Extended modules > Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis > Apply loads and boundary conditions > Free convection loading
  
Free convection loading
Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis treats convection as a temperature loading -- similar to the enforced displacement loading in mechanical loading.
To set a convection loading,
This is rate of cooling across a face (transfer of heat to the ambient environment or from the ambient environment to the face).
1. Click FEA and then, in the Thermal LBC group, click Bnd Cond. The Boundary Cond dialog box opens.
2. Click Face in Convection. The Convection dialog box opens.
3. If necessary, give the study a name.
When no name has been earlier provided, you can click Study and type a new one in the highlighted box.
4. Click Name. Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis suggests a name for the current constraint in the Name box. You can accept the proposed name or type a new one in the highlighted box.
5. Click Ref Face and specify a face.
6. Type a value for the ambient temperature in the Value box (under Ambient Temperature).
7. Type a value for the film coefficient in the Value box (under Film Coeff). The film coefficient dictates the rate of cooling (or heating depending on the ambient temperature) -- a rough surface (high value) cools quicker than a smooth surface (low value).
8. Click Next to remain in the dialog box and define additional convection loads or click to apply the loading.
Temperature-dependent convection
An additional feature of FE Analysis's convection functionality is being able to set temperature-dependent convections. When you click the Temp Dependent check box, Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis expands the Convection dialog box to include the following options:
Factor
Increases the film coefficient value by a specified factor. It is particularly useful when you put entries into the Film Coefficient Table.
Temperature
Type the part temperature.
Incrmnt
Increments the temperature entry by a specified value.
Delete Entry
Deletes an entry from the Film Coefficient Table. Highlight an entry to delete and click Apply to transfer the values to the Convection dialog box. (You can also double-click the entry.) Click Delete Entry to delete the entry from the table.
Set Entry
Sets an entry in the table.
Evaluate
Evaluates the film coefficient for all table entries using the temperature value and the factor.
The Film Coefficient Table appears and shows the following information:
Temperature
Shows the fixed temperature that you have entered.
Factor
Shows the current factor. When you click Evaluate
in the Convection dialog box, the film coefficient is multiplied by the factor (the factor then resets to 1).
Film Coeff
Shows the current value of film coefficient at the temperature that you have entered.
Temperature values that are not specified in the table and that lie between two existing temperature values in the table, are linearly interpolated between the given temperature values. Temperature values that lie beyond the temperature values specified in the table are linearly extrapolated using the first and the last temperature values in the table.