The latest stories from COMSOL users are available in COMSOL News and Multiphysics Simulation.
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Simulating Laser-Material Interactions
Manyalibo Matthews, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), CA, USA
California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) oversees the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which houses the world's largest and most energetic laser. Repeated use of this laser can damage the optics, which guide and focus the laser within the system. Manyalibo Matthews, deputy group leader in the Materials Science Division of LLNL, and his team study techniques to repair and ...
Increasing Lifespans of High-Power Electrical Systems
Samuel Hartmann, ABB Semiconductors, Switzerland
ABB Semiconductors increased the lifespan of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) using multiphysics simulation. IGBT modules are used in high-power electrical systems and are subjected to repeated electrical, thermal, and mechanical loading. The ABB team explored different wire-emitter configurations to see if stitched bonding techniques could extend product lifetime, and used new ...
Application Builder and COMSOL Server: A Review
William T. Vetterling, Zink Imaging, MA, USA
William Vetterling, research fellow and manager of the Image Science Laboratory at Zink Imaging, created an intuitive and easy-to-use simulation app that computes the current distribution and heating throughout a thermal print head design and displays the computed results in a clear, uncluttered way. The app was built with the Application Builder tool available within COMSOL Multiphysics®. ...
Better Ways to Heat and Cool Buildings
Eric Laurenz, Hannes Fugmann, Fraunhofer ISE, Germany
Adsorptive climate control systems can reduce the power required to heat and cool buildings by running primarily on waste heat, natural gas, and solar thermal energy instead of electricity. While adsorption-based chillers, heat pumps, and thermal storage units are available commercially, they need to be more efficient, compact, and cheaper to produce in order to be available on a larger scale. ...
Defying Convention to Achieve Faster Signal and Simulation Speeds
Juan C. Cervantes-Gonzalez, Intel Guadalajara Design Center, Mexico
As the demand grows for faster electronic devices in smaller packages, we need to develop optimized high-speed interconnects, which transfer the signal between components in electronic devices. Found in printed circuit boards (PCB), this integral design element in electronics packaging carries signals laterally and through the depth of PCBs, traversing many layers of metal and dielectric ...
WiTricity Leverages Magnetic Resonance for Flexible Wireless Charging
Andre Kurs, WiTricity, MA, USA
Engineers at WiTricity have developed a flexible wireless charging setup that relies on magnetic resonance and can be used for a range of applications, including medical implants, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics. Using COMSOL Multiphysics® software, the team analyzed the electromagnetic and thermal behavior of their coil configuration as a function of power drawn by the charged ...
The Sweet Side of Simulation Behind the Scenes at Nestlé
William Pickles, Nestlé, York, UK
To produce chocolate, wafers, cereals, and everything in between, R&D engineers at Nestlé’s Product Technology Centre in York, UK (PTC York) rely on a combination of modeling and simulation tools to streamline production processes and deliver confectionery products with exact nutritional content. Using COMSOL Multiphysics®, the Nestlé team has been able to enhance production for three different ...
Simulations for Solar
Julian Givernaud, EMIX, France
Engineers at EMIX use numerical analysis to characterize and optimize all aspects of design for the manufacture of photovoltaic-grade silicon and photovoltaic cells, including reducing the cost of silicon wafers and improving purity for photovoltaic applications. By simulating the multiscale electromagnetic and 3D continuous casting processes, the EMIX team was able to increase the efficiency of ...
Precision Performance: The Pursuit of Perfect Measurement
Erling Olsen, Søren Andresen, Brüel & Kjær, Denmark
Brüel & Kjær, a manufacturer of transducers, microphones, and other instruments and software for sound and vibration analysis, uses numerical simulation to engineer their devices to be as accurate and precise as possible. Brüel & Kjær engineers develop condenser microphones with frequencies that range from infrasound to ultrasound, using simulation to investigate thermal stress and map resonance ...
From Spreadsheets to Multiphysics Applications, ABB Continues to Power Up the Transformer Industry
Mustafa Kavasoglu, Romain Haettel, and Anders Daneryd, ABB CRC, Västerås, Sweden
The buzzing sound you sometimes hear when walking past high-voltage transmission lines is caused by transformers used for regulating voltage levels. Standard performance and safety regulations require that the noise level be kept within a certain range. In this story, read about how a team of engineers at ABB CRC uses COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software to evaluate the acoustic, mechanical, ...
