In a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) scenario, the fluid can affect the structure, the structure can affect the fluid flow, or both. When modeling a device that relies on FSI, you may want to simulate one of these options, a combination, or all three. The Fluid-Structure Interaction multiphysics coupling in the COMSOL® software makes it easy to implement FSI in your analyses. In this blog post, we study the flow through a ball check valve for different flow directions and pressures.

Material deposition is an essential ingredient in certain manufacturing processes, including welding and additive manufacturing. Say that you want to simulate such a manufacturing process. A challenge that you will face during the simulation is depositing material in a way that introduces it in a state of zero stress. Here, we look at the Activation functionality in the COMSOL Multiphysics® software and how it facilitates the simulation of material deposition.

Since high-speed communication is inevitable for evolving wireless systems, the demand for a higher data rate, higher frequency, larger spectrum, and wider bandwidth increases. When dealing with a wide bandwidth, multiple devices may have to be deployed in a wireless communication system to filter out unwanted noise and interfering signals, enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, and improve the sensitivity. A single tunable filter can replace these devices, reducing the system’s size and weight and the fabrication cost of multiple components.

Kelvin probes provide a nondestructive and contact-free method of measuring the work function differences of various material combinations. These probes can have a variety of designs, including different tip shapes, lengths, and radii. To find an optimal design while minimizing the need for extensive testing, one group of researchers used the COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Here’s what they found…

Measuring acceleration is important in high-speed dynamics, as velocity, force, and pressure are derived from it. Sensing elements inside accelerometers make it possible to obtain such measurements. As technology advances, these sensor packages must be optimized to handle higher vibrational frequency bandwidths. To accomplish this, researchers tested their novel piezoresistive sensor chip as part of a package design. Their simulation results, which agree well with experimental data, pave the way for optimizing sensor packages to achieve higher bandwidths.

Piezoelectric devices are widely used as sources to generate sound waves or receivers to detect acoustic signals. In applications such as ultrasound imaging and nondestructive testing, the same transducer can be used as a transmitter to send a source signal and receiver to detect echoes. Modeling these devices often requires transient analyses with time of flight as output. Let’s discuss how to use the COMSOL Multiphysics® software to model a piezoelectric device as both a transmitter and receiver.

Modern optical systems are often required to operate in harsh environments, including high altitudes, space, underwater, and in laser and nuclear facilities. Such optical systems are subjected to structural loads and extreme temperatures. The most accurate way to fully capture these environmental effects is through numerical simulation via a structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis. STOP analysis is the quintessential multiphysics problem. In this blog post, we show how to combine structural, thermal, and optical effects using the COMSOL Multiphysics® software.

In civil engineering and the biomedical field, strain gauges are used to measure deformation sustained by various objects. Typically, foil gauges are used, but they have low sensitivity. MEMS-based gauges, like the double-ended tuning fork (DETF) strain gauge, offer better performance. To optimize the design of a new DETF strain gauge, researchers used the COMSOL Multiphysics® software and compared the results to an analytical model.

In some applications, particularly within the MEMS field, it is important to study the sensitivity of a device’s eigenfrequencies with respect to a variation in temperature. In this blog post, we show how to do this using COMSOL Multiphysics® version 5.3. We also explore effects like stress softening, geometric changes, and the temperature dependence of material properties.

For those looking to solve complex transport process problems involving photonics and microfluidics, it can be challenging to account for all of the elements involved, including multiple physics phenomena. However, this is necessary for accurate results. By using multiphysics simulation, Carl Meinhart from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Numerical Design, Inc. accurately modeled transport processes in two application areas: high-frequency acoustics and microfluidic valves. Watch his keynote talk from the COMSOL Conference 2016 Boston to get the details.