COMSOL Multiphysics Version 4.1 Available

By DE Editors

COMSOL’s multiphysics modeling and simulation environment, COMSOL Multiphysics version 4.1, is now available. The new release builds on the usability introduced enhancements in the version 4 architecture and offers dozens of features designed to make the modeling and simulation process more productive.

“Version 4.1 will make users instantly more productive.  With the addition of Copy/Paste and duplication features the model tree can be expanded and customized in record time. This really opens the way for users to work efficiently rather than unnecessarily repeating tasks,” says Bjorn Sjodin, vice president of Product Management.

Updates to the interactive, tree-structured Model Builder in version 4.1 make the modeling process more intuitive to manage, according to the company. Of particular note, users can now copy and paste nodes within the Model Builder to avoid repeated sequences of commands. Users can duplicate selected nodes as functions, geometry selections, plot settings and visualization effects, or they can use duplicated nodes to create new images, to study the steps that control solver settings and analysis type, or prepare data for export. Additionally, the Model Builder and Settings window offers new Undo/Redo functionality.

Several new capabilities in version 4.1 boost productivity by delivering accurate simulation results more quickly than before. The new physics-controlled meshing enables users to let the software do the time-consuming mesh-creation process. Currently implemented in the CFD and Plasma physics interfaces, COMSOL now automatically specifies the mesh based on the physics in the model. For example, the fluid flow interfaces use this feature to create a fine mesh throughout the flow region while simultaneously creating boundary layer meshes on no-slip boundaries. The resulting mesh has the added benefit of being optimized for accuracy, delivering precision to fluid flow applications.

COMSOL Multiphysics version 4.1 also introduces simulation job management tools.  Version 4.1 also introduces a suite of tools that make simulation results easier to understand more quickly. Time-dependent simulations can now be analyzed using frequency-domain transformation using FFT for computing frequency spectra from. Polar plots have been added to display graphs in polar coordinates specified by radius and angle — a feature is commonly used to present the radiation pattern from antennas. Users will also benefit from predefined operations for computing the maximum, minimum, average, or integral of the values of a quantity in a point over time for a time-dependent model.

Version 4.1 highlights include:

• Copy/Paste and duplication of selected nodes in the Model Tree
• Undo/Redo of operations in the Model Builder and the Settings window
• Automatic save and recovery of models during solver operations
• Up-front display of equations in physics interfaces, giving insight into the specific mathematical model being solved
• Parametric curves in 2D and 3D
• Resume interrupted solvers by right-clicking on the study or solver and selecting Continue
• The AC/DC Module now offers electric currents in porous media
• The Batteries and Fuel Cells Module has a new physics interface for lead acid battery modeling
• The CFD Module now comes with a new Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model

For more information, visit COMSOL.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.