Thermal Effects 1 & 2 – Theo Ruijl, MI Partners
Thermal effects are one of the main error sources in precision equipment. The last decades huge improvements have been reached by understanding and controlling these thermal effects and a significant amount of knowledge has been gained. The tutorial will present the state of the art status about thermal design methodology and modeling. A rough outline of the tutorial:
- Thermal design and modeling is a system approach: How to benefit from thermal considerations in the early stage of design and what competencies are needed to support all the development phases: concept/system design; component/detail design; validation stage.
- Basic theory on Thermo-mechanics: heat transfer mechanism/thermo-mechanical deformations and dynamic effects.
- Introduction to modeling techniques: e.g. how to build lump-mass models.
- Temperature measurement techniques used in precision equipment (different sensor types, challenges at mK level, dynamic behavior, ….).
- Use case: Ultra-precision measuring machine. This example is used to show different types of thermal design considerations and implementations.
- Advanced topics:
- Thermal mode shapes;
- POD fitting: way to get more info from your measurement results;
- Dynamic testing instead of steady state testing: the benefit of measuring transient effects to get more info from the system;
In general, the lecture contains many cases (each 10 – 20 min) to practice and make the interaction more active. An active involvement and attitude is highly appreciated.
Theo Ruijl, MI Partners

Theo A. M. Ruijl of MI Partners is recognized for contributions to ultra-precision machine design. His work addresses numerous areas including thermal effects, high-precision metrology systems, control systems, damping techniques and system architecture in an industrial setting.
Dr. Ruijl is also one of the inaugural members of the ASPE College of Fellows.