Tutorial: How to perform a transient thermal analysis in SolidWorks

In this tutorial you will learn how to perform a transient thermal analysis, on a heat sink, in SolidWorks.

2 Answers

This is a tutorial for the 'Software Tricks of the Trade' Challenge found here http://grabcad.com/challenges/software-tricks-of-the-trade

Note: This is CPU intensive.

You can view the tutorial files on GrabCad here: Tutorial: How to perform a transient thermal analysis in SolidWorks

The ZIP files contains the parts and assembly that I used to create this tutorial as well as some addition images that may help you find commands within SolidWorks. It also has the analysis saved. You can download it from the project link or you can additionally download the attached ZIP file, directly from here.

A thermal analysis can be used to study the effects that temperature has on components or assemblies. Using a transient analysis can show you how the temperature varies with time. This tutorial will help you understand the basics of performing a transient thermal analysis in SolidWorks. Knowledge of heat transfer is preferable when doing a study like this.

Answered with a tutorial: https://grabcad.com/tutorials/tutorial-how-to-perform-a-transient-thermal-analysis-in-solidworks

It doesn't make a lot of sense to use an FEM code for a CFD application. Simply the airflow is more complex and the temperature field will be different than in your constant 20 W/(m^2*K).
I would rather advice to use SW Flowsimulation and use the result of that CFD simulation in a stress simulation to find the critical stresses than doing CFD in a stress simulation (FEM) tool.