Example 2: The Busbar—A Multiphysics Model

Electrical Heating in a Busbar

This tutorial demonstrates the concept of multiphysics modeling in COMSOL.
We will do this by defining the different physics settings sequentially. At the end,
you will have built a truly multiphysics model.
The model that you are about to create analyzes a busbar designed to conduct
direct current to an electrical device (see picture below). The current conducted
in the busbar, from bolt 1 to bolts 2a and 2b, produces heat due to the resistive
losses, a phenomenon referred to as Joule heating. The busbar is made of copper
while the bolts are made of a titanium alloy. Under normal operational conditions
the currents are predominantly conducted through the copper. This example,
however, illustrates the effects of an unwanted electrical loading of the busbar
through the bolts. The choice of materials is important because titanium has a
lower electrical conductivity than copper and will be subjected to a higher current
density.
Titanium Bolt 2a

Titanium Bolt 2b Titanium Bolt 1

The goal of your simulation is to precisely calculate how much the busbar heats
up. Once you have captured the basic multiphysics phenomena, you will have the
chance to investigate thermal expansion yielding structural stresses and strains in
the busbar and the effects of cooling by an air stream.
The Joule heating effect is described by conservation laws for electric current and
energy. Once solved for, the two conservation laws give the temperature and
electric field, respectively. All surfaces, except the bolt contact surfaces, are cooled
by natural convection in the air surrounding the busbar. You can assume that the
exposed parts of the bolt do not contribute to the cooling or heating of the device.

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The electric potential at the upper-right vertical bolt surface is 20 mV and the
potential at the two horizontal surfaces of the lower bolts is 0 V. This corresponds
to a relatively high and potentially unsafe loading of this type of busbar. More
advanced boundary conditions for electromagnetics analysis are available with the
AC/DC Module, such as the capability to give the total current on a boundary.

Busbar Model Overview

More in-depth and advanced topics included in this tutorial are used to show you
some of the many options available in COMSOL. The following topics are
covered:
• “Parameters, Functions, Variables and Couplings” on page 78, where you
learn how to define functions and component couplings.
• “Material Properties and Material Libraries” on page 82 shows you how to
customize a material and add it to your own material library.
• “Adding Meshes” on page 84 gives you the opportunity to add and define
two different meshes and compare them in the Graphics window.
• “Adding Physics” on page 86 explores the multiphysics capabilities by
adding Solid Mechanics and Laminar Flow to the busbar model.
• “Parametric Sweeps” on page 107 shows you how to vary the width of the
busbar using a parameter and then solve for a range of parameter values. The
result is a plot of the average temperature as a function of the width.
• In the section “Parallel Computing” on page 116 you learn how to solve the
model using Cluster Computing.

M o d e l W i z a rd

1 To open the software, double-click the COMSOL icon on

the desktop.

When the software opens, click the Model Wizard button.

You can also start the Model Wizard at any time by
selecting New from the File menu. Then, choose Model
Wizard.

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2 In the Select Space Dimension window, click 3D.

3 In the Select Physics window, expand

the Heat Transfer > Electromagnetic
Heating folder, then right-click Joule
Heating and choose Add Physics.
Click the Study button.
You can also double-click or click the
Add button to add physics.
Another way to add physics is to open
the Add Physics window by
right-clicking the Component node in
the Model Builder and selecting Add
Physics .
Note, you may have fewer items in your
physics list depending on the add-on
modules installed. The figure on the
right is shown for the case where all
add-on modules are installed.

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4 In the Select Study window, click to
select the Stationary study type.
Click the Done button.
Preset Studies are studies that have
solver and equation settings adapted to
the selected physics; in this example,
Joule Heating.
Any selection from the Custom Studies
branch needs manual fine-tuning.
Note, you may have fewer study types in
your study list depending on the
installed add-on modules.

The Joule Heating multiphysics

interface consists of two physics
interfaces, Electric Currents and
Heat Transfer in Solids, together
with the multiphysics couplings
that appear in the Multiphysics
branch: the electromagnetic heat
sources and a temperature
coupling. This multiphysics
approach is very flexible and makes
it possible to fully use the
capabilities of the participating
physics interfaces.

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Global Definitions

To save time, it’s recommended that you 2 x rad_1

load the geometry from a file. In that case,
you can skip to “Geometry” on page 56.
If, on the other hand, you want to draw the
geometry yourself, the Global Definitions
node is where you define the parameters.
First, complete steps 1 through 3 below to
define the parameter list for the model.
Then follow step 4 and skip to the section
“Appendix A—Building a Geometry” on
page 120.
The Global Definitions node in the
Model Builder stores Parameters, Variables,
and Functions with a global scope. The wbb
L
model tree can hold several model
components simultaneously, and the
tbb
definitions with a global scope are made
available for all components. In this
particular example, there is only one Component node in which the parameters
are used, so if you wish to limit the scope to this single component you could
define, for example, Variables and Functions in the Definitions subnode available
directly under the corresponding Component node. However, no Parameters can
be defined here because Parameters are always global.
Since you will run a parametric study of the geometry later in this example, define
the geometry using parameters from the start. In this step, enter parameters for
the length of the lower part of the busbar, L, the radius of the titanium bolts,
rad_1, the thickness of the busbar, tbb, and the width of the device, wbb.
You will also add the parameters that control the mesh, mh, a heat transfer
coefficient for cooling by natural convection, htc, and a value for the voltage
across the busbar, Vtot.
1 Right-click Global Definitions and choose Parameters . In the Parameters
table, click the first row under Name and enter L.
2 Click the first row under Expression and enter the value of L, 9[cm]. You can
enter the unit inside the square brackets.
3 Continue adding the other parameters: rad_1, tbb, wbb, mh, htc, and Vtot
according to the Parameters list below. It is a good idea to enter descriptions for

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 variables in case you want to share the model with others and for your own
future reference.

4 Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar and name the model
busbar.mph. Then go to “Appendix A—Building a Geometry” on page 120.

Geometr y

This section describes how the geometry can be opened from the Application
Libraries. The physics, study, parameters, and geometry are included with the
model file you are about to open.
1 Select Application Libraries from the
Windows drop down in the Home tab.

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2 In the Application Libraries tree under
COMSOL Multiphysics > Multiphysics,
select busbar geom.
To open the file you can:
- Double-click the name
- Right-click and select an option from
the menu
- Click one of the buttons under the
tree
You can select No if prompted to save
untitled.mph.
The geometry in this file is
parameterized. In the next few steps, we
will experiment with different values for
the width parameter, wbb.
3 Under Global Definitions click the
Parameters node .
In the Settings window for Parameters,
click in the Expression column for the
wbb parameter and enter 10[cm] to
change the value of the busbar width.
4 In the Model Builder, under
Component 1>Geometry 1, click the
Form Union node and then the Build
All button in the Settings window to rerun the geometry sequence. You can

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 also use the ribbon and click Build All from the Geometry group in the Home
tab.

5 In the Graphics toolbar click the Zoom Extents button to see the wider
busbar in the Graphics window.

wbb=5cm wbb=10cm

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6 Experiment with the geometry in the Graphics window:
- To rotate the busbar, click and drag the pointer anywhere in the Graphics
window.
- To move it, right-click and drag.
- To zoom in and out, click the scroll wheel, continue holding it, and drag.

- To get back to the original position, click the Go to Default 3D View

button on the toolbar.

7 Return to the Parameters table and

change the value of wbb back to 5[cm].
8 In the Model Builder, click the Form
Union node and then click the Build
All button to rerun the geometry
sequence.
9 On the Graphics toolbar, click the
Zoom Extents button .
10If you built the geometry yourself, you
are already using the busbar.mph file, but if you opened the file from the
Application Libraries, select Save As from the File menu and rename the model
busbar.mph.

After creating or importing the geometry, it is time to define the materials.

Mate rials

The Materials node stores the material properties for all physics and geometrical
domains in a Component node. The busbar is made of copper and the bolts are
made of a titanium alloy. Both of these materials are available from the Built-In
material database.
1 In the Model Builder, right-click Component 1>Materials and select Add
Material . By default, the window will open at the right-hand side of the
desktop. You can move the window by clicking on the window title and then

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 dragging it to a new location. While dragging the window, you will be presented
with several options for docking.

The Materials node will show a red × in the lower-left corner if you try to
solve without first defining a material (you are about to define that in the
next few steps).
2 In the Add Material window,
expand the Built-In materials
folder and locate Copper.
Right-click Copper and
select Add to Component 1.
A Copper node is added to the
Model Builder.
3 In the Add Material window,
scroll to Titanium beta-21S in
the Built-In material folder list.
Right-click and select Add to
Component 1.
4 In the Model Builder, collapse
the Geometry 1 node to get
an overview of the model.

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5 Under the Materials node, click Copper .

6 In the Settings window for Material, examine the Material Contents section.

The Material Contents section has useful information about the material
property usage of a model. Properties that are both required by the physics and
available from the material are marked with a green check mark . Properties
required by the physics but missing in the material are marked with a warning
sign . A property that is available but not used in the model is unmarked.
The Coefficient of thermal expansion in the table above is not used, but
will be needed later when heat-induced stresses and strains are added to
the model.
Because the copper material is added first, by default all parts have copper
material assigned. In the next step you will assign titanium properties to the
bolts, which overrides the copper material assignment for those parts.
7 In the Model Builder, click Titanium beta-21S .

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8 Select All Domains from the Selection list and then click domain 1 in the list.
Now remove domain 1 from the selection list.
To remove a domain from the selection list (or any geometric entity such as
boundaries, edges, or points), you can use either of these two methods:
- Click domain 1 in the selection list found in the Settings window for Material,
then click the Remove from Selection button or press Delete on your
keyboard.
- Alternatively, in the Graphics window, click domain 1 to remove it from the
selection list.

The domains 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are highlighted in blue.

62 |
 To render the copper components in the actual color of the material, open
the Preferences window from the File menu. Then on the Graphics and
Plot Windows page, select the Show material color and texture check box.
This will also enable material-true rendering of the other materials.

9 In the Settings window for

Material, be sure to inspect
the Material Contents section
for the titanium material. All
the properties used by the
physics should have a green
check mark .

10Close the Add Material

window either by clicking the
icon in the upper right corner or
by clicking the Add Material
toggle button in the
Materials group of the ribbon
Home tab.

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Physics

Next you will inspect the physics domain settings and set the boundary conditions
for the heat transfer problem and the conduction of electric current.
In the Model Builder window, examine the default physics nodes of the
multiphysics interface for Joule Heating. First, collapse the Materials node. Then
click the Electric Currents , Heat Transfer in Solids , and Multiphysics
nodes to expand them.

The ‘D’ in the upper left corner of a node’s icon ( ) means it is a default node.
The equations that COMSOL solves are displayed in the Equation section of the
Settings windows of the respective physics nodes.
The default equation form is inherited from the study added in the Model Wizard.
For Joule heating, COMSOL displays the equations solved for the temperature
and electric potential.
To always display the equations in the Settings window, click the Show
button ( ) on the Model Builder toolbar and select Equation Sections so
that a check mark appears next to it.

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The Heat Transfer in Solids (ht) and
Electric Currents (ec) nodes have the
settings for heat conduction and
current conduction, respectively.
Under the Electric Currents node,
the Current Conservation node
represents the conservation of electric
current at the domain level and the
Electric Insulation node contains the
default boundary condition for
Electric Currents.
Under the Heat Transfer in Solids
node, the domain level Heat Transfer
in Solids node represents the
conservation of heat and the Thermal
Insulation node contains the default
boundary condition for Heat Transfer. The heat source for Joule heating is set in
the Electromagnetic Heat Source node under the Multiphysics node. The Initial
Values node, found in both the Electric Currents and Heat Transfer in Solids
interfaces, contains initial guesses for the nonlinear solver for stationary problems
and initial conditions for time-dependent problems.
Now, define the boundary conditions.
1 Right-click the Heat Transfer in Solids node . In the second section of the
context menu—the boundary section—select Heat Flux.

Domain section

Section divider

Boundary section

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2 In the Settings window for Heat
Flux, select All boundaries from the
Selection list.
Assume that the circular bolt
boundaries are neither heated nor
cooled by the surroundings.
In the next step you will remove the
selection of these boundaries from
the heat flux selection list, which
leaves them with the default insulating boundary condition for the Heat
Transfer interfaces.
3 Rotate the busbar to view the back. Move the mouse pointer over one of the
circular titanium bolt surfaces to highlight it in green. Click the bolt surface to
remove this boundary selection from the Selection list. Repeat this step to
remove the other two circular bolt surfaces from the selection list. Boundaries
8, 15, and 43 are removed.
Cross-check: Boundaries 8, 15, and 43 are removed from the
Selection list.

43

15

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4 In the Settings window for Heat
Flux under Heat Flux, click the
Convective heat flux button. Enter
htc in the Heat transfer coefficient
field, h.
This parameter was either entered
in the Parameter table in “Global
Definitions” on page 55 or
imported with the geometry.
Continue by setting the boundary
conditions for the electric current
according to the following steps:
5 In the Model Builder, right-click the Electric Currents node . In the second
section of the context menu—the boundary section—select Electric Potential.
An Electric Potential node is added to the model tree.

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6 Move the mouse pointer over the circular face of the single titanium bolt to
highlight it and then click to add it (boundary 43) to the Selection list.

43

7 In the Settings window for Electric

Potential enter Vtot in the Electric
potential field.
The last step is to set the surfaces of
the two remaining bolts to ground.
8 In the Model Builder, right-click the Electric Currents node . In the
boundary section of the context menu, select Ground. A Ground node is
added to the Model Builder. The model tree node sequence should now match
this figure.

68 |
9 In the Graphics window, click one of the remaining bolts to add it to the
Selection list.
Cross-check: Boundaries 8 and 15.

15

Repeat this step to add the last bolt. Boundaries 8 and 15 are added to the
selection list for the Ground boundary condition.
10On the Graphics toolbar, click the Go to Default 3D View button .

As an alternative to using the preconfigured multiphysics interface for

Joule heating, you can manually combine the Electric Currents and Heat
Transfer in Solids interfaces. For example, you can start by setting up and
solving the model for Electric Currents and then subsequently add Heat
Transfer in Solids. In that case, you right-click the Multiphysics node to
add the required multiphysics couplings.

Me sh

The simplest way to mesh is to create an unstructured tetrahedral mesh, which is

perfect for the busbar. Alternatively, you can create several meshing sequences as
shown in “Adding Meshes” on page 84.
A physics-controlled mesh is created by default. In most cases, it is possible
to skip to the Study branch and just solve the model. For this exercise, the
settings are investigated in order to parameterize the mesh settings.

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1 In the Model Builder, click the Mesh 1
node . In the Settings window for
Mesh, select User-controlled mesh from
the Sequence type list.
2 Under Mesh 1, click the Size node .

3 In the Settings window for Size

under Element Size, click the
Custom button.
Under Element Size Parameters,
enter:
- mh in the Maximum element size
field. Note that mh is 6 mm—the
value entered earlier as a global
parameter. By using the
parameter mh, element sizes are
limited to this value.
- mh-mh/3 in the Minimum
element size field. The
Minimum element size is slightly
smaller than the maximum size.
- 0.2 in the Curvature factor field.
The Curvature factor
determines the number of
elements on curved boundaries;
a lower value gives a finer mesh.
The other two parameters are left
unchanged.
The Maximum element growth rate determines how fast the elements should
grow from small to large over a domain. The larger this value is, the larger the
growth rate. A value of 1 does not give any growth.
For Resolution of narrow regions, a higher value will in general result in a finer
mesh.
The asterisk (*) that displays in the upper-right corner of the Size node
indicates that the node is being edited.

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4 Click the Build All button in the Settings window for Size to create the mesh
as in this figure:

You can also click Build Mesh in the Home tab of the ribbon.

Study

1 To run a simulation, in the Model

Builder, right-click Study 1 and
choose Compute . You can also
press F8 or click Compute in the
ribbon Home tab.
The Study node automatically
defines a solution sequence for the
simulation based on the selected
physics and the study type. The
simulation only takes a few seconds to
solve. During the solution process, two Convergence plots are generated and are
available from tabs next to the Graphics window. These plots show the
convergence progress of the different solver algorithms engaged by the Study.

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Results

By default, in the Results node, three plot groups are

generated: a Multislice plot of the Electric Potential, a
Surface plot of the Temperature, and a plot named
Isothermal Contours containing an Isosurface plot of
the temperature.
Click Results > Temperature to view the temperature
plot in the Graphics window. The temperature
difference in the device is less than 10 K due to the high
thermal conductivity of copper and titanium. The
temperature variations are largest in the top bolt, which
conducts double the amount of current compared to the two lower bolts. The
temperature is substantially higher than the ambient temperature of 293 K.
1 Click and drag the image in the Graphics window to rotate and view the back
of the busbar.

2 On the Graphics toolbar, click the Go to Default 3D View button .

You can now manually set the color table range to visualize the temperature
difference in the copper part.

3 In the Model Builder, expand the Results > Temperature node and click the
Surface 1 node .

72 |
4 In the Settings window for Surface click Range to expand the section. Select the
Manual color range check box and enter 323 in the Maximum field (replace the
default). Click the Plot button on the Settings window for Surface.

5 On the Graphics toolbar, click the Zoom Extents button to view the updated
plot.

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6 Click and drag in the Graphics window to rotate the busbar and view the back.

The temperature distribution is laterally symmetric with a vertical mirror plane

running between the two lower titanium bolts and cutting through the center of
the upper bolt. In this case, the model does not require much computing power
and you can model the entire geometry. For more complex models, you can
consider using symmetries to reduce the computational requirements.
Select Go to Default 3D View on the toolbar in the Graphics window .
Now, let us generate a Surface plot that shows the current density in the device.
1 In the Model Builder, right-click
Results and add a 3D Plot
Group . Right-click 3D Plot
Group 4 and add a Surface
node .

74 |
2 In the Settings window for Surface under
Expression, click the Replace Expression
button . Go to
Model>Component1>Electric Currents >
Currents and charge > ec.normJ -Current
density norm and double-click or press Enter
to select.

ec.normJ is the variable for the magnitude,

or absolute value, of the current density
vector. You can also enter ec.normJ in the
Expression field when you know the variable
name.

3 Click the Plot button .

The plot that displays in the Graphics window is almost uniform in color due to
the high current density at the contact edges with the bolts. The next step is to
manually change the color table range to visualize the current density
distribution.
4 In the Settings window for Surface under Range, select the Manual color range
check box. Enter 1e6 in the Maximum field and replace the default.

