALA-FE greatly surpass the capabilities of physical manikins.
The thermal manikin FIALA-FE is fully integrated in our thermal analysis software THESEUS‑FE. It is a powerful tool providing both global and local thermal comfort indices, usable for tasks such as designing optimal HVAC control. When positioned in a vehicle cabin, the thermal manikin can be fully coupled with the surrounding environment. Convection, radiation and contact with the seat as well as evaporation, breathing and humidity are accounted for simultaneously.
The THESEUS‑FE package includes ready-to-use finite element models for a sedentary and standing postures, equipped with typical summer or winter clothing.
Common application areas for FIALA-FE are
The core formula for simulating thermophysiology.
At the center of the mathematical model for FIALA-FE is the Bioheat Equation. This differential equation balances the internal energy of the passive system through heat transfer and heat storage, in other words metabolism and blood flow. Mathematically, the human organism is separated into two interacting systems: the controlling active system, and the controlled passive system. FIALA-FE combines both, passive and active systems, in a complex model. It reaches a good fit with real experimental results of human thermal responses using test subjects in a wide range of environmental conditions.
Thermophysiological mechanisms of inner-body heat production and regulation.
FIALA-FE combines both passive and active system in a complex model that reaches a good fit with experimental results. Blood flow through the arteries transports heat and causes a warming of the body. In cold environments the blood vessels contract (vasoconstriction), causing blood flow to be restricted or slowed, retaining body heat and increasing vascular resistance, thus causing less heat to reach the skin surface. In warmer environments blood vessels widen (vasodilatation). The flow of blood is increased due to a decrease in vascular resistance and more heat reaches the surface of the skin.
The balance of heat of the human body is represented by
Thermoregulatory responses of the active system that protect the core from extreme conditions are:
These phenomena will be controlled by global state variables, which can be derived from the skin temperatures and the hypothalamus temperature.
Translate thermophysiological results into comfort sensation of actual people.
Thermal comfort models translate the physical description of the body thermal state into intuitive categories of cold, neutral or warm, comfortable or uncomfortable. Global models consider the complete thermal state, and local models hold for certain body parts, e.g. for the seat contact zone at the human back.
Global comfort indices aim at representing a person's overall comfort sensation as a single value. This one value can be taken as a general indication of the level of comfort under the given circumstances. Module FIALA-FE includes a large number of commonly used comfort indices and related quantities. These include
In contrast to the global ones, local comfort indices deliver insight into the comfort of individual body parts. They can be used to gauge the effect of localized heating/cooling of selected body parts on the overall state of comfort.
FIALA-FE includes the following models for local comfort evaluation:
A computer model of human thermoregulation for a wide range of environmental conditions: the passive system
[english]
D. Fiala, K. J. Lomas, M. Stohrer
De Montfort University Leicester, University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart
Journal of Applied Physiology, 1999, Vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 1957-1972
Some Considerations on Global and Local Thermal Comfort based on Fiala's Thermal Manikin in THESEUS-FE
[english, 0.3 MB]
S. Paulke, S. Wagner
P+Z Engineering
6th EUROSIM Congress on Modelling and Simulation | September 9-13, 2007 | Ljubljana, Slovenia
Finite Element Based Implementation of Fiala's Thermal Manikin in THESEUS-FE
[english, 1.6 MB]
S. Paulke
P+Z Engineering
VTMS 8 (Vehicle Thermal Management Systems Conference and Exhibition) | May 20-24, 2007 | Nottingham, UK
Workshop: Thermal Manikin FIALA-FE (decoupled-modus)
[english, 5.8 MB]
S. Paulke
P+Z Engineering
Workshop @ DLR | July 28, 2011 | Göttingen, Germany
Individualisation of virtual thermal manikin models for predicting thermophysiological responses
[english, 0.2 MB]
D. Wölki, C. van Treeck, Y. Zhang, S. Stratbücker, S. R. Bolineni, A. Holm
Fraunhofer IBP
June, 2011
Automotive paint shops for coating a body-in-white are highly complex, multi-stage processes. Several layers of coatings and paints are stacked on top of each other for corrosion protection and visual appeal.
After each layer is applied a paint-drying oven takes care of curing and hardening. This usually occurs after each of the following steps:
THESEUS‑FE OVEN simulates the full thermal development during the paint-drying process. For simulating the mechanical behavior of the car body under thermal stresses, we offer a user material routine for Simulia Abaqus. Its purpose is to describe the complex time-dependent viscoelastic behaviour of the adhesive materials used in the body-in-white.
Questions that arise when analyzing the paint-drying process include
With THESEUS‑FE OVEN you can gain deeper insight into the thermal behavior of the car body during the paint-drying process. Combined with our user material subroutine the thermal results can be used as input to a structural mechanics simulation for examining the mechanical effects of the paint-drying.
The combination of all these techniques allows users to optimize process times and ensuring the process quality during the early development phase. Experimental measurements are kept to a minimum and replaced with cost-efficient simulations. Being able to do this well before start-of-production guarantees that potential issues are detected early enough before required changes become too expensive or even impossible.
Contact us anytime to learn more about THESEUS‑FE OVEN module and the engineering services that we have to offer in this field.
THESEUS‑FE OVEN offers solutions for simulating the transient convective and radiative drying of lacquer and paint films applied in automotive paint shops. The simulation results are invaluable for verifying the paint-drying process and ensuring high-quality coatings.
Real-world paint drying ovens are modelled by prescribing temperature values for all walls and setting the positions and convective effect of all nozzles blowing air towards the car body. Paint dryers are usually divided into a series of sectors (heat-up, holding, and cooling). This sector division is mapped directly onto the model, a task conveniently supported by our graphical user interface with immediate visual feedback.
Our efficient numerical solver delivers the transient temperature distribution of the car body during its stay in the oven. Simulation results can be visually analyzed within the GUI including sophisticated evaluation procedures such as determining exposure times above a given threshold temperature.
Measured temperature curves at given locations can be taken as a reference to compare simulated and expected results directly.
Whenever a new paint drying facility is taken into use for the first time, the actual behaviour of the system is determined using simple temperature measurements on the body and the surrounding air. These measurements can be exploited using our Optimization module to fit unknown model parameters such as local heat transfer coefficients, a process known as oven calibration. Once this is done, one and the same paint dryer model can be used to simulate any number of car variants running through the facility.
The oven calibration workflow is well-documented and easily done by users of THESEUS‑FE OVEN. If advice is needed we are always at hand to support new customers with this task. Oven parameter calibration is also part of our standard portfolio of engineering services.