Industrial

Educational

Scientific

Engineering questions

Sample problems

Examples gallery

Step-by-step tutorials

Verification examples

Programming examples

Distributive examples

Success stories

Customers

Main >> Applications >> Sample problems

Planar heater 3D - QuickField simulation example

Temperature distribution in irregularly shaped glass layers heated by an embedded serpentine planar conductor carrying the specified electric current.

Engineering question

How to find temperature distribution in planar glass heater?

Answer
Represent the very thin heater film as a surface heat source, apply indoor and outdoor convection, and solve the 3D steady-state temperature distribution in the glass.

More questions →

Typical applications
planar glass heaters, transparent heating panels, surface film heaters

Planar heater 3D

Download

Simulation problem

Problem Type
A 3D problem of Heat Transfer.

Geometry
There are 10 mm paddings between the glass edges and the heater.
Planar heater Temperature distribution in irregularly shaped glass layers heated by an embedded serpentine planar conductor carrying the specified electric current. Glass Indoor Outdoor Current 511 mm 4 mm 6 mm 995 mm

Given
Heater power 600 W/m².
Indoor air temperature is +20°C, convection coefficient is 8 W/m²*K.
Outdoor air temperature is -15°C, convection coefficient is 23 W/m²*K.

Task
Calculate temperature distribution in the glass.

Solution
Film thickness (~0.01 mm) is much less than the glass thickness. So we do not model film as a body, but as a surface with a surface power heat specified instead. For simplicity we assume that the heating power is evenly distributed in the serpentine stripe.

Result
Glass inner surface average temperature is +5.3°C, outdoor surface average temperature is +2.4°C.

Average heat flux generated by the planar heater is (171.76 - 51.02) / 0.42977 = 281 W/m².
Planar heater

Video

Related examples