Calculation of pressure distribution in vacuum systems using a commercial finite element program

It is suggested that any commercial finite element program with heat transfer analysis capabilities can be used to calculate pressure distributions in complex vacuum systems. The approach uses an analogy between thermal conduction and gas conduction with quantity temperature substituted for pressure. The thermal analogies for pumps, gas loads, and tube conductances are described in detail. The method is illustrated for an example vacuum system. A listing of the ANSYS data input file for this example is included.<
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