Transient heat transfer processes with LV software – Lauterbach Verfahrenstechnik GmbH

TIME module

The TIME module offers various possibilities to calculate time-varying heat transfer processes. In combination with other modules of our software, you can thus flexibly calculate a wide variety of technical heating or cooling processes.

After starting the module, four options are available:

1. Infinite Fluid

This very simple calculation simulates a small body that is heated or cooled in a constant temperature environment from a starting temperature T_ko to the temperature T_k. The prerequisite is that the heat conduction in the body is so great that the temperature is approximately the same everywhere. This problem can be solved analytically with the help of the energy balance.

As with all our modules, you can use any value as a target value, i.e. for example the cooling time, the temperature after a given time, or determine the required body surface.

An example of this case is the cooling of a component or a vessel in flowing air.

2. Finitely Isolated Fluid

Here, a small body is cooled in a finite medium. The medium also changes its temperature during the process. Here, too, it is assumed that the temperature in the body is spatially approximately constant. The basis of this calculation is also the energy balance.

An example of this is the cooling of a component in a small amount of water.

3. Heating / Cooling

This option covers many real problems. In this process, a mass is heated or cooled with a continuous mass flow. This problem can also be described analytically if free convection can be neglected and the temperature in the body is the same everywhere.

The inlet temperature of the heating or cooling medium is constant, the outlet temperature changes over time. The outlet temperature at the end of the heating process is also indicated.

With this module in conjunction with our modules from the heat transfer area, you can simulate, for example, the cooling of a vessel with welded-on pipe coils, an internal tube bundle or similar.

4. Transient

This option is the most flexible in this module. Two areas with different heating/cooling medium temperatures and heat transfer coefficients can be distinguished. The heat transfer coefficient to the environment in the uncooled area is also taken into account. The temperature dependence of the heat transfer coefficient can be included in the consideration by up to three support points.

The mass flow, inlet temperature and heat transfer surface can be adjusted during the process. The result is the final temperature or the time until a given temperature is reached. The calculation is done numerically. The temperature curve and the curve of the transmitted power are displayed graphically.

The TIME module can be coupled with all modules from the field of heat transfer A complete solution for calculating the heating time of storage tanks is also already implemented in the TANK module.