Development and Experimental Verification of a Finite Element Model for PTC Panel Thermal Analysis

The Pyramidal Truss Core (PTC) panel is a new structural concept being used in applications requiring a high strength to weight ratio. This study is concerned with investigating the thermal characteristics of the PTC panels. In this regard, the focus of the analysis was to develop an accurate finite element model of PTC panels for thermal analysis. The resulting model included radiation mode of heat transfer as the dominant means of the heat transfer while neglecting the influence of heat transfer through natural convection. The accuracy of the developed model was verified by comparison of the finite element results with experimental data obtained from a set of tests conducted on PTC panels. Results of this comparison showed 10% and 20% difference in temperature and stress distributions, respectively. Additionally, the effects of boundary conditions and panel sizes on thermal deformations and stresses in PTC panels were investigated.