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5 Click the Plot button .
The resulting plot shows that the current takes the shortest path in the
90-degree bend in the busbar. Notice that the edges of the busbar outside of
the bolts are hardly utilized for current conduction.

6 Click and drag the busbar in the Graphics window to view the back. Continue
rotating the image to see the high current density around the contact surfaces
of each of the bolts.

Make sure to save the model. This version of the model, busbar.mph, is
reused and renamed during the next set of tutorials.
When you are done, click the Go to Default 3D View button on the Graphics
toolbar. As a next step you will create a model thumbnail image.

76 |
C REATING M ODEL I MAGES FROM P LOTS
With any solution, you can create an image to display in COMSOL when
browsing for model files. After generating a plot, in the Model Builder under
Results click the plot. Then click the root node (the first node in the model tree).
In the Settings window for Root under Thumbnail, click Set from Graphics
Window.
There are two other ways to create images from a plot. One is to click the
Image Snapshot button in the Graphics toolbar to directly create an image. You
can also add an Image node to an Export node to create an image file.
Right-click the plot group of interest and then select Add Image to Export.
This completes the Busbar example. The next sections are designed to improve
your understanding of the steps implemented so far, and to extend your
simulation to include additional effects like thermal expansion and fluid flow.
These additional topics begin on the following pages:
• “Parameters, Functions, Variables and Couplings” on page 78
• “Material Properties and Material Libraries” on page 82
• “Adding Meshes” on page 84
• “Adding Physics” on page 86
• “Parametric Sweeps” on page 107
• “Parallel Computing” on page 116
• “Appendix A—Building a Geometry” on page 120

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Advanced Topics

Par a m e t e r s , F u n c t i o n s , Va r i a bl e s a n d C o u p l i n g s

This section explores working with Parameters, Functions, Variables, and

Component Couplings.
Global Definitions and Component Definitions contain functionality that help
you to prepare model inputs and component couplings, and to organize
simulations. You have already used the functionality for adding Parameters to
organize model inputs in “Global Definitions” on page 55.
Functions, available as both Global Definitions and Component Definitions,
contain a set of predefined function templates that can be useful when setting up
multiphysics simulations. For example, the Step function template can create a
smooth step function for defining different types of spatial or temporal transitions.
To illustrate using functions, assume that you want to add a time dependent study
to the busbar model where an electric potential is applied across the busbar that
goes from 0 V to 20 mV in 0.5 seconds. For this purpose, you could use a step
function to be multiplied with the parameter Vtot. In this section, you’ll add a
step function to the model that goes smoothly from 0 to 1 in 0.5 seconds to find
out how functions can be defined and verified.

D EFINING F UNCTIONS
For this section, you can continue working with the same model file created in the
previous section. Locate and open the file busbar.mph if it is not already open on
the desktop.

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1 Right-click the Global Definitions node and select Functions>Step .

2 In the Settings window for Step enter 0.25 in the Location field to set the
location of the middle of the step, where it has the value of 0.5.

3 Click Smoothing to expand the section and enter 0.5 in the Size of transition
zone field to set the width of the smoothing interval. Keep the default Number
of continuous derivatives at 2.
4 Click the Plot button in the Settings window for Step.

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If your plot matches the one below, this confirms that you have defined the
function correctly.

You can also add comments and rename the function to make it more descriptive.
5 Right-click the Step 1 node
in the Model Builder and
select Properties .

80 |
6 In the Properties window, enter any
information you want. Right-click
the Properties tab and select Close
when you are finished.

For the purpose of this exercise,

assume that you want to introduce a
second component to represent an
electric device connected to the
busbar through the titanium bolts.
A first step would be to rename
Component 1 to specify that it
represents the busbar.
1 Right-click the Component 1 node and select Rename (or press F2).
2 In the Rename Component window, enter Busbar. Click OK and save the
model.

D EFINING C OMPONENT C OUPLINGS

Right-click the Definitions node under
Busbar (comp1) to introduce a Component
Coupling that computes the integral of any
Busbar (comp1) variable at the bolt boundaries
facing the electric device. You can use such a
coupling, for example, to define a Variable in
the Global Definitions node that calculates the
total current. This variable is then globally
accessible and could, for example, form a
boundary condition for the current that is fed
to an electric device modeled as a second
component.
The Component Couplings in Definitions have
a wide range of uses. The Average ,

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Maximum , and Minimum couplings have applications in generating results
as well as in boundary conditions, sources, sinks, properties, or any other
contribution to the model equations. The Probes are for monitoring the
solution progress. For instance, you can follow the solution at a critical point
during a time-dependent simulation, or for each parameter value in a parametric
study.
You can find an example of using the average operator in “Parametric Sweeps” on
page 107. Also see “Functions” on page 144 for a list of available COMSOL
functions.
To learn more about working with definitions, in the Model Builder, click
the Definitions or Global Definitions node and press F1 to open the
Help window . This window displays helpful information about the
selected item in the desktop and provides links to the documentation. It
could take up to a minute for the window to load the first time it is activated,
but will load quickly the next time it is opened.

Ma te ria l Prope r tie s and Ma te rial Libra ries

You have already used the functionality in Materials to access the properties of
copper and titanium in the busbar model. In Materials, you are also able to define
your own materials and save them in your material library. You can also add
material properties to existing materials. In cases where you define properties that
are functions of other variables, typically temperature, the plot functionality helps
you to verify the property functions in the range of interest. You can also load
Excel® spreadsheets and define interpolation functions for material properties
using LiveLink™ for Excel®.
The Material Library add-on contains over 2500 materials with tens of thousands
of temperature-dependent property functions.
First investigate how to add properties to an existing material. Assume that you
want to add bulk modulus and shear modulus to the copper properties.

C USTOMIZING M ATERIALS
Let us keep working on the busbar.
1 In the Model Builder, under Materials, click
Copper .

82 |
2 In the Settings window for
Material, click to expand the
Material Properties section, which
contains a list of all the definable
properties.
Expand the Solid Mechanics >
Linear Elastic Material section.
Right-click Bulk Modulus and
Shear Modulus and select Add
to Material.
This lets you define the bulk
modulus and shear modulus for the copper in your model.
3 Locate the Material Contents section. Bulk modulus and Shear modulus rows
are now available in the table. The warning sign indicates that the values are
not yet defined. To define the values, click the Value column. In the Bulk
modulus row, enter 140e9 and in the Shear modulus row, enter 46e9.

By adding these material properties, you have changed the Copper material. You
can save this information in your own material library, but not in the read-only
Solid Mechanics materials library.
4 In the Model Builder, right-click Copper and select “Add to User-Defined
Library” .

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Addin g M eshes

A model component can contain different meshing sequences for generating

meshes with different settings. These sequences can then be accessed by the study
steps. In the study, you can select which mesh you would like to use in a particular
simulation.
In the busbar model, a second mesh node is now added to create a mesh that is
refined in the areas around the bolts and the bend.

A DDING A M ESH
1 Open the model busbar.mph
that was created earlier.
2 In order to keep this model in a
separate file for later use, select
File > Save As and rename the
model busbar_I.mph.
3 To add a second mesh node,
right-click the Component
1(comp1) node and select Add
Mesh .
By adding another Mesh node, a
Meshes parent node is created
that contains both Mesh 1 and
Mesh 2.
4 Click the Mesh 2 node. In the
Settings window for Mesh under
Mesh Settings, select
User-controlled mesh as the
Sequence type.
A Size and Free Tetrahedral node
are added under Mesh 2.

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5 In the Model Builder, under Mesh 2, click Size .

The asterisk in the upper-right corner of a node icon indicates that the node is
being edited.
6 In the Settings window for Size, under Element Size, click the Custom button.
7 Under Element Size Parameters, enter:
- mh/2 in the Maximum element size field, where mh is 6 mm—the mesh
control parameter defined previously.
- mh/2-mh/6 in the Minimum element size field
- 0.2 in the Curvature factor field.
8 Click Build All . Save the file busbar_I.mph.
Compare Mesh 1 and Mesh 2 by clicking the Mesh nodes. The mesh is updated
in the Graphics window. An alternative to using many different meshes is to run a
parametric sweep of the parameter for the maximum mesh size, mh, that was

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defined in the section “Global Definitions” on page 55.

Mesh 1 Mesh 2

A dd i n g P hy s i c s

The distinguishing characteristics of COMSOL, particularly adaptability and

compatibility, are prominently displayed when you add physics to an existing
model. In this section, you will understand the ease with which this seemingly
difficult task is performed. By following these directions, you can add structural
mechanics and fluid flow to the busbar model.

S TRUCTURAL M ECHANICS
After completing the busbar Joule heating simulation, we know that there is a
temperature rise in the busbar. What kind of mechanical stress is induced by
thermal expansion? To answer this question, let us expand the model to include
the physics associated with structural mechanics.
To complete these steps, either the Structural Mechanics Module or the
MEMS Module (which enhances the core Solid Mechanics interface) is
required.
If you want to add cooling by fluid flow, or don’t have the Structural
Mechanics Module or MEMS Module, read this section and then go to
“Cool by Adding Fluid Flow” on page 93.

86 |
1 Open the model busbar.mph that was created earlier. From the main menu,
select File > Save As and rename the model busbar_II.mph.
2 In the Model Builder,
right-click the Component 1
node and select Add
Physics .

3 In the Add Physics window,

under Structural Mechanics, select
Solid Mechanics .
To add this interface, you can
right-click and select Add to
Component or click the Add to
Component button at the top of
the window.
4 Close the Add Physics window and
save the file.

When adding additional physics, you need to make sure that materials
included in the Materials node have all the required properties for the
selected physics. In this example, you already know that all properties are
available for copper and titanium.
You can start by adding the effect of thermal expansion to the structural
analysis.

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5 In the Model Builder right-click
the Multiphysics node and
select Thermal Expansion .
A Thermal Expansion node is
added to the Model Builder.
You can also use the ribbon and
select, from the Physics tab,
Multiphysics >Thermal
Expansion.

6 In the Settings window for Thermal

Expansion, from the Selection list
select All domains. This will enable
thermal expansion in the copper as
well as in the titanium bolts.
The Thermal Expansion Properties
section of this window shows
information about the Coefficient of
thermal expansion and the Strain
reference temperature. The
Coefficient of thermal expansion
takes its value from the Materials
node. The Strain reference
temperature has a default value of
293.15 K (room temperature) and
defines the temperature for which
there is no thermal expansion. The
Thermal Expansion section at the
bottom of the Settings windows
shows which two physics interfaces
define the physics for heat transfer
and solid mechanics. This is useful in
the case where there are more than
one physics interface for heat transfer
or solid mechanics in the model
component. Keep all default settings
in this window.
Next, constrain the busbar at the position of the titanium bolts.
7 In the model tree, right-click Solid Mechanics and from the boundary level,
select Fixed Constraint . A node with the same name is added to the tree.

88 |
8 Click the Fixed Constraint node . In the Graphics
window, rotate the busbar to view the back. Click the
circular surface of one of the bolts to add it to the
Selection list.
9 Repeat this procedure for the remaining bolts to add
boundaries 8, 15, and 43.

43
15

For easier management of

multiple boundary selections, you
can group boundaries into a
user-defined Selection. Once you
have selected boundaries 8, 15,
and 43, click the Create Selection button and give it a name such as
Bolt top surfaces.
This Selection is then added as a node under Component 1>Definitions
and is accessible from the Selection list for all types of boundary
conditions. You can use this technique to group Domains, Boundaries,
Edges, and Points.

Next we update the Study to take the added physics into account.

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S OLVING FOR JOULE H EATING AND T HERMAL E XPANSION
The Joule heating effect is independent of the stresses and strains in the busbar,
assuming small deformations and ignoring the effects of electric contact pressure.
This means that you can run the simulation using the temperature as input to the
structural analysis. In other words, the extended multiphysics problem is weakly
coupled. As such, you can solve it in two separate study steps to save computation
time—one for Joule heating and a second one for structural analysis.
1 In the Model Builder, right-click Study 1 and
select Study Steps > Stationary > Stationary to add
a second stationary study step.

When adding study steps you need to manually connect the correct
physics with the correct study step. We shall start by disabling the
structural analysis from the first step.
2 Under Study 1, click the Step 1: Stationary node .
3 In the Settings window for Stationary, locate the
Physics and Variables Selection.
4 In the Solid Mechanics
(solid) row under Solve for,
click to change the check
mark to an to remove
Solid Mechanics from Study
Step 1.

Now repeat these steps to remove Electric Currents (ec) and Heat Transfer in
Solids (ht) from the second study step.
5 Under Study 1, click Step 2: Stationary 2 .

6 Under Physics and Variables

Selection, in the Electric
Currents (ec) and Heat
Transfer in Solids (ht) rows,
click to change the check
mark to an to remove
Joule heating from Study
Step 2.

90 |
7 Right-click the Study 1 node and select Compute (or press F8 or click
Compute in the ribbon) to solve.

Save the file busbar_II.mph, which now includes the Solid Mechanics interface
and the additional study step.

R ESULTING D EFORMATION
Now add a displacement plot.
1 Under Results>3D Plot Group 4, click the Surface 1 node .

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2 In the Settings window for Surface in
the Expression section, click the Replace
Expression button .

From the context menu, select

Model>Component 1>Solid
Mechanics> Displacement> solid.disp -
Total displacement.
You can also enter solid.disp in the
Expression field.
Now, change to a more suitable unit. In
the Settings window under Expression,
from the Unit list select mm (or type mm
in the field).

3 Click Range to expand that section.

Click to clear the Manual color range
check box.

The local displacement due to thermal expansion is displayed by COMSOL as

a surface plot. Next we’ll add information about the busbar deformation.
4 In the Model Builder, under Results>3D Plot Group 4, right-click the Surface
1 node and add a Deformation node . The plot automatically updates in
the Graphics window. Click the Go to Default 3D View button so your view
appears similar to the plot shown below.

92 |
 The deformations shown in the figure are highly amplified to make the
very small distortions that actually take place more visible.

5 Save the busbar_II.mph file, which now includes a Surface plot with a
Deformation.
You can also plot the von Mises and principal stresses to assess the
structural integrity of the busbar and the bolts.

C OOL BY A DDING F LUID F LOW

After analyzing the heat generated in the busbar and possibly the induced thermal
expansion, you might want to investigate ways of cooling the busbar by letting air
flow over its surfaces. These steps do not require any additional modules as the
model only includes Joule heating without the previous thermal expansion
analysis.
If you have the CFD Module, the Non-Isothermal Flow multiphysics
interface is available. If you have the Heat Transfer Module, the Conjugate
Heat Transfer multiphysics interface is available. Either one of these two
interfaces automatically defines coupled heat transfer in solids and fluids
including laminar or turbulent flow, whereas in this example, this is done
manually and with limited functionality.
Adding fluid flow to the Joule heating model forms a new multiphysics coupling.
To simulate the flow domain, you need to create an air box around the busbar.
You can do this manually by altering the geometry from your first model or by
opening an application library file. In this case, you will open a file with the box
already created.

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After loading the geometry, you will learn how to simulate air flow according to
this figure:
Air outlet

Air inlet

D EFINING I NLET VELOCITY

Start by loading the geometry and adding a new parameter for the inlet flow
velocity.
1 If you have just reopened the software, close the New window that opens
automatically by clicking the Cancel button .

94 |
2 Click the Home tab, and from the Windows menu select Application Libraries
. Navigate to COMSOL Multiphysics> Multiphysics> busbar box.
Double-click to open the file,
which contains the geometry in
addition to the physics modeling
steps completed through the end
of the section “Customizing
Materials” on page 82.

3 Under Global Definitions, click the Parameters node .

4 In the Settings window for Parameters click the empty row just below the Vtot
row. In the Name column, enter Vin. Enter 1e-1[m/s] in the Expression
column and a description of your choice in the Description column, such as
Inlet velocity.

5 Select File>Save As and save the model with a new name, busbar_box_I.mph.

A DDING A IR
The next step is to add the material properties of air.

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1 From the Home tab, select Add Material (or right-click the Materials node
and select Add Material.)
2 In the Add Material window, expand
the Built-In node. Right-click Air and
select Add to Component 1. Close
the Add Material window.
3 In the Model Builder under Materials,
click the Air node .

4 On the Graphics window toolbar,

click Zoom Extents .
5 In the Graphics window, click the air
box (Domain 1) to add it to the
Selection list, which changes the
color to blue. This step assigns the
air material properties to the air box.

A DDING F LUID F LOW

Now add the physics of fluid flow.
1 In the model tree, right-click
Component 1 and select Add Physics .

96 |
2 In the Add Physics window under
Fluid Flow>Single-Phase Flow,
right-click Laminar Flow and
select Add to Component.
Laminar Flow will appear under
Component 1 in the Model
Builder. Close the Add Physics
window.
3 On the Graphics toolbar, click the
Transparency button . In
addition, click the Wireframe
Rendering button . These two
settings make it easier to see inside
the box. Toggle these on and off as needed during the modeling process to
control the type of rendering used.
Now that you have added fluid flow to the model, you need to remove the air
domain (Domain 1) from the Electric Currents (ec) interface (we are assuming
that the air has no electric conductivity and hence no currents) and then couple
the heat transfer part of the Joule heating multiphysics interface to the fluid
flow.
4 In the Model Builder, select
the Electric Currents (ec)
node . In the Graphics
window, move the mouse
pointer over the air domain
and click to remove it from
the selection list. At this
point, only the busbar
should be selected and
highlighted in blue.

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5 In the Model Builder, right-click Heat Transfer in Solids . In the first section
of the context menu, the domain level , select Heat Transfer in Fluids.

6 In the Graphics window,

click the air domain
(Domain 1) to add it to
the Selection list.
Now couple the fluid flow
and the heat transfer
phenomena.

7 In the Settings window

for Heat Transfer in Fluids under
Model Inputs, select Velocity
field (spf) from the Velocity field
list. Then, select Absolute
pressure (spf) from the Absolute
pressure list.
This identifies the flow field and
pressure from the Laminar Flow
interface and couples it to heat
transfer.

Now define the boundary conditions by specifying the inlet and outlet for the
heat transfer in the fluid domain.

98 |
8 In the Model Builder, right-click Heat Transfer in
Solids . In the second section of the context
menu, the boundary section , select
Temperature.
A Temperature node is added to the Model
Builder.

9 In the Graphics window,

click the inlet boundary,
Boundary 2, to add it to the
Selection list.
This sets the inlet
temperature to 293.15 K,
the default setting.
The graphics should look
like the image to the right
(it may look slightly
different depending on
whether you have
Transparency and
Wireframe Rendering on or
off.) Continue by defining
the outlet.
10In the Model Builder, right-click Heat Transfer in Solids . At the boundary
level, select Outflow. An Outflow node is added to the Model Builder.

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11In the Graphics window,
click the outlet boundary,
Boundary 5, to add it to
the Selection list. Use the
mouse scroll wheel to
scroll in and highlight the
boundary before selecting
it, or use the up and down
arrow keyboard buttons.

The settings for the busbar, the bolts, and the Electric Potential 1 and
Ground 1 boundaries have retained the correct selection, even though you
added the box geometry for the air domain. To confirm this, in the Model
Builder under Electric Currents, click the Electric Potential 1 and the
Ground 1 nodes to verify that they have the correct boundary selection.

Let’s continue with the flow settings. You need to indicate that fluid flow only
takes place in the fluid domain and then set the inlet, outlet, and symmetry
conditions.

100 |
1 In the model tree, click the Laminar Flow node . In the Settings window for
Laminar Flow click the Clear Selection button .

2 In the Graphics window, click the air box (Domain 1) to add it to the Selection.
It is good practice to verify that the Air
material under the Materials node has all
the properties that this multiphysics
combination requires. In the model tree
under Materials, click Air. In the Settings
window for Material under Material Contents, verify that there are no
missing properties, which are marked with a warning sign . The section
“Materials” on page 59 has more information.
Let’s continue with the boundaries.
3 In the Model Builder, right-click Laminar Flow and
at the boundary level select Inlet. An Inlet node is
added to the Model Builder.

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4 In the Graphics window,
click the inlet (Boundary 2)
to add it to the Selection list.

5 In the Settings window for

Inlet under Velocity in the U0
field, enter Vin to set the
Normal inflow velocity.

6 Right-click Laminar Flow

and at the boundary level select
Outlet . In the Graphics
window, click the outlet
(Boundary 5) to add it to the
Selection list. Use the mouse
scroll wheel or keyboard arrows
to scroll in and highlight the
boundary before selecting it.
The last step is to add symmetry
boundaries. You can assume that
the flow just outside of the faces
of the channel is similar to the
flow just inside these faces. This
assumption can be correctly
expressed by the symmetry
condition.
7 Right-click Laminar Flow and select Symmetry. A Symmetry node is
added to the sequence.

102 |
8 In the Graphics window, click each of the blue faces in the figure below
(Boundaries 1, 3, 4, and 48) to add all of them to the Selection list. You may
need to use the mouse scroll wheel or rotate the geometry to select all of them.
Save the busbar_box_I.mph
file, which now includes the
Air material and Laminar
Flow interface settings.

When you know the

boundaries, you can click
the Paste Selection
button and enter the
information. In this
example, enter 1,3,4,48 in
the Paste Selection window.
Click OK and the boundaries are automatically added to the Selection list.

C OARSENING THE M ESH

To get a quick solution, we will change the mesh slightly and make it coarser. The
current mesh settings would take a relatively long time to solve, and you can
always refine it later.
1 In the Model Builder, expand the Mesh 1 node and
click the Size node .

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2 In the Settings window for Size
under Element Size, click the
Predefined button and ensure
that Normal is selected.

3 Click the Build All button . The geometry displays with a mesh in the
Graphics window (you may need to turn Transparency off to see the picture
below.)

You can assume that the flow velocity is large enough to neglect the influence of
the temperature increase in the flow field.
It follows that you can solve for the flow field first and then solve for the
temperature using the results from the flow field as input. This is implemented
with a study sequence.

S OLVING FOR F LUID F LOW AND JOULE H EATING

When the flow field is solved before the temperature field it yields a weakly
coupled multiphysics problem. The study sequence described in this section
automatically solves such a weak coupling.

104 |
1 In the model tree, right-click Study 1 and select Study
Steps>Stationary>Stationary to add a second stationary study step to the
Model Builder.

Next, the correct physics needs to be connected with the correct study step.
Start by disabling the Electric Currents (ec) and Heat Transfer in Solids (ht)
interfaces associated with Joule heating from the first step.
2 Under Study 1, click Step 1: Stationary .

3 In the Settings window for Stationary locate the Physics and Variables Selection
section. In both the Electric Currents (ec) and the Heat Transfer in Solids (ht)
rows, click to change the check mark to an in the Solve for column,
removing Joule heating from Step 1.

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4 Repeat the step. Under Study 1, click Step 2: Stationary 2 . Under Physics
and Variables Selection, in the Laminar Flow (spf) row, click in the Solve for
column to change the check mark to an .

5 Right-click the Study 1 node and select Compute (or press F8 or click
Compute in the ribbon). This will now automatically create a new solver
sequence that solves for laminar flow and then Joule heating.

6 After the solution is complete, select the Temperature (ht) plot under the
Results node in the Model Builder. If you don’t already have transparency on,
click the Transparency button on the Graphics toolbar to visualize the

106 |
 temperature field inside the box. To zoom, middle-click and hold down the
mouse button (or scroll wheel) while dragging the mouse.

The Temperature Surface plot that displays in the Graphics window shows the
temperature in the busbar and in the surrounding box. You can also see that the
temperature field is not smooth due to the relatively coarse mesh. A good
strategy to get a smoother solution would be to refine the mesh to estimate the
accuracy.
7 Save the busbar_box_I.mph file at this point so you can return to this file if
you want. The next steps use the original busbar.mph file.

Par am et ri c Swe ep s

S WEEPING A G EOMETRIC P ARAMETER

It is often useful to generate multiple instances of a design with the objective of
meeting specific constraints. In the previous busbar example, a design goal might
be to lower the operating temperature, or to decrease the current density. We will
demonstrate the former. Since the current density depends on the geometry of the
busbar, varying the width, wbb, should change the current density and, in turn,
have some impact on the operating temperature. Let us run a parametric sweep on
wbb to study this change.

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A DDING A P ARAMETRIC S WEEP
1 From the File menu, open the
model file busbar.mph. If you
didn’t save the model, you can also
open it from the Application
Libraries: File menu > Application
Libraries > COMSOL
Multiphysics > Multiphysics >
busbar. In the Model Builder,
right-click Study 1 and select
Parametric Sweep . A Parametric
Sweep node is added to the Model
Builder sequence.

2 In the Settings window for Parametric Sweep, under the empty parameter table,
click the Add button . From the Parameter names list in the table, select wbb.

The Sweep type, available above the Parameter names, is used to control
parametric sweeps with multiple parameters. You select between
sweeping for All combinations of the given parameters or a subset of
Specified combinations.

108 |
3 Enter a range of parameter values to sweep the width of the busbar from 5 cm
to 10 cm in 1 cm increments. There are different ways to enter this information:
- Copy and paste or enter range(0.05,0.01,0.1) into the Parameter value
list field.
- Click the Range button and
enter the values in the Range
dialog box. In the Start field, enter
5e-2. In the Step field, enter
1e-2, and in the Stop field, enter
1e-1. Click Replace.
- In any of the methods, you can
also use length units to override
the default SI unit system using
meters. Instead of 5e-2 you can
enter 5[cm], similarly 1[cm]
instead of 1e-2 and 10[cm]
instead of 1e-1. You can also
change the default unit system
from the Settings window of the
root node in the model tree.
Next, define an Average component coupling that can be used later to calculate
the average temperature in the busbar.

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4 Under Component 1, right-click Definitions and select Component
Couplings>Average .

5 In the Settings window for Average select All domains from the Selection list.

This creates an operator called aveop1. This operator is now available to

calculate the average of any quantity defined on the selected domains. A little
later this is used to calculate the average temperature, but it can also be used to
calculate average electric potential, current density, and so forth.

110 |
6 Select File>Save As to save the model with the new name, busbar_III.mph.
7 Right-click Study 1 and select Compute to run the sweep or click
Compute in the Home tab.

P ARAMETRIC S WEEP R ESULTS

Click the Temperature (ht) 1 node located under
Results in the Model Builder.
The plot that displays in the Graphics window shows
the temperature in the wider busbar using the last
parameter value, wbb=0.1[m] (10[cm]). Select
Zoom Extents from the Graphics window toolbar
so that you can see the entire plot. The resulting plot
is rather uniform in color, so we need to change the
maximum color range.

1 Under the Temperature (ht) 1 node, click the Surface node .

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2 In the Settings window for Surface click
Range to expand the section. Select the
Manual color range check box. Enter
309.4 in the Maximum field (replace
the default).
3 The Temperature (ht) 1 plot is updated
in the Graphics window for
wbb=0.1[m] (10[cm]).

Compare the wider busbar plot to the temperature for wbb=0.05[m] (5[cm]).
1 In the Model Builder, click the first Temperature (ht) node .

112 |
2 In the Settings window for
3D Plot Group select
Study 1/Parametric
Solutions 1 from the Data
set list. This data set contains
the results from the
parametric sweep.
3 In the Parameter value list,
select 0.05 (which represents
wbb=5 cm). Click the Plot
button . Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics window toolbar.
The Temperature (ht) plot is updated for wbb=0.05[m] (5[cm]). Note that if
you have updated the color range for this plot already, your plot should look
similar to the one below. If not, follow the subsequent steps.

