Autodesk Simulation Mechanical allows the use the results of a thermal analysis to be used in our Mechanical Event Simulation (MES). This is a great way to see how the effects of heat affect your components under a structural load. I found a great tip in some instances.
Use the Same Contact Type
The use of Surface Contact pairs should provoke anticipation during setup of any multi-physics analysis. When the results of a thermal analysis will be handed off to a subsequent MES (and surface contact pairs will be applied), the initial thermal analysis and subsequent structural analysis must have the same contact pair setup. This is the case even where the benefits of surface contact, such as thermal conductivity variation is not observed.
When Surface Contact pairs are used, the node numbering between the two mating component surfaces will be made consistent. These will have the same coordinates and connected by a zero-length gap element. Otherwise, as is the case with Bonded contacts, the nodes are merged into a single node, and Simulation Mechanical would not be able to translate the thermal results of the merged nodes to a later Surface Contact pair.
