COMSOL 2017

Mats Nigam

Honing the Tools

• Big focus 2014 -2017

– Bug count: 4,000 -> 100

– Enhancement Requests: 7,000 -> 400

• Own code– 100 developers world wide

• Licensed 3rd party code

• Altogether 17 million lines of source code– Java, C, C++, C#, XML, FORTRAN, sh,…

Software

COMSOL Multiphysics®• Physics Interfaces: 200+

• Math Interfaces: 40+

• Models: 660+

• Apps: 60+

Major News in V5.3 (April 2017)• Core Functionality: Performance improvements

• Electrostatics and Corrosion: Boundary element method (BEM)

• Mechanical: Automatic constraints of rigid body motions

• CFD & Heat: New user-friendly and efficient CFD solver

• Model Builder: Model methods

• Application Builder: Interactive graphics objects

• COMSOL Server: Admin cluster settings and app-usage log file

Major News in V5.3a (Nov 2017)• Model Builder Tools

• Graphics and Results

• Revolutionary Method for Capacitively Coupled Plasmas (CCP)

• CFD, Heat Transfer, Chemical Engineering

• BEM for magnetostatics and acoustics

• Shape memory alloys (SMA)

• Application Builder and COMSOL Server

Studies and Modeling Tools• Performance improvements for iterative linear solvers

– Improvements for large problem sizes

– Up to 40% improved performance for algebraic multigrid (AMG) and 20% for geometric multigrid (GMG)

• Performance improvement for direct linear solver

– Up to 30% improved performance when used in nonlinear iterations

• Moving Mesh now under Component Definitions

– Easier multiphysics

• User-defined functions in Parameters

The definition of a moving mesh is now shared between all participating physics

Model Reduction• New framework for model reduction

• Numerical methods– Modal analysis

– Asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE)

• State-space export with LiveLink™ for MATLAB®Model reduction of an acoustics analysis for an

automotive muffler using a modal analysis method with 6 (top) and 20 (bottom) eigenmodes, respectively

Model Methods In the Model Tree• Available under Global Definitions

– Previous version available from ribbon only

• Input arguments for model methods– Previous version had input arguments for

application methods onlyModel methods in the model tree

Material Libraries• Material Library add-on product

– 150 new materials with 1300 new material properties

• RF Module– More than 60 substrate material properties from

Rogers Corporation

All trademarks are property of Rogers Corporation

Graphics and Results• Support for 3Dconnexion® SpaceMouse®

• Save plots in model– Fast to render after loading

• Interactive change of rotation center– Middle mouse button

• Rotate around a coordinate axis– X, Y, and Z keyboard buttons + mouse

• First and Last buttons when stepping between solutions

• Image generation using hardware acceleration

• New animation format: WebM

From: https://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacemouse/spacemousewireless.html

First and Last buttons for solutions

Revolutionary Method for Capacitively Coupled Plasmas

• Unique COMSOL core technology used

• Performance improvements on typical models:

Space Dimension Time in V5.3 Time in V5.3a

1D 10 hours 20 seconds

2D 2 weeks 1-2 hours

• Reactors can be driven with a fixed power or from a matching network

• Automatic computation of the self DC bias

Electric potential (V) and Power deposition (W/m3) inside the GEC reference cell.

CFD and Heat Transfer• CFD Module

– Realizable k-e turbulence model

– Turbulent inlet condition

– Buoyancy-induced turbulence

– All turbulence models available for multiphase flow

– Rotating machinery for all flow interfaces

• Heat Transfer Module– Inlets with more realistic temperature distribution

– Moisture Flow multiphysics coupling

– Beer-Lambert law for absorption of light in weakly-absorbing media

A flow with moisture transport simulation showing the relative humidity in the air surrounding a coffee cup. Dark green and red colors represent 0 % and

50 % humidity, respectively.

Chemical Engineering• Built-in thermodynamics properties library with

models for gases, liquids, and for phase equilibria (gas-liquid)

– Transport properties

– Heat of formation and evaporation

– Heat of mixing

Reacting System

Models for batch, semibatch, continuous stirred tank reactors, and plug-flow reactors are predefined.

1. Just type in the chemical reactions.

3. The kinetics are automatically formulated according to the mass-action law. If needed, you can replace the rate law with your own expressions.

2. The material balances for the species are automatically generated as you type in the chemical equations.

4. Automatic units of rate constants, depending on kinetics expressions.

Thermodynamic Properties

2. Add compounds from the database.

3. Select phase.

1. Add a Property Package node.

4. Select thermodynamic model.

At this stage, the thermodynamic property package is decoupled from the species list in the Reaction Engineering node.

Thermodynamic Properties, Species Matching

2. Activate energy balance.

3. Match species.

1. Select the Reaction Engineering node.

The thermodynamic property package is now coupled to the species list in the Reaction Engineering node.

Electromagnetics• AC/DC Module

– BEM for Magnetic Fields

– Demagnetization in permanent magnets • Soft-magnet material model

• RF Module and Wave Optics Module– Adaptive Frequency Sweep

Magnetic field 1km from a submarine, computed with BEM

Acoustics• BEM for acoustics

– Can evaluate sound at any point: near the source, far away, and in-between

– Convenient for large modeling domains

– Hybrid boundary element-finite element method including acoustic-structure interactions

• Impulse-response for ray acoustics

The sound pressure level (SPL) surrounding a vented speaker, computed with BEM+FEM using 125k finite elements, 20k boundary elements, and 250k degrees of

freedom. Using just finite elements would have required ½ billion finite elements.

Structural Mechanics• Bolt thread force modelling with contact pairs

• Solid-beam connection in 3D

• Shape memory alloy material model based on Lagoudas’s theory

COMSOL Server• Optional login w/o password

• Change thumbnail image and description

• Global notifications to all users

• Cluster verification app

How People Use COMSOL

Understand Predict Innovate Optimize

Time to take the next leap!

© Copyright 2017 COMSOL. Any of the images, text, and equations here may be copied and modified for your own internal use. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.