Step A) Specify the surrounding temperature profile:

· T-Iso: isothermal

· T-Step: stepwise



· T-Modulated: modulated or periodic temperature variations (e.g. 20°C +/-10°C every 24 hours)



· T-Shock: rapid temperature increase (temperature shock, e.g. 20°C +10°C every 24 hours)



· T-World: real atmospheric temperature profiles (yearly temperature profiles with daily minimal and maximal fluctuations for different climates such as Zürich, Miami, etc.)




Step B) Set the calculation precision of the simulation in case of explosion
In low precision mode the program calculates more quickly but at the cost of a certain inaccuracy. It is advised first to run the simulation in low precision mode to optimise the modelling parameters.

Step C) Set the amount of plots to be diplayed during the calculations

Step D) Enter the contact time and start the calculation by clicking on the button: ‘Run FE  Analysis’. Time units can be selected ([min], [h], [days], [weeks] and [years]).

The simulation stops at the given contact time tc.

Step E) Start the Finite Element Analysis (FEA)