Joule Heating of a Microactuator

Application ID: 8493


This tutorial model of a two-hot-arm thermal actuator couples three different physics phenomena: electric current conduction, heat conduction with heat generation, and structural stresses and strains due to thermal expansion.

The model exists in three versions:

  • Joule Heating of a Microactuator (thermal_actuator_jh.mph): In this model version, only the currents and temperatures are computed, while the deformation is ignored. Only the COMSOL Multiphysics license is required.

  • Thermal Actuator (thermal_actuator_tem.mph): In this model version, a fully coupled electrical-thermal-structural analysis is performed. A license for either the Structural Mechanics Module or the MEMS Module is required.

  • Thermal Actuator - Parameterized (thermal_actuator_tem_parameterized.mph): This model is identical to the previous, except that the geometry is parameterized so that the effect of varying the actuator's dimensions can be analyzed. A license for either the Structural Mechanics Module or the MEMS Module is required.

Loading...

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: