General Blog Posts
Solving Algebraic Field Equations
COMSOL Multiphysics® is commonly used to solve PDEs, ODEs, and initial value problems. However, did you know that you can also solve algebraic and even transcendental equations?
Visualization for 2D Axisymmetric Electromagnetics Models
Today we’ll look at how to make 3D plots of vector fields that are computed using the 2D axisymmetric formulation found in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain interface within the RF and Wave Optics modules.
Using Adaptive Meshing for Local Solution Improvement
One of the perennial questions in finite element modeling is how to choose a mesh. We want a fine enough mesh to give accurate answers, but not too fine, as that would lead to an impractical solution time. As we’ve discussed previously, adaptive mesh refinement lets the software improve the mesh, and by default it will minimize the overall error in the model. However, we often are only interested in accurate results over some subset of the entire model space. […]
Learning to Solve Multiphysics Problems Effectively
One of the questions we get asked often is how to learn to solve multiphysics problems effectively. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been writing a series of blog posts addressing the core functionality of the COMSOL Multiphysics software. These posts are designed to give you an understanding of the key concepts behind developing accurate multiphysics models efficiently. Today, I’ll review the series as a whole.
Improving Convergence of Multiphysics Problems
In our previous blog entry, we introduced the Fully Coupled and the Segregated algorithms used for solving steady-state multiphysics problems in COMSOL. Here, we will examine techniques for accelerating the convergence of these two methods.
Simulating Viscous Fingering Using Equation-Based Modeling
A prospective user of COMSOL approached me about modeling viscous fingering, which is an effect seen in porous media flow. He hadn’t found a satisfying solution elsewhere, so he turned to COMSOL. I’d like to share with you some of my insight on how to go from idea to model to simulation by taking a “do-it-yourself approach” and utilizing the equation-based modeling capabilities of COMSOL Multiphysics.
Solving Multiphysics Problems
Here we introduce the two classes of algorithms used to solve multiphysics finite element problems in COMSOL Multiphysics. So far, we’ve learned how to mesh and solve linear and nonlinear single-physics finite element problems, but have not yet considered what happens when there are multiple different interdependent physics being solved within the same domain.
Meshing Considerations for Nonlinear Static Finite Element Problems
As part of our solver blog series we have discussed solving nonlinear static finite element problems, load ramping for improving convergence of nonlinear problems, and nonlinearity ramping for improving convergence of nonlinear problems. We have also introduced meshing considerations for linear static problems, as well as how to identify singularities and what to do about them when meshing. Building on these topics, we will now address how to prepare your mesh for efficiently solving nonlinear finite element problems.