Latest Posts
Equations: Who Needs Them?
Most of us take mathematical modeling for granted. After all, we’re taught physics and calculus almost hand-in-hand. But we owe a lot to the early pioneers like Isaac Newton, who demonstrated and strongly promoted interpreting natural phenomena through equations. Differential equations are especially useful since most things change as time marches on. Since we live in 3D space, partial differential equations (i.e., equations that express change in more than one “direction”) arise as the prominent tool to express continuum level […]
Preview: Virtual Conference Guide for Smartphones and other Web-enabled Devices
The COMSOL Conference is about to get kick-started with its first stop in Boston next week, and Milan to follow soon thereafter. Now we’re excited to announce a new feature for this year’s conference attendees: a virtual conference guide for smartphones and other web-enabled devices. The full version is yet to be released, but I was able to test-drive the app and will share it with you here on the blog.
Fatigue — When Cyclic Stress Produces Fractures
Many of the products that engineers design experience cyclic stresses during use that are below the material’s yield stress; unfortunately, these stresses can still be the primary reason for failure. Thus, engineers and designers must find ways of including the effects of cyclic stresses when designing products for long-term use.
User Tip: All About Icons
I give a lot of COMSOL workshops — about 20 so far this year. These are great events and they include hands-on minicourses, which allow me to connect with the audience. One topic that I often spend a few minutes on might surprise you: icons. The icons, especially those found at the nodes in the Model Builder, are packed with useful information. They’re easy to miss because they’re small, but knowing what they mean can be a big help.
Why Adopting COMSOL Multiphysics Is a Good Career Move
Are you a student thinking about where you want to end up after graduation, or a young professional considering how to make yourself more valuable in today’s job market? There are many things you might do to sharpen your skills and bolster your résumé, but here’s a piece of advice you’ll get from us: adopting COMSOL Multiphysics is a good career move. Before you say “of course you’d say that, it’s in your best interest if I use your software,” […]
How Spreadsheets Are Used in Engineering
We’ve noticed that a lot of our customers use spreadsheets, such as Excel®, as part of the modeling process. They use them for storing material property and other data, such as from experiments or other information about workflow associated with their engineering project, and then import this data into COMSOL Multiphysics®. Spreadsheets are also the forum for taking in results from COMSOL software and using this to compare, optimize and verify these material properties. Let’s delve deeper into how spreadsheets […]
What Is ECAD and Why Is It Used in FEA?
Electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) is typically used to design and develop electronic systems. Although the acronym is a mere letter away from “CAD”, there’s actually more to the story than appending the word “electronic” to “computer-aided design”. So, what is ECAD and why is it used in finite element analysis (FEA)?
Moore’s Law for Solvers
At the heart of any simulation software are the solvers. Those are things that take geometry/mesh/physics to the computational results. While it’s convenient to think about solvers in terms of the type of study (think time-dependent, parametric, or eigenvalue), there is a hierarchy of solvers that are usually employed. And at the foundational level of any simulation — and for every iteration — there is a linear solver.