On
May 17, 2012, COMSOL announced the 4.3 release of COMSOL Multiphysics,
its software environment for modeling and simulating any physics-based
system. Major new capabilities introduced in version 4.3 include three
new discipline-specific add-on modules, fast and powerful meshing, a new
“Double Dogleg” solver for mechanical contact and highly nonlinear
simulations, and numerous user-inspired enhancements.
Enhancements
and upgraded functionality span the entire COMSOL product suite. With
the debut of three new discipline-specific add-on modules—the Nonlinear
Structural Materials Module, the Pipe Flow Module, and the Corrosion
Module—COMSOL now offers 30 products for the simulation of multiphysics
phenomena. The newest modules expand the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation
platform with all-new user interfaces that help users solve the unique
design challenges in each of these areas accurately and efficiently.
Updates and developments
COMSOL
users played a vital role in developing this new version. Their
requests, suggestions, and feedback contributed significantly to the
features that were ultimately implemented. Many of the requested
enhancements further increased the integration of COMSOL Multiphysics
with the larger CAE community. For example, core modeling capabilities
in version 4.3 have been updated and expanded significantly. Meshing is
now both faster and more powerful, particularly when working with
virtual geometry operations for shielding the automatic mesher from
unnecessary geometric detail. Users working with imported meshes can now
group existing mesh elements into new domains and boundaries, which
makes it easy to assign boundary conditions and material properties
wherever desired.
Users
can now run multiple-parameter sweeps with easy specification of one,
two, or more parameters—sweeping for all of them or just a subset of
them. Visualizations of results from these parameter sweeps can be
easily selected to include combinations of the swept parameters in a
single presentation. New Cluster Sweep and Batch Sweep user interfaces
facilitate defining massively parallel and independent parametric
sweeps.
Version
4.3’s modules for electrical, mechanical, fluid flow, and chemical
simulations have all been updated. COMSOL implemented a user interface
within the AC/DC Module for modeling 3D rotating machinery. Users
benefiting from this new functionality include those working on
applications for generators, brushless motors, radial and axial flux
machinery along with brushed DC electric motors.
|
Users
of the Structural Mechanics and MEMS Modules will find a new solver for
mechanical contact and highly nonlinear simulations—the “Double Dogleg”
solver. New tools for tagging load cases have also been included for
easier setup of extensive structural mechanics studies. The CFD Module
introduces new, easy-to-use interfaces and added functionality for mass
transport simulations influenced by turbulent mixing, while the Particle
Tracing Module now incorporates particle-particle interaction and
Brownian forces into its extensive list of supported functionalities.
The
new Nonlinear Structural Materials Module augments the mechanical
capabilities of the Structural Mechanics and MEMS Modules by adding
nonlinear material models. When the mechanical stress in a structure
becomes large, certain nonlinearities in the material properties force
the user to abandon linear material models. This situation also occurs
in some operating conditions, such as high temperature. The new module
adds elastoplastic, viscoplastic, creep, and hyperelastic material
models. These are based on a new, extended framework for the
constitutive laws which users can easily extend for their unique needs.
The
new Pipe Flow Module will interest engineers who design and optimize
the pipe and channel networks used in turbines, building ventilation
systems, chemical and material manufacture processes, and in the oil and
gas industry. The module enables efficient simulations of 1D fluid
flow, heat and mass transfer, hydraulic transients, and acoustics. The
Pipe Flow Module’s simulation results can be integrated into 2D and 3D
models of network components, yielding the velocity, pressure variation,
and temperature along the pipes and channels in the network.
The
new COMSOL Corrosion Module offers specialized user interfaces to model
the electrochemical processes that lead to corrosion. Using the
Corrosion Module, engineers who want to mitigate these processes can
gain powerful insights into how structures might corrode under certain
conditions and how structures can be protected. The module includes the
physics required to model galvanic, pitting, and crevice corrosion as
well as cathodic and anodic protection.
A complete list of updates to COMSOL Multiphysics Version 4.3
Source: COMSOL