Editor’s Pick: Tap Into More Powerful Simulation of Coupled Multiphysics Phenomena 

Dear DE Reader, 

Multiphysics simulation has grown over the years to be a multi-billion-dollar industry. As workstations get more powerful, simulation vendors find new ways to enhance their software. A “dot” update to COMSOL Multiphysics is now available; the depth of new features makes COMSOL Multiphysics Version 5.5 an easy choice as our Editor’s Pick of the Week. 

The big draw for COMSOL Multiphysics has always been its ability to account for coupled or multiphysics phenomena. It also plays well with others, as shown in the number of add-on products and interface tools that connect to most CAE and most CAD products. 

The Design Module gains a new parametric sketching tool in this update. The user can assign dimensions and constraints to planar drawings for 2D models and 3D work planes. This new sketching tool extends the capabilities of the Model Builder, making it easier to use model parameters to drive the simulation. Single run, parametric sweeps and parametric optimizations all benefit from the flexibility of the new sketching tool. 

This update adds new solver functionality for acoustic simulation, focusing on ultrasound technology. For you hardcore fans of simulation, COMSOL says the new tech is based on the “time-explicit discontinuous Galerkin method,” to enable efficient multicore computations of ultrasound propagations in solids and fluids. This analysis method also proves useful for low-frequency applications such as seismology. The acoustics solver can now combine linear elastic wave propagation in a solid and its transition to a fluid as an acoustic pressure wave and back again. 

There are two new modules in COMSOL Multiphysics Version 5.5. First is the Metal Processing Module. It makes metal phase transformation analysis accessible within the Multiphysics environment for applications including welding, heat treatment and metal additive manufacturing. This module can be used to predict deformations, stresses and strains caused by heat-driven phase changes in metals. The module can be combined with any other COMSOL product, enabling such simulations as heat radiation influence, induction hardening and nonlinear study of material behavior. 

The second new module is the Porous Media Flow Module. Engineers in the food, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries will find this new module beneficial for transport analysis. It includes functionality for single- and multiphase flow in porous materials, drying and transport in fractures. There are options to calculate thermal properties for multicomponent systems, poroelasticity and transport of chemical species in the solid, liquid and gas phase. 

There are many more new and enhanced features in this update than we can get into here. There is simplified shape and topology optimization; new options for nonlinear shell analysis; a new interface for pipe mechanics; and additional features in almost every module. Be sure to read this week’s Product Brief for complete details. 

Thanks for reading. We will catch up with you again after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Enjoy!

—The DE Editors

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