Fluid | Posted on
June 17th, 2013 by
Alexandra Foley
The fact that oil and water don’t mix is something that you are probably all familiar with. At one point or another, you’ve most likely noticed what happens when you shake a bottle of say, Italian salad dressing, and the liquids mix momentarily, only to become separated again within seconds as oil bubbles rise to the surface. Creating a simulation describing how these two immiscible fluids interact is a great way to introduce computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applied to two-phase flow.
Read more on: CFD Applied to Two-phase Flow, an Italian Dressing Simulation
Fluid | Posted on
May 16th, 2013 by
James Ransley
Vacuum technology has many important applications, from semiconductor device and MEMS fabrication, to vacuum coatings for corrosion protection, optical films, and metallization. The new Molecular Flow Module provides vacuum engineers with previously unavailable tools for modeling gas flows within vacuum systems.
Read more on: Molecular Flow Module: Simulate Rarefied Gas Flows in Vacuum Systems
Fluid | Posted on
May 2nd, 2013 by
Daniel Smith
Graphene can be created by way of thermal decomposition at high vacuum. In order to design and optimize these high vacuum systems engineers might look to simulation, but there are currently not many modeling tools that are up to the task. Let’s have a look at how vacuum systems are relevant to graphene production, why you should simulate them, and how.
Read more on: The Graphene Revolution: Part 4
Fluid | Posted on
April 16th, 2013 by
Bjorn Sjodin
Vacuum is naturally associated with the hostile environment of deep space. To achieve such an environment in an artificial setting here on Earth is a very challenging task, and it turns out one cannot even come close to the low pressures of an interstellar vacuum. It is at these low pressures that molecular flow occurs.
Read more on: What is Molecular Flow?
Fluid | Posted on
April 11th, 2013 by
Jennifer Segui
If you enjoy ketchup with your food, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced what we’ll call here the all-or-nothing ketchup quandary. You know, that moment when you reach for a new glass bottle of ketchup, remove the cap, and turn the bottle practically upside down — and then nothing happens. Intuitively you shake or tap the bottle, and then suddenly your food is completely coated in ketchup (unless your reflexes are really good, of course). In this blog post we explain the all-or-nothing effect of pouring ketchup, with a simulation of “ketchup flow from a bottle”.
Read more on: Non-Newtonian Fluids: The Pouring Ketchup Quandary
Fluid | Posted on
April 5th, 2013 by
Cinzia Iacovelli
Have you ever noticed how water can flow through rocks and leave a trace of its passage by covering the surface with a patina, like white stripes? The whole process is quite complex but can roughly be explained by breaking it down into two coupled effects: gravity and chemical reactions. Gravity causes the water to infiltrate through discrete fractures (hard rocks) or pores (sedimentary rocks), until it charges the groundwater supply below to a point where excess water will surface on the face of the rock, like an overflowing glass of water. Chemical reactions, on the other hand, allow water to dissolve carbonates and similar substances present in the rock. Such chemical compounds will start sticking and accumulating on the surface.
Read more on: Discrete Fracture in Rocks
Fluid | Posted on
March 13th, 2013 by
Valerio Marra
I love trees and my favorite is definitely the ficus, all varieties included. A few weeks ago I had the chance to admire a stately ficus microcarpa (see figure below). What struck me above all were its aerial roots. Roots are designed to absorb water and nutrients, sustaining the tree and synthesizing substances responsible for its growth. A thought crossed my mind right away: the shape of those roots and the way they coalesce have surely been optimized by Mother Nature.
Read more on: Optimal Distribution: Tree Roots and Microreactors
Fluid | Posted on
March 8th, 2013 by
Alexandra Foley
Water purification is the process by which chemicals, contaminants, and sediments are removed from dirty water to make it clean, and there are many processes through which this can be done. What you might not know, is that ozone molecules can be used as a means of disinfection in the purification process. “Ozonation” has been used to purify water, kill germs and bacteria in food, and even get rid of bad smells. Not only does ozonation provide clean water without producing potentially harmful by-products, it is also an environmentally-friendly form of purification.
Read more on: Water Purification Using Ozone
Fluid | Posted on
February 11th, 2013 by
Andrew Griesmer
Ultra-precise optical components require blemish-free surfaces that often cannot be achieved by the machining processes that grind these components. Fluid jet polishing (FJP) is a new technology being developed by Zeeko Ltd to replace the hand polishing that was often required. With the help of COMSOL, Zeeko was able to create a product that polishes the optical components in only ten minutes instead of an entire day, and without waveforms.
Read more on: Fluid Flow: Smooth Optical Surface in Minutes
Chemical | Posted on
February 1st, 2013 by
Fanny Littmarck
Microbubbles filled with oxygen can be injected into contaminated lakes to restore the water quality. Typically, water is purified via water-treatment plants, but this microbubble technique is both inexpensive and more environmentally-friendly in comparison. As seen in a COMSOL News 2011 article, oxygen microbubbles are a researcher’s way of copying nature’s own self-restoration mechanism for cleaning contaminated lakes.
Read more on: Injectable Microbubbles in Hydrology and Healthcare
