The ESATAN Thermal Network Analysis Computer Program

ESATAN is a new computer program for thermal analysis using the lumped parameter method. It has been developed by GEC Mechanical Engineering Laboratory under an ESTEC contract, and is intended as a replacement for the well-known SINDA program for ESTEC and its contractors. This paper describes the capabilities of ESATAN and the interface it presents to the user, highlighting its particular new features.

The overall approach is similar to that of SINDA, but user input is completely revised. Apart from details of data format, there are significant new features including hierarchical structuring of thermal models, simple commands to repeat or copy models, and a powerful and intelligent model Editor which can be used interactively to modify and correct existing models.

The program is written in ANSI Standard FORTRAN77 for machine portability, and is being extensively tested during development. It will be generally available in late Summer 1984.