Like the wider busbar, the plot may be quite uniform in color, so change the
maximum color range.
1 Under the first Temperature (ht) node, click the Surface node .
2 In the Settings window for Surface click Range to expand the section (if it is not
already expanded). Select the Manual color range check box.

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3 Enter 323 in the Maximum field (replace the default) to plot wbb at 5 cm.
The Temperature (ht) plot is updated in the Graphics window for
wbb=0.05[m] (5[cm]).
Click the first and second Temperature plot nodes to compare the plots in the
Graphics window. The maximum temperature decreases from 331 K to 318 K
as the width of the busbar increases from 5 cm to 10 cm.

A DDING M ORE P LOTS

To further analyze these results, you can plot the average temperature for each
width.
1 Right-click Results and add a 1D Plot Group .

2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group select Study 1/Parametric

Solutions 1 from the Data set list.

114 |
3 In the Model Builder, right-click 1D Plot Group 8 and add a Global node.

4 In the Settings window for Global under y-Axis Data, click the first row in the
Expressions column and enter aveop1(T). This operator is the one we defined
on page 110 for later use. You use a similar syntax to calculate the average of
other quantities.
5 Click to expand the Legends section. Select the Expression check box.
This adds a legend at the top right corner of the graph.

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6 Click the Plot button and save the busbar_III.mph model with these
additional plots that use the parametric sweep results.

In the plot, the average temperature also decreases as the width increases. This
indicates that the goal of a lower operating temperature would be fulfilled by using
a wider busbar.
The subject of parametric sweeps raises the question of parallel computing; it
would be efficient if all parameters were solved simultaneously.

Par a l l e l C o m p u t i n g

COMSOL supports most forms of parallel computing including shared memory

parallelism for multicore processors and high performance computing (HPC) for
clusters and clouds. All COMSOL licenses are multicore enabled. For cluster or
cloud computing, including parallelized sweeps, a Floating Network License is
needed.
You can use clusters or clouds either for Cluster Sweep or for Cluster Computing.
If you have a Floating Network License, these two options are available by
right-clicking the Study node. However, you first need to enable Advanced Study

116 |
Options by clicking the Show button on the Model Builder toolbar and
selecting Advanced Study Options.

C LUSTER S WEEP
Cluster Sweep is used for solving several models in parallel where each model has
a different set of Parameters. This can be seen as a generalization of Parametric
Sweep. Right-click the Study 1 node to add a Cluster Sweep node.

The Study Settings for Cluster Sweep are similar to that of Parametric Sweep, but
additional settings are required for the cluster or cloud being used. The picture
above shows how the top of the Settings window for Cluster Sweep would look
for the same sweep as defined in “Parametric Sweeps” on page 107.

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C LUSTER C OMPUTING
You can also utilize a cluster or cloud to solve a single large model using
distributed memory. For maximum performance, the COMSOL cluster
implementation can utilize shared-memory multicore processing on each node in
combination with the Message Passing Interface (MPI) based distributed memory
model. This is also known as hybrid parallelism and brings a major performance
boost by making the most out of the computational power available.
Right-click the Study node to add a Cluster Computing node. A Cluster
Computing node cannot be used in combination with a Cluster Sweep. You will
be asked if you want to remove the Cluster Sweep before proceeding, select Yes.
The Settings window for Cluster Computing, shown below, helps to manage the
simulation with settings for the cluster or cloud.

118 |
You choose the type of cluster job you want to perform from the Cluster type list.
COMSOL supports Windows® Compute Cluster Server (WCCS) 2003,
Windows® HPC Server (HPCS) 2008, Open Grid Scheduler/ Grid Engine
(OGS/GE), SLURM, or Not distributed.
To learn more about running COMSOL in parallel, see the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.

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Appendix A—Building a Geometry

This section details how to create the busbar geometry using the built-in geometry
tools in COMSOL. The step-by-step instructions take you through the
construction of the geometry using the parameters set up in the Global Definitions
section. Using parameterized dimensions helps to produce what-if analyses and
geometric parametric sweeps.
As an alternative to building the geometry in COMSOL, you can import a
geometry from a CAD package. The optional CAD Import Module supports
many CAD file formats. Moreover, several add-on products are available that
provide bidirectional interfaces to common CAD software packages. See
“Appendix E—Connecting with LiveLink™ Add-Ons” on page 158 for a list.
If you have not done so already, start with “Example 2: The Busbar—A
Multiphysics Model” on page 51. Follow the steps under the Model Wizard to
add the physics and study and then follow the steps under Global Definitions to
add the parameters. Return to this section to learn about geometry modeling. The
first step in the geometry sequence is to draw the profile of the busbar.
1 Under Component 1, right-click
Geometry 1 and select
Work Plane . In the Settings
window for Work Plane:
- Select xz-plane from the Plane list.
- Click the Show Work Plane
button on the Settings window
for Work Plane toolbar.
Continue by editing the axis and grid
settings in Work Plane 1.

120 |
2 In the Model Builder, expand the View 2 node and click Axis .

3 In the Settings window for Axis:

Under Axis:
- In the x minimum and y minimum
fields, enter -0.01.
- In the x maximum and y maximum
fields, enter 0.11.
Under Grid:
- Select the Manual Spacing check box.
- In the x spacing and y spacing fields,
enter 5e-3.
4 Click the Update button on the
toolbar.
Note that the values you type will
automatically adjust slightly after you click
Update to adapt to the screen aspect ratio.
You can use interactive drawing to create a
geometry using the drawing tools from the Work Plane tab in the ribbon while
pointing and clicking in the Graphics window.

Work Plane Tab

Geometry Primitives

You can also right-click the Plane Geometry node under Work Plane 1 to
add geometry objects to the geometry sequence.

In the next few steps we create a profile of the busbar.

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5 In the Model Builder under Work Plane 1, right-click Plane Geometry and
select Rectangle .
In the Settings window for Rectangle
under Size, enter:
- L+2*tbb in the Width field.
- 0.1 in the Height field.
Click the Build Selected button .

6 Create a second rectangle. Under Work

Plane 1, right-click Plane Geometry
and select Rectangle .
Under Size, enter:
- L+tbb in the Width field
- 0.1-tbb in the Height field.
Under Position, enter:
- tbb in the yw field.
Click the Build Selected button .
Use the Boolean Difference operation
to subtract the second rectangle from
the first one.
7 Under Work Plane 1, right-click Plane
Geometry and select Booleans and
Partitions > Difference . In the Graphics window, click r1 (the larger of the

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 two rectangles) to add it to the Objects to add list in the Settings window for
Difference.
To help select the geometry you can display geometry labels in the
Graphics window. In the Model Builder under Geometry
1>WorkPlane 1, click the View 2 node. Go to the Settings window for
View and select the Show geometry labels check box.

8 Click the Difference node. In the

Settings window for Difference, click
the Active selection button to the left of
the Objects to subtract list. Select the
smaller rectangle, r2, by using the
mouse scroll wheel to cycle through the
overlapping rectangles to first highlight
it, and then click on it to select it.
Click Build Selected .
Another way to select r2 in the Graphics
window is to use the Selection List
feature. Go to the Home tab in the
ribbon and select Windows > Selection
List. In the Selection List click to
highlight r2 (solid). Then, right-click r2
(solid) in the list and select Add to
Selection to add it to the Objects to

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 subtract list. Right-click on the Selection List window title and select Close.
After building the selected geometry, you should have a backward-facing,
L-shaped profile. Continue by rounding the corners of the L-shaped profile.

9 Under Work Plane 1, right-click Plane Geometry and select Fillet .

Select point 3 to add it to the Vertices to fillet list. There are different ways to
add points:
- In the Graphics window, click point 3 (in the inner right corner) to add it to
the Vertices to fillet list.
- From the Home tab, select Windows > Selection List. In the Selection List
window, click 3. The corresponding point is highlighted in the Graphics

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 window. Click the Add to Selection button in the Settings window for
Fillet or right-click in the Selection List.

10Enter tbb in the Radius field. Click Build Selected .

This takes care of the inner corner.
11For the outer corner, right-click Plane
Geometry and select Fillet .
12In the Graphics window, click point 6,
the outer corner, to add it to the Vertices
to fillet list.
13Enter 2*tbb in the Radius field. Click
Build Selected .

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The result should match this figure:

Next you extrude the work plane to create the 3D busbar geometry.
1 In the Model Builder, right-click Work Plane 1 and select Extrude . In the
Settings window for Extrude enter wbb in the Distances from Plane table
(replace the default) to extrude to the width of the profile.

The table allows you to enter several values in order to create sandwich
structures with different materials. In this case, only one extruded layer is
needed.

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2 Click Build Selected and then click the Zoom Extents button on the
Graphics toolbar. Click the Save button and name the model busbar.mph (if
you have not already done so).

Next, create the titanium bolts by extruding two circles drawn in two work
planes.
3 In the Model Builder, right-click Geometry 1 and add a Work Plane . A
Work Plane 2 node is added. In the Settings window for Work Plane, under
Plane Definition, select Face parallel as the Plane type.

