CapeSym

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Differences Between Solutions

The Differences... menu item from the Solve menu can be used to compare temperatures node-by-node for two identical solution meshes. The two solutions must have exactly the same number of nodes, and the same time points if unsteady. The Differences... calculation is therefore most useful for displaying the effects of changes in power dissipation or material properties, but not for comparing the effects of changes in dimensions or the number of gates.

Starting with a solution already loaded and displayed, the Differences... menu item opens a file dialog that lets the user select a solution file to subtract from the solution in memory. The temperature at each node from the file is subtracted from the temperature at that same node in memory. The result is a 3D distribution of the temperature differences expressed relative to 0ºC. The differences are only meaningful in Celsius, so the temperature scale is changed to Celsius and the graphical display updated. Slicing, plotting, snapshot and other commands can then used to further investigate the differences solution.

Differences smaller than -273.15 C will not display correctly, because only positive temperatures (in Kelvin) may exist in a solution. Take this into account when choosing the order of differencing. Load the hottest solution first, then use Differences... to subtract a cooler solution, so that the largest differences will be positive and will display correctly.