When an ECAD database is imported the location of all vias are imported. The layer each via is connected to is also imported. In the 3D board model, the through board thermal conductivity is locally modified to account for the vias. Vias can also be manually added to the board through the dialog shown.
For each meshed triangular element on the board, ANSYS Iceboard finds all vias going through it. For each dielectric layer, three thermal resistors are generated accounting for the enhanced conductivity of the via(s), the reduced area of the dielectric material and the actual placement of the via(s) within the element. This is done between the layers the via(s) go through.
