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Skimboard Hydrodynamics: It’s All in the Boundary Conditions

August 29, 2013

When it comes to recreational water sports, simulation can make a dramatic difference in performance. Skimboards are a perfect example of this. These short, thin boards are similar to surfboards without fins and they allow riders to float on the water’s surface and glide. In order to improve the design of the board, one group of researchers relied on hydrodynamics to understand the interaction between water and skimboards.

Fractals, Beyond Eye Candy

August 28, 2013

Fractals are those exotic mathematical entities whose geometric properties fall between integer dimensions (1D, 2D, 3D). Space-filling curves and bounded sets with infinite perimeters fall into this category.

Modeling Flow: Heat Exchanger Microchannels

August 27, 2013

Plate heat exchangers have a larger surface with respect to their volume as compared to a conventional shell and tube design, making for an efficient temperature regulation device. As the name infers, these types of heat exchangers consist of layers of corrugated metal forming channels in between. In order to optimize their performance, you need the flow through the channels to be well-distributed. As you can imagine, the flow is very detailed and modeling it can be computationally demanding, if […]

Modeling Magnetostriction Using COMSOL Multiphysics®

August 26, 2013

If you have ever stood next to a transformer, you have probably heard a humming sound coming from it and wondered if there were bees close by. When you hear that sound the next time, you can rest assured that it’s not bees but the magnetostriction of the transformer core that is making that humming sound.

Modeling an Accurate Drug Delivery Device

August 22, 2013

There are many different routes through which drugs and other medications can be delivered into a patient’s body during treatment. These include topographical ointments, pills, vaporizers, and injection systems, among others. Many of these drug delivery systems require an enormous amount of precision when it comes to the location, timing, concentration, and amount of the drug to be administered. This is where simulation can be a big help, as it can allow for the modeling of each of these aspects […]

Efficient Solar Panel Design Improves the PV Industry

August 21, 2013

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells are semiconductor devices that directly convert solar energy into electricity or voltage using the photovoltaic effect. These PV cells are more commonly known as solar cells, or solar panels, and in 2012 they produced roughly 93 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity — enough energy to power over 20 million homes. Because the cells must be directly exposed to the sun’s rays, they are housed outdoors where the panels are affected by the elements. Therefore, the cells must […]

Innovative Microfluidic System for Cooling Windows

August 20, 2013

The same window that allows natural light into your home also brings about an increase in your air-conditioning bill. While certain measures have been taken to improve the energy efficiency of windows, they still account for a large portion of buildings’ energy costs. As unfavorable as that is, we ultimately want our buildings to have windows, and tend to accept the sunlight in/energy bill up trade-off. However, advancements are currently underway to improve this trade-off by lessening the energy charges […]

Learn About Structural Corrosion Modeling from NRL

August 19, 2013

Structural corrosion modeling has long been considered a tough problem to solve. The combination of coupled physics effects and metal shape change pose quite a computational challenge. Fortunately, engineers have found that multiphysics software brings a solution. A great example of this is coming up at the COMSOL Conference 2013 Boston this fall, when Dr. Siddiq Qidwai from the Naval Research Laboratory will take the stage and let us in on how to properly model structural corrosion.


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