Set the boundary schedules
For either heat or moisture, start with compatible material properties, a laminate and initial conditions. Define a separate surface schedule for each type of load.
Capabilities / 02.5
Follow heat and moisture
through the thickness.
Set the initial state and independent top and bottom schedules, then follow the steady-state or transient response through the thickness before structural analysis. Use effective ply transport properties to study cure exotherm, cure-dependent modulus, polymer kinetics and water uptake or release, and compare candidates through process-cycle optimization.
Visualize the moving web, process zones and roller arrangement before inspecting temperature and pressure along the line. Existing Workbench GUI capture; illustrative process settings.
Workbench capture · September 2026 asset collection. This capture shows the interface with demo data. It is not a new solver run or a validation certificate. Control locations may differ in later releases.CDS2026a development preview
IR lamps and radiant heaters
Plan radiant heating with point lamps, finite tube lamps or rectangular emitter panels. Compare source geometry, placement and absorbed irradiation before choosing a process arrangement.
A finite emitting barrel with active length and diameter
The model integrates radiation over the cylindrical sidewall. A bare tube emits around its full circumference, with non-emitting end caps.
No reflector is assumed. Rotating the tube does not redirect all its power downward.
Hardware: point lamps use total radiant power in W. Finite tube and panel sources use active dimensions plus total W or surface exitance in W/m².
Installation: X/Y/Z position, tilt and azimuth. Finite sources also offer emitter roll. Composite and roller absorptance are independent.
Review: substrate and roller irradiation maps, partial shadows and Standard/Fine source integration.
Direct absorbed irradiation feeds a width-averaged, through-thickness thermal calculation. These controls do not add lateral temperature conduction, reflections or temperature-driven re-emission. The new positioned-source path is separate from the existing ATP/AFP IR-emitter model.
Source setup, flux review and model limits →Preview of active development. Availability in your installed or public Workbench release must be checked separately. Teaching hardware requires optical and thermal calibration.
Follow temperature and pressure along the line
Existing Solved Prepreg 05 GUI capture: prescribed surrounding temperatures and solved plate surface temperatures are distinguished. This is a prepregging example, not an ATP result or validated production window.
03.62 · Thick laminate: reaction heating, cure gradient and process stress
Level 4AdvancedEst. 40 min
Connected study preview, not a live calculation. Edit inputs and inspect results in Workbench.
About this physical setup
Conceptual setup, not a solved result. Use the existing live process view in Workbench to inspect this exercise’s linked equipment, boundary settings and results.
About this workflow view
All blocks keep the CREATE / DISCOVER / SIMULATE positions, with Equipment below Geometry; unused records remain disconnected. This changes the view only, not the exercise records. The diagram shows the setup, not solved results.
∑ Used models & submodels
Only models assigned to records used by this exercise are listed here. The full-layout option preserves the supplied starter records; no Workbench records are changed.
Halpin–Tsai · T700 / EP180 UD · Thermal processing
One compatible homogenization model per Micro recipe. Separate recipes compare models; their predictions are not blended.
∑ Theory & assumptionsCLT · Linear static with failure indices · Plate — Nx Static Validation · Thermal laminate warping
Shared laminate stiffness drives this membrane/CLT path. Failure criteria are independent comparisons, not blended models. Fatigue is a separate assessment.
∑ Theory & assumptions1D transient heat transfer · T700 Thermal Process · Thermal laminate warping
Needs linked laminate properties and a compatible process schedule. A linked cycle is not a solved temperature history.
∑ Theory & assumptionsMaximum stress · Plate — Nx Static Validation · Thermal laminate warping
Primary ply criterion for Plate — Nx Static Validation · Thermal laminate warping. Envelope comparisons are independent; criteria are not blended.
∑ Theory & assumptionsData travelling between blocks
Micro → Laminates
Predicted ply stiffness, strength, density and expansion properties.
Materials → Micro
Constituent stiffness, strength, density and thermal / moisture properties.
Mechanical → Simulation
SIMULATION selects this case and its analysis model; the case owns its applicable cycle and input references.
Laminates → Mechanical
Ply angles and thicknesses, stiffness, mass and ply properties.
Geometry → Mechanical
Part shape and dimensions, thickness or section definition, and model-specific geometric inputs. Each selected case consumes only the dimensions its model supports.
Thermal → Simulation
SIMULATION selects this case and its analysis model; the case owns its applicable cycle and input references.
Laminates → Thermal
Ply angles and thicknesses, stiffness, mass and ply properties.
Equipment → Thermal
Linked lasers, IR/UV lamps, heaters, coolers and molds: dimensions, radiant power or prescribed temperature / heat flux, contact conductance, body and surface materials. Each boundary keeps its own placement, side and exposure.
Models → Micro
Applied model assignment: Halpin–Tsai. Model parameters and formulation are used by Micro.
Models → Mechanical
Applied model assignment: CLT · Linear static with failure indices. Model parameters and formulation are used by Mechanical.; Maximum stress
Models → Thermal
Applied model assignment: 1D transient heat transfer. Model parameters and formulation are used by Thermal.
Run the 6 mm laminate through the 120°C dwell with its linked resin reaction heat.
Models: Heat transfer · Classical laminate theory · Extension–bending coupling · Thermomechanical coupling
Study scope and limitations
Teaching inputs, not qualified allowables. Sequential coupling transfers the reported thermal/moisture state to laminate mechanics; it is not simultaneous 3D multiphysics. Inspect the transferred state and reference values before interpreting stress or curvature. Free laminate CLT curvature, not fixture-constrained distortion, a full tool-release simulation or calibrated cure-shrinkage prediction.
02.5 / How to use it
What to set, compare and checkThermal and moisture formulations
Choose the steady or transient transport model for the study. Transient histories resolve the supported one-dimensional through-thickness problem.
Cure, crystallization and UV
Link calibrated material laws to calculate the supported polymer-state changes. For UV cure, supply the exposure inputs. For pultrusion, define the distance/time relationship and pulling speed.
Supported coupling
A process schedule alone is not a solved history. Only compatible coupled analyses consume recovered environmental fields; reference-elastic studies remain separate.
Tool-release shape
The separate free-release CLT study uses prescribed temperatures and effective shrinkage. It is not a tool-contact simulation or an automatic transfer of the thermal cure history.
Process optimization
Compare bounded cycle candidates against the supported objectives. Save the validation data, then rerun the candidate you select.
Explore the models, connections and theory →
What to check and where it applies
- Transport is one-dimensional through laminate thickness.
- Thermal and moisture analyses require separate boundary definitions.
- Cure, crystallization and residual-shape parameters require calibration.
- Tool-release shape is a separate prescribed-eigenstrain study, not tool contact or automatic cure-history release.
Controls and workflow details · 5 features
- Steady / transient thermal and moisture selections
- Initial state and independent surface boundary histories
- Assigned cure, crystallization and cure-dependent modulus models
- Supported pultrusion and UV cure studies
- Bounded process optimization and saved candidate results