All posts by Fanny Griesmer
Researching Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Acoustic Guitars
There are traditional acoustic guitars made of wood, and now there are also those made entirely out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). Do these plastic guitars sound like their wooden forbearers? Guess what, you can use computer modeling to find out.
Wind Turbines in Urban Settings a Reasonable Idea
If I asked you to envision a wind turbine, odds are you’d picture a wind farm in some remote location. With good reason; that’s commonly where they are found. If you’re a student or faculty of Case Western Reserve University, on the other hand, you might think of the wind turbine you have on campus. Does it make sense to set up wind turbines in urban settings? These two researchers suggest that it does.
Power Transistors and Heat Transfer
Transistors are building blocks of electronic appliances, and can be found in radios, computers, and calculators, to name a few. When working with electrical systems you typically have to deal with heat transfer; electric heating is often an unwanted result of current conduction. Is a heat sink mounting necessary to keep the transistor cool, or can it manage without? Let’s have a look at power transistors from a heat transfer perspective.
Modeling a Pratt Truss Bridge
The simple design of a Pratt truss bridge makes it useful to hold everything from pedestrians to trains. While this type of bridge is easy to construct, engineers must make sure that it lasts and is safe to use. A bridge needs to hold its own weight, support the load placed upon it, and withstand frequencies generated by wind and earthquakes. To determine whether a Pratt truss bridge design can handle these factors, we turn to simulation.
Keynote Video: Multiphysics Solutions for Advanced Vehicle R&D
Hybrid vehicles are no longer a new concept, but that does not mean research and development (R&D) has ceased. If anything, it is ramping up as demand for hybrid design optimization continues to grow. Ercan Dede from Toyota Research Institute of North America held a keynote talk at the COMSOL Conference Boston 2012 on how they are using multiphysics modeling for advanced vehicle systems R&D. If you weren’t there, you can now watch his keynote in a video format instead.
Modeling a Burning Candle, How Would You Do It?
This holiday season most of us will have burned our fair share of candles. The flickering light of candles can really enhance the ambiance and put you in festive spirits. This reminds me of an analysis of a burning candle developed by AltaSim Technologies back in 2010. So, in tune with the holiday cheer, here are some candle physics.
CAD and Multiphysics Interfacing Solutions
You may have seen our Specification Chart already, but did you also know we have one specifically for CAD? With the CAD Specification Chart, you can find the CAD and interfacing products that suit your specific needs.
Ultrasonic Micro Motors, It’s all in the Shape
A while back, I wrote about permanent magnet generators and how they generate electricity upon being set in motion. When browsing the papers from our conference in Bangalore, one on the topic of ultrasonic micro motors caught my eye. These motors are electromechanical in nature and instead initiate motion with the application of an electric voltage. Furthermore, these motors are miniaturized to fit a micro-scale environment.