Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Blog Posts
Viscosity Ramping Improves the Convergence of CFD Models
Viscosity ramping can help decrease the computation time for your models by solving for higher viscosities and using the solutions as initial conditions for the problem at lower viscosities.
Model How the Bubbles in a Glass of Stout Beer Sink, Not Rise
Ever notice how the bubbles in certain kinds of stout beer sink to the bottom of the glass instead of rising to the top? We explain this phenomenon using fluid flow simulation.
App: Design a Geothermal Heat Pump’s Heat Recovery System
The design and installation of a geothermal heat pump often involves many different configurations, which can be easily tested with a simulation app. See an example in action here.
Improving Vascular Access for the Treatment of ESRD Patients
By combining CFD simulations with shape optimization techniques, biomedical engineers can better understand and predict vascular access for renal disease treatments.
Free Surface Computations in Mixers and Rotating Machinery
Learn different approaches for performing free surface computations in mixers and rotating machinery using COMSOL Multiphysics® and the add-on CFD Module and Mixer Module.
Optimize NACA Airfoil Designs with a Simulation App
You can design a simulation app to accurately compute lift and drag forces and optimize any airfoil following the NACA naming convention. Learn more and see an example demo app.
Studying the Swimming Patterns of Fish with Simulation
Researchers from the Università Roma Tre used simulation to study the carangiform swimming pattern of certain fish, the dynamics of which can be used to design aquatic vehicles and robots.
Simulate Three-Phase Flow with a New Phase Field Interface
The Three-Phase Flow, Phase Field interface, used for modeling separated three-phase flow, computes the shape of the interfaces between the 3 phases and accounts for interactions with walls.
Analyzing a Novel Pin Fin Microchannel Design with Simulation
Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Central Florida created a novel pin fin design and analyzed its heat transfer efficiency with COMSOL Multiphysics®.
Preventing Airborne Infection with CFD Modeling
Healthcare-associated infections affect millions of people around the globe. Airborne bacteria is one cause of patient infections that can be prevented with efficient ventilation system designs.
Simulating the Art of Swing Bowling in Cricket
The swing bowling move in cricket is as much an art form as it is an athletic feat. Researchers at the COMSOL Conference 2015 Boston simulated the fluid mechanics of conventional swing bowling.
Exploring the Venturi Effect
The Venturi effect: As a fluid flows through a constructed area of a pipe, its velocity increases and its static pressure decreases. Learn more about this effect and its application areas.
Methods for Evaluating Mass and Energy Conservation
Ever wonder how to compute the mass conservation of a fluid flow simulation, or the energy balance of a conjugate heat transfer simulation? If so, keep reading >>
Evolving into a Better Design: Humans and Technology as One
Read about how the concept of constructal law applies to the joint evolution of humans and technology in this blog post about a keynote talk from the Conference of the Academia Europaea 2015.
Simulating Viscous Heating in a Fluid Damper
Fluid dampers are able to dissipate mechanical energy into heat through a process called viscous heating. You can simulate this process to optimize your fluid damper designs.
Intro to Optimizing Mixer Design by Creating an App
By building a simulation app to study mixer designs, you can easily test the influence that the vessel, impeller, and operational conditions have on the design’s mixing efficiency.
How Do I Compute Lift and Drag?
Analyzing lift and drag is an important task in many industries, such as automotive and aeronautics. Learn some different ways to compute lift and drag in COMSOL Multiphysics®.
Describing the Behavior of a Thermal Mass Flow Sensor
Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed the dynamics of a thermal flow sensor, a component of a flowmeter, with a 3D model. Get the full story >>
Using the Boussinesq Approximation for Natural Convection
Today, we compare the Boussinesq approximation to the full Navier-Stokes equations for a natural convection problem. We also show you how to implement the Boussinesq approximation in COMSOL Multiphysics software and discuss potential benefits of doing so.
Studying the Airflow Over a Car Using an Ahmed Body
The Ahmed body is a benchmark model widely used in the automotive industry for validating simulation tools. We discuss simulating airflow over an Ahmed body to optimize automotive aerodynamics.
An Analysis of Syngas Combustion in a Round-Jet Burner
By combining the Reacting Flow interface and the Heat Transfer in Solids interface, we can study the syngas combustion in a round-jet burner. Get details…
Tears of Wine and the Marangoni Effect
Have you ever noticed that when drinking a glass of wine, sometimes “tears” fall down in the inside of the wine glass? This is the Marangoni effect in action! Learn more and see examples…
Simulating Injection Mold Cooling
Injection molding is the most common form of polymer manufacturing because large amounts of products can be produced quickly. By simulating this process, we can avoid defects in these products.
Predicting Cavitation in Journal Bearings
When designing journal bearings for use in a rotating shaft, the effect of cavitation needs to be considered, because it can affect the performance of these components.