Editor’s Pick: COMSOL Multiphysics and COMSOL Server 5.3 Released

Dear DE Reader:

COMSOL was among the first to popularize the term “multiphysics.” Last week, the company announced its new releases of COMSOL Multiphysics suite of physics-based modeling, simulation and simulation app-development tools as well as the COMSOL Server platform for distributing, managing and running simulation apps. Here are just some reasons why this release gets tapped for today’s Editor’s Pick of the Week.

If you’re already a COMSOL convert, your watchwords for this release—officially COMSOL 5.3—are new solvers and improved performance. If you leverage COMSOL Server to spread modeling power throughout your development teams—which you should be doing—you have new tools to make developing apps easier and faster as well as new tools to simplify administration.

COMSOL 5.3 introduces a new Algebraic Multigrid (AMG) solver for CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analyses, which allows for solving large fluid flow problems with a single mesh level. COMSOL says that the simulation process is more robust for problems such as fluid-structure interaction as shown in the solar panel simulation here. Image courtesy of COMSOL Inc.

If you’re not a user, you should check it out. It’s a broad ecosystem of physics-based tools, knowledge bases, application libraries and support. Take a gander at the discipline-specific toolsets on the left-hand side of the landing page linked at the end of today’s main write-up. Your gig is in it. Drill down to learn more.

Version 5.3 introduces a couple of new solvers of note. One provides BEM (boundary element method) numerical computations for modeling electrostatics and corrosion effects. You can combine its strengths with finite element methods and then run simulations of models with wires, beams, surfaces and solids. Should be a great addition.

The second is an algebraic multigrid (AMG) solver for CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analyses. It requires only a single mesh level to work. AMG is now the default option for many fluid flow and transport phenomena interfaces. Further, turbulent flow modeling now offers automatic treatment of walls, a feature that blends high-fidelity, low-Reynolds formulation with wall functions.

Of key interest to current users, COMSOL 5.3 sees performance improvements ranging from 2x to 10x, depending on what you’re doing and your model’s level of details. That said, importing CAD files should be about 5x faster, while operations like OpenGL rendering can get you up to 10x. Other speedups like automatic pyramid element transitions and automatic removal of geometric details are harder to quantify, but you’ll know it when you experience it.

There’s more happening in version 5.3 of COMSOL Multiphysics and COMSOL Server to be had in today’s Editor’s Pick of the Week write-up. Hit the link at the end to access an overview video and all the details in all areas of interest. Good stuff.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, DE