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4 In the Graphics window, click face 8 as shown in the figure below, to add it to
the Planar face list in the Settings window for Work Plane.
Face number 8 is now highlighted in blue and the work plane is positioned on
top of the face.
Face 8

5 Click the Show Work Plane button to draw the first circle representing the
position of the first bolt. Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics
toolbar.
6 Under Work Plane 2, right-click
Plane Geometry and select
Circle .
In the Settings window for Circle:
- Under Size and Shape, in the
Radius field, enter rad_1.
- Under Position, the default xw
and yw coordinates (0, 0) are
good.
Click Build Selected .

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Continue creating the bolt by adding an extrude operation.
1 In the Model Builder, right-click Work Plane 2 and select Extrude . In the
Settings window for Extrude, in the first row of the Distances from Plane table,
enter -2*tbb to extrude the circle.

2 Click the Build Selected button to create the cylindrical part of the titanium
bolt that runs through the busbar.

Draw the two remaining bolts.

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3 Right-click Geometry 1 and select Work Plane . A Work Plane 3 node is
added. In the Settings window for Work Plane, for Work Plane 3, select Face
parallel as the Plane type.
4 In the Graphics window, click Face 4 as shown in the figure, to add it to the
Planar face list in the Settings window for Work Plane.

5 Click the Show Work Plane button on the Settings window for Work Plane
and the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar to get a better view
of the geometry.
To parameterize the position of the two remaining bolts, add the circles that
form the cross sections of the bolts.

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6 Under Work Plane 3, right-click Plane Geometry and select Circle .
In the Settings window for Circle:
- Under Size and Shape, enter rad_1 in
the Radius field.
- Under Position, enter -L/2+1.5e-2
in the xw field and -wbb/4 in the yw
field.
Click Build Selected .

Copy the circle that you just created to

generate the third bolt in the busbar.
7 Under Work Plane 3, right-click Plane
Geometry and select
Transforms>Copy .

8 In the Graphics window, click the circle

c1 to select and add the circle to the
Input objects list in the Settings
window for Copy.
9 In the Settings window for Copy under
Displacement, enter wbb/2 in the yw
field.

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10Click Build Selected and click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics
toolbar.
Your geometry, as shown in the work plane, should match this figure so far.

Continue by extruding the circles.

132 |
11In the Model Builder, right-click Work Plane 3 and select Extrude . In the
Settings window for Extrude, in the first row of the Distances from Plane table,
enter -2*tbb (replace the default). Click Build All Objects .

The geometry and geometry sequence should match the figures below. Click
the Save button and name the model busbar.mph.

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 C REATING P ARTS AND U SING THE P ART L IBRARIES
After setting up the busbar or other geometry, it’s convenient to be able to save
it for future use, avoiding unnecessary work. In the steps you’ve just completed,
the geometry was stored directly in the COMSOL model file that will also be
used to set up the complete busbar model. Instead, you can also create a
reusable part that can serve as a building block of a more complex COMSOL
model geometry, which is stored in a separate file accessible through the Part
Libraries.
While building the busbar geometry, you were using features from the
Geometry and Workplane tabs. A Parts menu is located in the Other group in
these tabs.

Through the Parts menu, you can choose to create or load a part, or add a part to
the model geometry by selecting one from the Part Libraries. Several Part
Libraries are already provided with the software by default. When new parts are
created, they are added under a Parts parent node in the Global Definitions
section of the model tree. For additional information on working with Parts and
the Part Libraries, see the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

To continue with the busbar tutorial, return to the section “Materials” on

page 59.

134 |
Appendix B—Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

SHORTCUT (WINDOWS, LINUX) SHORTCUT (OS X) ACTION

F1 F1 Display help for the selected node

or window
Ctrl+F1 Command+F1 Open the COMSOL
Documentation front page in an
external window
F2 F2 Rename the selected node, file, or
folder
F3 F3 Disable selected nodes
F4 F4 Enable selected nodes
F5 F5 Update the Data Sets Solutions with
respect to any new Global
Definitions and Definitions without
re-solving the model
F6 F6 Build the preceding node in the
geometry branch
F7 F7 Build the selected node in the
geometry and mesh branches,
compute the selected study step, or
compute the selected node in the
solver sequence
F8 F8 Build the geometry, build the mesh,
compute the entire solver sequence,
update results data, or update the
plot
Del Del Delete selected nodes
Left arrow (Windows); Shift + Left arrow Collapse a branch in the model tree
left arrow (Linux)
Right arrow (Windows); Shift Right arrow Expand a branch in the model tree
+ right arrow (Linux)
Up arrow Up arrow Move to the node above in the
model tree
Down arrow Down arrow Move to the node below in the
model tree
Alt+left arrow Ctrl+left arrow Move to the previously selected
node in the model tree

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SHORTCUT (WINDOWS, LINUX) SHORTCUT (OS X) ACTION

Alt+right arrow Ctrl+right arrow Move to the next selected node in

the model tree
Ctrl+A Command+A Select all domains, boundaries,
edges, or points; select all cells in a
table
Ctrl+C Command+C Copy text in fields
Ctrl+D Command+D Clear the selection of domains,
boundaries, edges, or points
Ctrl+F Command+F [[check]] Find a search string
Ctrl+N Command+N New model
Ctrl+O Command+O Open a model file
Ctrl+P Command+P Print the contents of the plot
window
Ctrl+S Command+S Save a model file
Ctrl+V Command+V Paste copied text
Ctrl+Y Ctrl+Shift+Z Redo the last undone operation
Ctrl+Z Command+Z Undo the last operation
Ctrl+up arrow Command+up arrow Move a definitions node, geometry
node, physics node (except default
nodes), material node, mesh node,
study step node, or results node up
one step
Ctrl+down arrow Command+down Move a definitions node, geometry
arrow node, physics node (except default
nodes), material node, mesh node,
study step node, or results node
down one step
Ctrl+Tab Ctrl+Tab Switch focus to the next window on
the desktop
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Ctrl+Shift+Tab Switch focus to the previous
window on the desktop
Ctrl+Alt+A Not available Go to Application Builder
Ctrl+Alt+M Not available Go to Model Builder
Ctrl+Alt+left arrow Command+Alt+left Switch focus to the Model Builder
arrow window
Ctrl+Alt+right arrow Command+Alt+right Switch focus to the Settings window
arrow

136 |
SHORTCUT (WINDOWS, LINUX) SHORTCUT (OS X) ACTION

Ctrl+Alt+up arrow Command+Alt+up Switch focus to the previous section

arrow in the Settings window
Ctrl+Alt+down arrow Command+Alt+down Switch focus to the next section in
arrow the Settings window
Shift+F10 or Ctrl+F10 Open the context menu
(Windows only) Menu key
Ctrl+Space Ctrl+Space Open list of predefined quantities
for insertion in Expression fields for
plotting and results evaluation
Left-click and hold down the Same as for Windows, Rotate the scene around the axes
mouse button while dragging only available for parallel to the screen X- and Y-axes
the mouse. two-button mouse. with the origin at the scene rotation
point.
Right-click and hold down the Same as for Windows, Move the visible frame on the image
mouse button while dragging only available for plane in any direction.
the mouse. two-button mouse.
Middle-click and hold down the Same as for Windows, The scene is zoomed in/out around
mouse button while dragging only available for the mouse position where the
the mouse. two-button mouse. action started.
Press Ctrl and left-click. While Same as for Windows, Tilt and pan the camera by rotating
holding down the key and only available for about the X- and Y axes in the
button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse. image plane.
Press Ctrl and right-click. While Same as for Windows, Move the camera in the plane
holding down the key and only available for parallel to the image plane.
button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse.
Press Ctrl and middle-click. Same as for Windows, Move the camera into and away
While holding down the key only available for from the object (dolly in/out).
and button drag the mouse. two-button mouse.
Press Ctrl+Alt and left-click. Same as for Windows, Rotate the camera around the axis.
While holding down the keys only available for
and button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse.
Press Alt and left-click. While Same as for Windows, Rotate the camera about its axis
holding down the key and only available for between the camera and the scene
button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse. rotation point (roll direction).

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SHORTCUT (WINDOWS, LINUX) SHORTCUT (OS X) ACTION

Press Alt and right-click. While Same as for Windows, Move the scene in the plane
holding down the key and only available for orthogonal to the axis between the
button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse. camera and the scene rotation
point.
Press Alt and middle-click. Same as for Windows, Move the camera along the axis
While holding down the key only available for between the camera and the scene
and button, drag the mouse. two-button mouse. rotation point.

138 |
Appendix C—Language Elements and Reserved Names

Building a model tree in COMSOL is equivalent to graphically programming a

sequence of operations. Saving as model file for MATLAB® or for Java® outputs
the sequence of operations as a list of traditional programming statements. In this
section we will give an overview of the following element categories as defined by
the underlying COMSOL language:
• Constants
• Variables
• Functions
• Operators
• Expressions

These language elements are built-in or user-defined. Operators cannot be

user-defined. Expressions are always user-defined.

A BOUT R ESERVED N AMES

Built-in elements have reserved names, names that cannot be redefined by the
user. If you try to use a reserved name for a user-defined variable, parameter, or
function, the text where you enter the name will turn orange and you will get a
tooltip error message if you select the text string. Reserved function names are
reserved only for function names, which means that such names can be used for
variable and parameter names, and vice versa. In the following pages, we list the
most commonly used built-in elements and hence those reserved names. A more
exhaustive list of built-in elements can be found in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

VARIABLES USED IN A PPLICATIONS

Model parameters and variables can be used in applications. For example, you can
let the user of an application change the value of a parameter. In addition, variables
to be used in applications can be defined in the Application Builder under the
Declarations node. Such variables are available globally in form objects and
methods but cannot be used in the Model Builder.

