Thermal and Thermal-Fluid Simulation
Use thermal simulation when heat sources, material behavior, ventilation, or buoyancy can change an engineering decision. Physical AI connects approved scene geometry with airflow and temperature calculations so teams can compare layouts and operating scenarios before changing physical equipment.
Thermal simulation calculates temperature transport through materials or a fluid domain. Thermal-fluid simulation couples temperature with airflow so that moving air carries heat and temperature differences can influence the flow. The selected method should match the decision, available evidence, and required review depth.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Check |
|---|---|
| Engineering question | Define the decision, baseline, changed scenario, and acceptance criteria. |
| Versioned scene | Use approved CAD or USD geometry and a versioned Model Asset. |
| Boundary evidence | Prepare airflow, temperature, heat-source, material, and operating values with units and sources. |
| Execution profile | Confirm that the project or tenant profile enables the required solver and capacity. |
| Validation plan | Select measurements, reference cases, sensitivity checks, and the responsible reviewer. |
Workflow
Choose the study type
| Question | Suggested study | Typical output |
|---|---|---|
| How does heat move through a stationary material or region? | Conduction or scalar thermal study | Temperature profile, heat-flow direction, transient response |
| Where does supplied air travel? | Airflow study | Velocity field, pressure relationship, flow paths |
| How do airflow and heat sources interact? | Coupled thermal-fluid study | Temperature and velocity fields, buoyancy effects, heat-removal evidence |
| How does a reviewed field affect moving equipment or objects? | Reusable field with a physics runtime | Sampled field values, forces, torques, object response |
| How do several operating settings compare? | Governed scenario set | Comparable KPIs, field views, assumptions, validation record |
Prepare the evidence package
A reviewable study uses stable identities for the scene, geometry, inputs, solver profile, and output:
- an approved CAD or USD source and a versioned Model Asset;
- the simulation domain, solid geometry, openings, and coordinate system;
- airflow sources, returns, porous regions, leakage assumptions, and initial conditions;
- heat sources, temperatures, material properties, and thermal boundaries;
- mesh or grid settings, run duration, averaging window, and solver profile;
- measurements, reference cases, or acceptance criteria used for validation.
See Prepare Thermal-Fluid Simulation Inputs for the detailed preparation workflow.
Review the outputs
Review airflow and temperature together. A visually smooth field can still contain an incorrect boundary, unit, source direction, or energy balance. Keep the following with every accepted comparison:
| Evidence | Review focus |
|---|---|
| Input manifest | Geometry version, units, boundary values, source values, material assumptions |
| Run identity | Solver profile, run ID, timestamps, status, result checksum |
| Field results | Velocity, temperature, pressure, heat-source response, selected slices or probes |
| Balance checks | Inlet and outlet flow, heat input and removal, accumulated energy |
| Comparison record | Baseline, changed scenario, common review window, observed difference |
| Approval record | Reviewer, decision, limitations, follow-up measurement or test |
Use Interpret and Validate Thermal-Fluid Results before a result informs an engineering change.
Failure handling
| Problem | Response |
|---|---|
| Geometry cannot form a stable simulation domain | Repair openings, normals, scale, or disconnected regions and version the corrected source. |
| Boundary values conflict or lack units | Return the input package to its owner and record corrected values with source evidence. |
| Execution estimate exceeds the project limit | Reduce the domain, simplify immaterial detail, or split the question into reviewed stages. |
| The run does not converge or conserve flow and energy | Review grid, time step, boundaries, sources, and averaging window before retrying. |
| Scenario ranking changes under small input changes | Collect additional evidence, calibrate the uncertain inputs, and keep the decision pending. |
Availability
Thermal-fluid execution is enabled through a project or tenant simulation profile. Available solver settings, worker capacity, result fields, and retention rules depend on that approved profile. The application should show the selected input versions and execution estimate before a governed run is submitted.