These user success stories will give you an idea of how COMSOL products have been used to solve problems and achieve real competitive advantage. The latest stories can be ordered free-of-charge here.
COMSOL Multiphysics in Research and Development
In flameless combustion, air and fuel entering the chamber are mixed with high-temperature recirculated exhaust gases that provide the activation energy needed to initiate and maintain the reaction throughout the chamber. It is important that the fuel and air are injected in such a way that they force recirculation evenly throughout the chamber.
The comprehensive report on simulation speed and version 3.4 comes in the form of a scientifically conducted benchmark study by Dr. Darrell W. Pepper of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Dr. Xiuling Wang of Purdue University-Calumet.
In their efforts to use metamaterials to construct the world´s first working prototype of an invisibility cloak, researchers relied on modeling to lead them to the materials and designs that would make this sci-fi dream a reality. This work was acknowledged by Science magazine as being among the most important scientific breakthroughs of 2006.
The least-explored region of the electromagnetic spectrum consists of terahertz waves, which at 100 GHz to 10 THz fall between microwaves and infrared light. Only in recent years has the development of suitable waveguides for the technical maturation and widespread commercialization of T-ray technology started.
Railguns-which propel a projectile using electromagnetic forces´ promise to revolutionize projectile launchers. To adequately design them, researchers must understand the inner workings of these weapons. Here, using modeling, Dr. Paul Cote makes his contribution to the understanding of this phenomenon.
The "hydrogen economy" aims to reduce the USA´s reliance on imported fossil fuels along with the emission of greenhouse gases. Funding for alternative cycles is limited, so modeling identifies designs that are likely to be successful. Using computational simulation, Argonne was able to quickly get answers to questions that helped with their decision-making.
Making sense of the contractions and dilations in the heart requires far more than simply considering how mechanical deformations force blood through hollows in cardiac tissue. Also to be considered is the transfer of charged ions in heart tissue that produces electrical pulses to trigger the mechanical contractions.
Researchers have been exploring for an accurate yet non-invasive method of predicting eye diseases at earlier stages than are currently possible. One potential diagnostic method is to measure the ocular surface temperature (OST) and compare thermal variations in the eyeball to computer models as well as clinical data.
Simulation of salt diffusion in a pork side is a relatively complex task since such often consists of different regions of skin, meat, fat and bone; each with diffusion coefficients that can vary by orders of magnitude. Adding to this complexity is the arbitrary shape and topology of each region separately and combined.
How relaxed protein strands loop and lace or "fold" controls the form they take and the functions they perform in the human body. If the stretched out chains of amino acids slip into a particular knot you get hemoglobin that carries oxygen through the blood. A different 3D lace becomes an antibody to fight infection.
The process of manufacturing nanowires-the smallest possible threads-is not wholly understood. Prof. Stig Stenström of Lund University in Sweden created a COMSOL Multiphysics model of nanowire growth to help researchers understand and better exploit the underlying phenomena.
A group of scientists from three institutions are researching how to use information about electromagnetic fields in volcanoes to investigate and observe their activity and ultimately predict volcanic crises. Powerful simulations gives them deeper insights into volcanic processes and moves them a step closer to more accurate predictions.
How easy is it to set up a multiphysics model to perform the fluid-structure interaction that occurs within sail design? Professor L. Teresi decided to find out. In principle, The physics describing the structural mechanics of the sail was directly coupled to the viscous and momentum forces resulting from the flow model - multiphysics.
In 1949, Professor Stiefel rented the Zuse Z4 for complex calculations. It used 2200 relays and a mechanical memory of 64 words. He first used this machine to solve a 4th order partial differential equation related to the damming of a water reservoir and to solve a system of eight ordinary differential equations to calculate rocket light.