Download Latest Release Version

Download a Demonstration Program

Download Beta Version

Download TCON Manual

Requirements, Pricing and Ordering Information

Request More Information via E-mail

Rapid Thermal Modeler™

TCON™ is a thermal modeling tool developed by Frederick A. Costello, Inc., to enable the thermal engineer to develop thermal models more efficiently and more accurately. TCON™ converts from a modeler with a graphical user interface (GUI) into thermal radiation models and into thermal simulation models. TCON™ is linked to the FEMAP® GUI for model preprocessing and postprocessing, to TRASYS, SSPTA and TSS for radiation models, and to SINDA85 and SINDA/G for simulation models. Because FEMAP accepts many file formats, including PATRAN, MSC NASTRAN and AUTOCAD, the engineer can use the FEMAP-TCON combination to generate thermal models from many GUI formats.

TCON™, FEMAP®, SINDA, TRASYS and SSPTA are available from Frederick A. Costello, Inc. This set of programs provides the purchaser a full set of thermal simulation programs.

TCON™ reduces modeling time to one-third the amount of time required by conventional, less automated methods. In addition, because much of the tedium of conventional methods is removed, the models are more carefully developed. The engineer can watch the development and steps of the model generating process using the Rapid Thermal Modeler Flow Chart. As the model is developed, the flow chart signifies the completion of each step. The engineer can instantaneously see which step has been completed and what still needs to be done.

The Rapid Thermal Modeler™ creates the nodal heat capacitances, initial temperatures and conduction connections from a neutral file created by the FEMAP finite element modeling program by Enterprise Software Products, Inc.

In addition, the Rapid Thermal Modeler creates a radiation model, by either the corner-node or surface- centered modeling method. TCON™ generates radiation input files for SSPTA, TRASYS and TSS. The Rapid Thermal Modeler automatically creates MLI nodes and radiative connections to the underlying surfaces for all radiation surfaces designated by the user as being covered by multilayer insulation. Used with the OrbitPlotter™, space radiation models can be created, with any orbit, in the fraction of the time required by conventional modeling methods.

TCON™ supports many different types of elements. These elements include mass elements, line elements, planar elements and solid elements. You can model something as simple as contact conductance or as complex as a complete spacecraft.

OrbitPlotter™ allows the user to interactively define and view the orbit on the screen. Attitude control modes, attitudes and altitudes can be adjusted on the fly while viewing the orbiting vehicle. Environmental flux data are updated on the screen for further evaluation of the spacecraft position relative to the sun and earth.

Defining the spacecraft attitudes for spinning spacecraft is automatic, regardless of spin axis. Trajectory simulations, in which the spacecraft attitudes are defined by the user for each orbit position, are also easily handled. Complicated orbit parameters (sun declination angle, beta angle, etc.) are computed and displayed from the orbit parameters (altitude, day of launch, etc.) and properly output for orbit simulation. OrbitPlotter™ can generate input data in either TRASYS or SSPTA format.

NodeAllocate™

Radiation programs compute radiation factors and environmental fluxes based on finite areas. Because nodal radiation factors require subdivision of the element surfaces, direct computation of nodal factors requires more computation time than a method that allocates radiation factors for the element faces. By creating the radiation input file and correspondence data using the Use Elements as Radiation Surfaces option, the user elects to compute the radiation factors in two steps. First, the radiation analyzer (TRASYS, SSPTA or TSS) computes the factors for the element surfaces. Second, the user runs the Node Allocate module of TCON™ to allocate the elemental values to nodes. Frederick A. Costello, Inc., has presented several papers at the Intersociety Conference on Environmental System that show that, for typical element sizes, there is little difference in the accuracy of the two methods: direct computation of the nodal factors and node allocation of the elemental factors.

MAPBACK™ transfers the temperature data from the thermal analyzer output to the structural analyzer -- even when the two models are dissimilar. Although thermal and structural models may be generated from the same CAD drawings, the two disciplines usually generate dissimilar models. Each discipline has its own approximations, element sizes, and regions needing refinement. In addition, thermal models frequently include nongeometric entities such as heat exchangers and temperature controllers. The differences in the models frequently make concurrent thermal engineering exceedingly difficult. MAPBACK permits the two analysts to work without compromising their own disciplines yet permits the two to communicate, thereby overcoming the barriers to concurrent thermal engineering. Once the temperatures are computed by the thermal analyzer (e.g., SINDA), MAPBACK interpolates the values at the thermal nodes into the locations of the structural nodes.

MAPBACK™ converts the thermal and structural models into a consistent geometric file format. Many different GUI formats are acceptable, as are many radiation geometry formats, including TRASYS and SSPTA. For example, TRASYS and NASTRAN models can be converted into FEMAP® files. Within FEMAP, the user overlays the two geometries and identifies the corresponding major parts. MAPBACK takes the corresponding parts information and performs the mapping, part by part. The part-by-part process circumvents the many mapping difficulties associated with mapping a single model with highly different thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity. The temperatures at the structural nodes are automatically printed to a user selected input file format, such as NASTRAN. Thermal stresses and deformations can then be computed in NASTRAN, for example, with the temperatures generated in SINDA.

Test cases performed for NASA showed that MAPBACK reduces the effort required for temperature mapping from six engineering weeks by the previous method to only six engineering hours with MAPBACK. Competing programs require the thermal and structural models be identical which forces compromises between the two disciplines, and require an annual licensing fee that is many times higher than the one-time cost of MAPBACK.

		Frederick A. Costello, Inc.
		12864 Tewksbury Drive
		Herndon, VA  20171
		(703)620-4942 (voice)
		(703)620-4134 (fax)
		TCONOrder@facinc.com