Best Thermal Analysis Software with a Free Trial of 2025

Azore is software for computational fluid dynamics. It analyzes fluid flow and heat transfers. CFD allows engineers and scientists to analyze a wide range of fluid mechanics problems, thermal and chemical problems numerically using a computer. Azore can simulate a wide range of fluid dynamics situations, including air, liquids, gases, and particulate-laden flow. Azore is commonly used to model the flow of liquids through a piping or evaluate water velocity profiles around submerged items. Azore can also analyze the flow of gases or air, such as simulating ambient air velocity profiles as they pass around buildings, or investigating the flow, heat transfer, and mechanical equipment inside a room. Azore CFD is able to simulate virtually any incompressible fluid flow model. This includes problems involving conjugate heat transfer, species transport, and steady-state or transient fluid flows.

SimScale, a web-based cloud application, plays an important role in simulation software for many industries. The platform supports Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), as well as Thermal Simulation. It also provides 3D simulation, continuous modeling, motion & dynamic modelling.

Thermal Desktop encompasses every facet of creating models, integrating various built-in objects like finite difference, finite element, and lumped capacitance that can be arranged in numerous ways. Users can incorporate thermal-specific components such as contact conductance, insulation, heat loads, and heaters, enabling the modeling of a wide range of systems from automotive parts to crewed spacecraft. The software features comprehensive parameterization, allowing input through variables and complex expressions instead of fixed numerical values. These variables, known as symbols, facilitate swift adjustments to models with minimal effort, simplifying the process of updating or maintaining them, as well as conducting sensitivity analyses and exploring hypothetical scenarios. Furthermore, this capability enhances access to SINDA/FLUINT’s modules for optimization and reliability, along with automated model correlation, ultimately enriching the modeling experience. By streamlining these processes, Thermal Desktop not only improves efficiency but also fosters innovation in thermal analysis.

After over 34 years of refinement and input from users, Simcenter Flotherm has established itself as the premier software for electronic cooling simulations, specifically tailored for thermal analysis of electronics. This powerful tool accelerates product development across various levels, from IC packaging and PCB design to expansive systems like data centers. By utilizing rapid and precise CFD simulations, it enhances thermal management in electronics, ensuring reliability from the initial pre-CAD exploration phase to the ultimate verification stage. Simcenter Flotherm seamlessly integrates into the electronics development process, enabling thermal engineers to conduct simulations that yield prompt and precise results, which are crucial for collaboration with other engineering teams. Furthermore, it facilitates informed decision-making regarding thermal management from the initial architectural stages to the final verification of thermal designs. This comprehensive approach not only shortens development timelines but also mitigates the risks associated with expensive reliability failures and late-stage redesigns. In essence, Simcenter Flotherm stands as a vital resource for any organization aiming to enhance its electronic product performance while maintaining efficiency and reliability.

RadCAD employs an advanced, oct-tree accelerated Monte-Carlo ray tracing algorithm to calculate radiation exchange factors and view factors with remarkable speed. The enhancements introduced by C&R Technologies in the ray tracing methodology have led to the development of a highly efficient thermal radiation analysis tool. By utilizing finite difference "conics" or curved finite elements from TD Direct®, RadCAD is capable of precisely simulating diffuse and specular reflections as well as transmissive surfaces, independent of node density. The thermal solution's requirements govern the node quantity, rather than the precision needed for radiation calculations. Furthermore, RadCAD allows users to create custom databases that specify optical properties, with each surface coating detailing its absorptivity, transmissivity, reflectivity, and specularity in both solar and infrared wavelengths. These optical characteristics can be tailored to account for variations in incident angles or wavelength dependencies, enhancing the accuracy and relevance of thermal modeling. Ultimately, this level of customization ensures that RadCAD meets diverse analytical needs across various applications.

For many years, SINDA/FLUINT has been recognized for its effective and robust capabilities in heat transfer and fluid analysis, with enhancements introduced annually. This versatile tool serves as an all-encompassing platform for simulating intricate thermal and fluid systems, applicable across a variety of sectors including electronics, automotive, petrochemicals, power generation, healthcare, and aerospace. By streamlining the design process, SINDA/FLUINT enables users to save both time and financial resources, facilitating a deeper comprehension of their complex systems. You have the power to determine what aspects are crucial and how to approach your design performance inquiries in the most efficient manner. Additionally, the software's extensibility makes it potentially the most adaptable thermal and fluid analysis tool available today. Users can select the features they desire, establish the necessary levels of precision and approximation, and specify the required outputs, ensuring a tailored experience that meets their unique needs. This flexibility allows engineers to optimize their designs effectively in the challenging landscape of modern technology.

FloCAD® serves as an add-on module for Thermal Desktop®, creating a comprehensive software solution for thermohydraulic analysis that encompasses fluid flow and heat transfer. The process of constructing fluid flow models in FloCAD closely resembles that of thermal models, allowing for the use of numerous shared commands across both model types. Users can create FloCAD models using a free-form approach, which allows for the simplification and abstraction of flow networks, or they can opt for geometry-based modeling that incorporates elements like pipe centerlines, cross-sections, and intricate vessels, as well as convection calculations linked to finite difference or finite element thermal structures. As an advanced tool for pipe flow analysis, FloCAD effectively accounts for pressure losses within piping networks arising from bends, valves, tees, and variations in flow area, among other factors. This versatility makes FloCAD a valuable asset for engineers looking to optimize system designs.

Ansys Sherlock stands out as the sole electronics design tool based on reliability physics, delivering swift and precise lifespan forecasts for electronic components, boards, and systems during the initial design phases. This automated analysis tool not only accelerates the design process but also effectively circumvents the traditional "test-fail-fix-repeat" methodology by allowing designers to meticulously simulate the interactions between silicon, metal layers, semiconductor packages, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and assemblies to identify potential failure risks stemming from thermal, mechanical, and manufacturing stresses prior to creating a prototype. With its extensive library of over 500,000 components, Sherlock efficiently transforms electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) files into detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) models. Each generated model is crafted with precise geometries and material characteristics, offering a comprehensive translation of stress data. This innovative approach not only enhances the design process but also significantly reduces time-to-market for electronic products.