COMSOL Blog

Heat Transfer | Posted on June 18th, 2013 by Laura Bowen

If you roast a turkey for dinner and you need to check the temperature, the technology exists to find it. But what happens if the temperature is so hot that a consumer-grade thermometer, or any man-made device, really, would instantly melt and be destroyed? This might not be a common occurrence in your kitchen, but it is a real concern in blast furnaces, where temperatures can reach close to 1,500°C. Simply guessing is far from safe. Luckily, simulating with COMSOL Multiphysics combined with the Heat Transfer Module you can accurately determine temperatures when measurement tools fall short.

Read more on: Thermal Analysis Measures Blistering Heat

Mechanical | Posted on June 14th, 2013 by Pawan Soami

A swashplate mechanism, used in a helicopter to control the pitch of the rotor blades, can be easily simulated using the Multibody Dynamics Module available in COMSOL Multiphysics. This module enables simulation of an assembly of flexible and rigid bodies, together with physical phenomena from fluid, heat, and electrical applications, among others. Here, we will show you a model to convey how a swashplate mechanism works and at the same time analyze the stresses and deformation in the flexible rotor blades.

Read more on: Modeling a Helicopter Swashplate Mechanism

Mechanical | Posted on June 6th, 2013 by Andrew Griesmer

Continuing our structural mechanics tutorial blog series, we have created two more videos of different functionality existing in COMSOL’s Structural Mechanics Module. The first post in the series introduced you to the Structural Mechanics Module via a linear elastic analysis of a bracket, and the following post included two supplemental videos for adding Initial Strain and Thermal Stress to the this model. Next up we have two more “mini-tutorials” — this time outlining the Rigid Connector feature and the Linear Buckling study type.

Read more on: Structural Mechanics Tutorials: Rigid Connector and Linear Buckling

Mechanical | Posted on May 30th, 2013 by Mateusz Stec

In many applications, loads applied to structures are random in nature. The sampling results of the structural response will differ depending on the data collection time. Although the stress experienced is not always high, the repeated loading and unloading can lead to fatigue. The engineering challenges in these types of applications are defining the stress response to the random load history in the critical points, and predicting fatigue damage. This is simulated with the Cumulative Damage feature in the Fatigue Module, which defines the stress history using the Rainflow counting method and calculates the fatigue damage using the Palmgren-Miner linear damage rule.

Read more on: Random Load Fatigue

Acoustics | Posted on May 23rd, 2013 by Mads Herring Jensen

Mufflers are often located in exhaust systems or on heat, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, where their key functionality is to dampen the noise that is emitted from the system. A correct description of the acoustic damping (absorption and attenuation) processes in the muffler is important when designing and modeling these systems.

Read more on: Modeling Acoustic Damping Processes

Mechanical | Posted on May 22nd, 2013 by Pawan Soami

Dynamic simulation of a double pendulum system can easily be performed using the Multibody Dynamics Module available in COMSOL Multiphysics. This module enables the mechanical simulations of assemblies of flexible and rigid bodies, often coupled with other phenomena such as from heat, electrical, and others.

Read more on: Double Pendulum Simulation Tutorial

Mechanical | Posted on May 10th, 2013 by Pawan Soami

The new Multibody Dynamics Module provides engineers with an advanced set of tools to design and optimize mechanical systems to reduce product development costs. This module enables simulation of an assembly of flexible and rigid bodies, along with physical phenomena like structural, heat, electrical, and others. One of the key capabilities included in this module is an easier and faster way of building connections between different bodies using various types of predefined Joints.

The objective of multibody analysis is to find critical areas of a system to perform more detailed component-level structural analysis. Multibody analysis also gives insight into the system dynamics, forces experienced by segments of the structure, and stresses generated in flexible components leading to failure due to large deformation or fatigue.

Read more on: Simulate Mechanical Systems with the Multibody Dynamics Module

Heat Transfer | Posted on May 1st, 2013 by Fanny Littmarck

Given the title of this blog post you might expect it to be about global warming, and I won’t blame you for it; greenhouse effect has become another popular term used when debating climate change. However, its original and literal meaning refers to a very different process, in particular when it comes to heat retention. Here we will describe the effect of heating up an actual greenhouse and suggest steps for optimizing its design.

Read more on: The Greenhouse Effect

Heat Transfer | Posted on April 22nd, 2013 by Fanny Littmarck

Chemical reaction fluids can be cooled using glass flanges. The reaction fluid is passed through the flange and the air surrounding the flange then serves as the coolant. Engineers looking to optimize the cooling performance of such flanges can look to simulation for help.

Read more on: Cooling Flange Performance Analysis

Mechanical | Posted on April 19th, 2013 by Andrew Griesmer

I will always remember a Geotechnical Engineering class I took during the pursuit of my Civil Engineering degree. It contained both the high and low points for that academic semester; the lab portion was a lot of fun, learning about (read: playing with) the different soils and clays existing in the state of Georgia. The final project, on the other hand, tasked us with designing a retaining wall to match certain specifications — a tough and lengthy assignment. A retaining wall is used to hold back soil from a region you don’t want it to move to, such as a lower level of the ground. If excavating close to a retaining wall, you’re subjecting it to additional forces it was not originally designed for, and it may require subsequent support. How much easier it could have been had we only known about geomechanics simulation software.

Read more on: Digging into COMSOL’s Geomechanics Module