Plotting Thermal Results

There’s a pdf or video showing how to use the worksheet to select the SURF152 or SURF252 elements in the results file, and plot the nmisc and smisc results. I searched for 10 minutes and couldn’t find it. Here’s a script to create the results without a million clicks and looking back and forth between two tables in the help.

SURF152 is the default ETYPE for convection and radiation to ambient.

SURF252 is the default ETYPE for surface to surface radiation.

SURF152 Result Table

Output Quantity	ETABLE and ESOL Command Input	Definition	Unit
HGTOT	SMISC1	Heat generation rate over entire element	W
HFCTOT	SMISC2	Convection heat flow rate over element area	W
HRTOT	SMISC3	Radiation heat flow rate over entire element	W
AREA	NMISC1	Surface area	m²
VNX	NMISC2	X component of unit normal vector
VNY	NMISC3	Y component of unit normal vector
VNZ	NMISC4	Z component of unit normal vector
HFILM	NMISC5	Film coefficient at each face node	W/m²K
TAVG	NMISC6	Average surface temperature	K
TBULK	NMISC7	Bulk temperature at each face node	K
TAW	NMISC8	Adiabatic wall temperature	K
RELVEL	NMISC9	Relative velocity	m/s
SPHTFL	NMISC10	Specific heat of the fluid	J/kgK
RECFAC	NMISC11	Recovery factor
EMISSUR	NMISC12	Average emissivity of surface
EMISEXT	NMISC13	Emissivity of extra node
TEMPSUR	NMISC14	Average temperature of surface	K
TEMPEXT	NMISC15	Temperature of extra node	K
FORM FACTOR	NMISC16	Average form factor of element
DENS	NMISC17	Density	kg/m³
MASS	NMISC18	Mass of element	kg
EL		Element Number
SURFACE NODES		Nodes - I, J, K, L
EXTRA NODE		Extra node (if present)
MAT		Material number
VOLU		Volume	m³
XC, YC, ZC		Location where results are reported	m
CONV. HEAT RATE/AREA	SMISC2 / NMISC1	Average convection heat flow rate per unit area	W/m²
RAD. HEAT RATE/AREA	SMISC3 / NMISC1	Average radiation heat flow rate per unit area	W/m²

SURF252 Result Table

https://www.mm.bme.hu/~gyebro/files/ans_help_v182/ans_elem/Hlp_E_SURF252.html

Output Quantity	ETABLE and ESOL Command Input	Definition	Unit
CENTROID X	NMISC1	X coordinate of element centroid	m
CENTROID Y	NMISC2	Y coordinate of element centroid	m
CENTROID Z	NMISC3	Z coordinate of element centroid	m
AREA	NMISC4	Surface area	m²
TEMP	NMISC5	Temperature	K
EMISSIVITY	NMISC6	Emissivity
Net outgoing radiation per unit area	NMISC7	Net outgoing radiation heat flux per unit area	W/m²
Emitted radiation per unit area	NMISC8	Emitted radiation heat flux per unit area	W/m²
Reflected radiation per unit area	NMISC9	Reflected radiation heat flux per unit area	W/m²
Incident radiation per unit area	NMISC10	Incident radiant heat flux per unit area	W/m²
Net outgoing radiation	NMISC7 * NMISC4	Net outgoing radiation heat flux × area	W
Emitted radiation	NMISC8 * NMISC4	Emitted radiation heat flux × area	W
Reflected radiation	NMISC9 * NMISC4	Reflected radiation heat flux × area	W
Incident radiation	NMISC10 * NMISC4	Incident radiant heat flux × area	W
Enclosure No.	NMISC18	Enclosure number

analysis_index = 0  # First analysis in the project
# List of plot names to generate; comment out any you don't want
selected_plot_names = [

    # SURF 151
    "Convection Heat Flow Rate [W]",
   # "Radiation Heat Flow Rate [W]",
   # "Average Surface Temperature [K]",
    "Bulk Temperature [K]",
  #  "Adiabatic Wall Temperature [K]",
  #  "Relative Velocity [m/s]",
  #  "Specific Heat of Fluid [J/kgK]",
  #  "Recovery Factor [-]",
  #  "Average Emissivity of Surface [-]",
  #  "Emissivity of Extra Node [-]",
  #  "Average Temperature of Surface [K]",
  #  "Temperature of Extra Node [K]",
  #  "Average Form Factor of Element [-]",
  #  "Density [kg/m³]",
  #  "Mass of Element [kg]",
    "Convection Heat Rate per Area [W/m²]",
  #  "Radiation Heat Rate per Area [W/m²]",
    "Heat Transfer Coefficient [W/m²K]",

    # SURF 252
    "Emissivity [-]",
    "Enclosure Number [-]",
    "Net outgoing radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
  #  "Emitted radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
  #  "Reflected radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
  #  "Incident radiant heat flux [W/m²]",
  #  "Net outgoing radiation [W]",
  #  "Emitted radiation [W]",
  #  "Reflected radiation [W]",
  #  "Incident radiant [W]",
]

##################################################

# solution = ExtAPI.DataModel.Tree.FirstActiveObject
solution = ExtAPI.DataModel.Project.Model.Analyses[analysis_index].Solution

plots = [
    {
        "Name": "Convection Heat Flow Rate [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'smisc2',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Radiation Heat Flow Rate [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'smisc3',
    },
    {
        "Name": Heat Transfer Coefficient [W/m²K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc5',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Average Surface Temperature [K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc6',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Bulk Temperature [K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc7',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Adiabatic Wall Temperature [K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc8',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Relative Velocity [m/s]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc9',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Specific Heat of Fluid [J/kgK]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc10',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Recovery Factor [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc11',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Average Emissivity of Surface [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc12',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Emissivity of Extra Node [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc13',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Average Temperature of Surface [K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc14',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Temperature of Extra Node [K]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc15',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Average Form Factor of Element [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc16',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Density [kg/m³]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc17',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Mass of Element [kg]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'nmisc18',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Convection Heat Rate per Area [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'smisc2/nmisc1',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Radiation Heat Rate per Area [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF152',
        "Expression": r'smisc3/nmisc1',
    },
]

plots.extend([
    {
        "Name": "Emissivity [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc6',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Enclosure Number [-]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc18',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Net outgoing radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc7',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Emitted radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc8',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Reflected radiation heat flux [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc9',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Incident radiant heat flux [W/m²]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc10',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Net outgoing radiation [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc7*nmisc4',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Emitted radiation [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc8*nmisc4',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Reflected radiation [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc9*nmisc4',
    },
    {
        "Name": "Incident radiant [W]",
        "ScopingMethod": GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem,
        "ItemType": ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs,
        "SolverComponentIDs": 'SURF252',
        "Expression": r'nmisc10*nmisc4',
    },
])

with Transaction():
    for plot in plots:
        if plot["Name"] not in selected_plot_names:
            continue
        user_defined_result = solution.AddUserDefinedResult()
        for key, value in plot.items():
            setattr(user_defined_result, key, value)
        # I don't know why this isn't set by the loop above
        user_defined_result.SolverComponentIDs = plot['SolverComponentIDs']

# Explicit example without loop
user_defined_result = solution.AddUserDefinedResult()
user_defined_result.ScopingMethod = GeometryDefineByType.ResultFileItem
user_defined_result.ItemType = ResultFileItemType.ElementNameIDs
user_defined_result.SolverComponentIDs = 'SURF152'
user_defined_result.Expression = r'nmisc5'