Tips & Tricks

Engineers post process their simulation results for reasons that range from better understanding their results to communicating those results to others.  Developing labels that clearly identify the conditions for a simulation communicates the critical input parameters for the plotted results. In this Tip and Trick, the simulation engineers at AltaSim will show a way to […]

An electromagnetic wave consists of a coupled oscillating electric field and magnetic field which are always perpendicular to each other. By convention, the “polarization” of electromagnetic waves refers to the direction of the electric field. In 3D geometry, arbitrary polarization is naturally defined by the prescribing the directions of all three components of the electric

In working with our customers, AltaSim often seeks to solve an initial problem in two dimensions to save computational time. The CAD we receive from our customers is routinely in three dimensions, and our engineers need to reduce the dimensionality of the solution space. In the past, our engineers spent significant time re-creating CAD in

The significant flexibility of COMSOL Multiphysics represents one of the primary reasons AltaSim uses this software as our main simulation tool. In this installment of our Tips & Tricks, we are going to review the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method that COMSOL has implemented. AltaSim has found that for the cases described in this article, DG

At virtually every step of the model creation process, you need to select and apply materials, physics boundary conditions, and other settings to your model geometry. Bookkeeping of these settings can be challenging, especially when you re dealing with large, complex geometries and multiple physics interfaces. In COMSOL Multiphysics, Selections provides a tool to organize your model

Developing solutions using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) often challenges simulation engineers. These simulations may require long computational times and large amounts of computer memory. AltaSim regularly solves complex CFD problems and finds that meshing is a critical component for run-time and computer memory issues. To help you solve your CFD problems with less frustration and

As COMSOL Multiphysics evolves, methods to include important features in simulations change. Coupling temperatures to different physics is a common need for multiphysics simulations. COMSOL has made changes that effect temperature coupling. Our clients have asked about the warning signs they get when using temperature coupling, and we would like to share with you our

Making accurate physics predictions using simulations requires a knowledge of the material properties and how to implement them correctly in the software. This is particularly important in analyses involving thermal expansion when the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of the materials vary significantly with temperature. For example, optical devices that operate in the vacuum of

Incorrect boundary conditions in finite element analysis (FEA) lead to incorrect solutions, or the simulation does not converge. To develop a converged solution, all FEA models require constraining each dependent variable somewhere in the model. Typically, this is done directly onto the model region geometry, but it can also be accomplished through Robin conditions. This

Post processing is the last of the five primary steps of simulation development. This step represents the payoff from all the hard work of the previous steps, and it drives the deeper understanding of the design that engineers obtain though simulation. A simulation engineer can significantly improve their understanding, and better communicate that understanding, when