Simcenter 3D Thermal
Finite Element Thermal Simulation Tightly Integrated with Structural Analysis
FE-based thermal simulation coupled with structural, acoustic and motion analysis inside NX. The tool of choice when thermal loads drive structural performance.
What It Is
Simcenter 3D Thermal answers the questions where temperature is only the beginning — thermal stress, warpage, creep, fatigue, and life. Native NX integration means geometry updates flow directly into the thermal model, and the same model produces stress and displacement, not just temperature maps.
Core Capabilities
Core capabilities
- FE steady-state and transient thermal analysis
- conduction, convection via correlations, radiation
- one-way and fully coupled thermal-structural
- thermal stress, strain, deformation and fatigue prediction
- space systems thermal including orbital heating and solar radiation
- thermal contact resistance modelling
- temperature-dependent material properties
- native NX integration with geometry updates flowing straight into the thermal model
- multi-discipline optimization in a single environment
- NX Nastran and Samcef solver support
Best For
- Thermal-structural stress and warpage
- Creep and low-cycle fatigue life prediction
- Spacecraft and satellite thermal control
- Turbine and engine casing thermal
- Cryogenic assemblies
- Electronics package warpage and reliability
Six-stage workflow position
Thermal-structural coupling and fatigue are system-level concerns; the aerospace and space use cases sit at system scale.
Why engineering teams choose Simcenter 3D Thermal.
Representative engineering situations these tools are asked to resolve.
- 01
A high-power module warps 40 µm under thermal cycling and loses TIM contact at the corners — Simcenter 3D Thermal resolves the coupled thermal-structural problem in one model, not two.
- 02
A satellite payload must survive orbital thermal cycling with view factors changing every 90 minutes — Simcenter 3D Thermal resolves the radiation-conduction transient and predicts the resulting stress on the bonded interfaces.
- 03
A turbine casing shows creep-driven distortion that a thermal-only model cannot predict — Simcenter 3D Thermal couples transient temperature to the structural creep response in a single environment.
- ECSS-E-ST-31C (space thermal control)
- MIL-STD-810
- Feeds NX Nastran and Samcef structural sign-off
- Structural analyst
- Thermal engineer
- Aerospace thermal engineer
- Reliability engineer
“Coupling thermal and structural analysis in one environment has helped us identify warpage and stress issues that a thermal-only simulation would have missed.”
Customer statement published by Siemens. Not an Electro Source engagement.
How this reaches your team.
Delivered by Electro Source with NX integration setup, coupled thermal-structural workflow training, and space-thermal template configuration. Contract thermal-structural studies available via ROIfast™.
Discuss Your Thermal-Structural Problem
Tell us the coupled physics — temperature-driven stress, warpage, creep, fatigue — and what decision the FE model needs to support.