Recent Advances in Shortening the Thermal Analysis Life-Cycle

The life cycle of thermal analysis is in many ways the same as it was more than twenty years ago. The array of tools used in the field of space thermal analysis has expanded and improved over time but the basic technology and steps required remain much the same. The commercial and time pressures on a project today are however typically considerably different to those of a similar project 20 years ago. We operate in an environment where time and cost are critical factors of the success of any operation and this trend continues to increase.

Each new generation of satellites and spacecraft must be designed and developed faster and better than ever before and have increasing complexity and increasingly involve multi-organisation and international collaborations. In this environment every step of the process must be continuously improved and optimised. The thermal analysis and design is certainly no exception.

Over the last few years a number of developments have been underway with this aim in mind and the fruits of these developments are now appearing. Advances in areas such as interfacing, integration and calculation methods are now delivering real advantage to users of ESATAN and ESARAD and this paper presents the background on the techniques and capabilities now available to the thermal engineer.