C o n s t a n t s a n d Par a m e t e r s

There are three different types of constants: built-in mathematical and numerical
constants, built-in physical constants, and parameters. Parameters are user-defined

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constants which can vary over parameter sweeps. Constants are scalar valued. The
tables below list the built-in mathematical and numerical constants as well as
built-in physical constants. Constants and parameters can have units.

140 |
B UILT - IN M ATHEMATICAL AND N UMERICAL C ONSTANTS

DESCRIPTION NAME VALUE

Floating point relative accuracy for double eps 2-52 (~2.2204·10-16)

floating point numbers, also known as
machine epsilon
The imaginary unit i, j i, sqrt(-1)
Infinity, ∞ inf, Inf A value larger
than what can be
handled with
floating point
representation
Not-a-number NaN, nan An undefined or
unrepresentable value
such as the result of 0/0
or inf/inf
π pi 3.141592653589793

B UILT - IN P HYSICAL C ONSTANTS

DESCRIPTION NAME VALUE

Acceleration of gravity g_const 9.80665[m/s^2]

Avogadro constant N_A_const 6.02214129e23[1/mol]
Boltzmann constant k_B_const 1.3806488e-23[J/K]
Characteristic impedance Z0_const 376.73031346177066[ohm]
of vacuum (impedance of
free space)
Electron mass me_const 9.10938291e-31[kg]
Elementary charge e_const 1.602176565e-19[C]
Faraday constant F_const 96485.3365[C/mol]
Fine-structure constant alpha_const 7.2973525698e-3
Gravitational constant G_const 6.67384e-11[m^3/(kg*s^2)]
Molar volume of ideal gas V_m_const 2.2413968e-2[m^3/mol]
(at 273.15 K and 1 atm)
Neutron mass mn_const 1.674927351e-27[kg]
Permeability of vacuum mu0_const 4*pi*1e-7[H/m]
(magnetic constant)

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DESCRIPTION NAME VALUE

Permittivity of vacuum epsilon0_const 8.854187817000001e-12[F/m]

(electric constant)
Planck’s constant h_const 6.62606957e-34[J*s]
Planck’s constant over 2 pi hbar_const 1.05457172533629e-34[J*s]
Proton mass mp_const 1.672621777e-27[kg]
Speed of light in vacuum c_const 299792458[m/s]
Stefan-Boltzmann sigma_const 5.670373e-8[W/(m^2*K^4)]
constant
Universal gas constant R_const 8.3144621[J/(mol*K)]
Wien displacement law b_const 2.8977721e-3[m*K]
constant

P ARAMETERS
Parameters are user-defined constant scalars in the Global Definitions branch in
the model tree. Example uses are:
• Parameterizing geometric dimensions
• Parameterizing mesh element sizes
• Defining parameters to be used in parametric sweeps

A parameter can be defined as an expression in terms of numbers, parameters,

built-in constants, and built-in functions of parameters and built-in constants.
Parameters should be assigned a unit, using [], unless they are dimensionless.

Var i abl e s

There are two types of variables: built-in and user-defined. Variables can be scalars
or fields. Variables can have units.
Note: There is a group of user-defined variables of special interest. Spatial
coordinate variables and dependent variables. These variables have default names
based on the space dimension of the geometry and the physics interface
respectively. As a result of the names chosen for these variables, a list of built-in
variables will be created by COMSOL: the first and second order derivatives with
respect to space and time.

142 |
B UILT - IN VARIABLES

NAME DESCRIPTION TYPE

t Time Scalar
freq Frequency Scalar
lambda Eigenvalue Scalar
phase Phase angle Scalar
numberofdofs Number of degrees of freedom Scalar
h Mesh element size (length of the longest edge of Field
the element)
meshtype Mesh type index for the mesh element; this is the Field
number of edges in the element.
meshelement Mesh element number Field
dvol Volume scale factor variable; this is the Field
determinant of the Jacobian matrix for the
mapping from local (element) coordinates to
global coordinates.
qual A mesh quality measure between 0 (poor quality) Field
and 1 (perfect quality)

U SER- DEFINED VARIABLES T HAT G ENERATE B UILT - IN VARIABLES

DEFAULT NAME DESCRIPTION TYPE

x, y, z Spatial coordinates (Cartesian) Field

r, phi, z Spatial coordinates (Cylindrical) Field
u, T, etc. Dependent variables (Solution) Field

Example: T is the name for the temperature in a 2D, time-dependent heat transfer
model, x and y are the spatial coordinate names. In this case, the following built-in
variables will be generated: T, Tx, Ty, Txx, Txy, Tyx, Tyy, Tt, Txt, Tyt, Txxt,
Txyt, Tyxt, Tyyt, Ttt, Txtt, Tytt, Txxtt, Txytt, Tyxtt, and Tyytt. Here, Tx
corresponds to the partial derivative of the temperature T with respect to x, and
Ttt corresponds to the second-order time derivative of T, and so on. If the spatial
coordinate variables have other names—for example, psi and chi—then Txy
would be Tpsichi, and Txt would be Tpsit. (The time variable t is built-in; the
user cannot change its name.)

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Functio n s

There are two types of functions: built-in and user-defined. Functions can be
scalar valued or field valued depending on the input argument(s). Some functions
can have units for both input and output arguments.

B UILT - IN M ATHEMATICAL F UNCTIONS

These functions do not have units for their input or output arguments.

NAME DESCRIPTION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

abs Absolute value abs(x)

acos Inverse cosine (in radians) acos(x)
acosh Inverse hyperbolic cosine acosh(x)
acot Inverse cotangent (in radians) acot(x)
acoth Inverse hyperbolic cotangent acoth(x)
acsc Inverse cosecant (in radians) acsc(x)
acsch Inverse hyperbolic cosecant acsch(x)
arg Phase angle (in radians) arg(x)
asec Inverse secant (in radians) asec(x)
asech Inverse hyperbolic secant asech(x)
asin Inverse sine (in radians) asin(x)
asinh Inverse hyperbolic sine asinh(x)
atan Inverse tangent (in radians) atan(x)
atan2 Four-quadrant inverse tangent (in radians) atan2(y,x)
atanh Inverse hyperbolic tangent atanh(x)
besselj Bessel function of the first kind besselj(a,x)
bessely Bessel function of the second kind bessely(a,x)
besseli Modified Bessel function of the first kind besseli(a,x)
besselk Modified Bessel function of the second kind besselk(a,x)
ceil Nearest following integer ceil(x)
conj Complex conjugate conj(x)
cos Cosine cos(x)
cosh Hyperbolic cosine cosh(x)
cot Cotangent cot(x)
coth Hyperbolic cotangent coth(x)

144 |
 NAME DESCRIPTION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

csc Cosecant csc(x)

csch Hyperbolic cosecant csch(x)
erf Error function erf(x)
exp Exponential exp(x)
floor Nearest previous integer floor(x)
gamma Gamma function gamma(x)
imag Imaginary part imag(u)
log Natural logarithm log(x)
log10 Base-10 logarithm log10(x)
log2 Base-2 logarithm log2(x)
max Maximum of two arguments max(a,b)
min Minimum of two arguments min(a,b)
mod Modulo operator mod(a,b)
psi Psi function and its derivatives psi(x,k)
range Create a range of numbers range(a,step,b)
real Real part real(u)
round Round to closest integer round(x)
sec Secant sec(x)
sech Hyperbolic secant sech(x)
sign Signum function sign(u)
sin Sine sin(x)
sinh Hyperbolic sine sinh(x)
sqrt Square root sqrt(x)
tan Tangent tan(x)
tanh Hyperbolic tangent tanh(x)

B UILT - IN O PERATOR F UNCTIONS

These built-in functions behave differently than the built-in mathematical
functions. They may not belong in an introductory text but are listed to complete

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the list of reserved names. For more information see the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

NAME NAME NAME NAME

adj dtang linsol sens

at emetric lintotal shapeorder
ballavg env lintotalavg side
ballint error lintotalpeak sphavg
bdf fsens lintotalrms sphint
bndenv if linzero subst
centroid integrate mean sum
circavg isdefined noenv test
circint nojac timeavg
circumcenter isinf pd timeint
d islinear ppr try_catch
depends isnan pprint up
dest jacdepends prev var
diskavg lindev reacf with
diskint linper realdot
down linpoint scope.ati

146 |
U SER-D EFINED F UNCTIONS
A user-defined function can be defined in the Global Definitions or Component
Definitions branch of the model tree by selecting a template from the Functions
menu and entering settings to define the name and detailed shape of the function.

TEMPLATE NAME ARGUMENTS AND DEFINITION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

Analytic The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with
for example an1. comma-separated arguments within
The function is a mathematical parenthesis. For example:
expression of its arguments. an1(x,y)
Example: Given the arguments x
and y, its definition is
sin(x)*cos(y).
The function has an arbitrary
number of arguments.
Elevation The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with
for example elev1. comma-separated arguments within
Used to import geospatial elevation parenthesis. For example:
data from digital elevation models elev1(x,y)
and map the elevation data to a
function of x and y. A DEM file
contains elevation data for a portion
of the Earth’s surface. The resulting
function behaves essentially like a
grid-based interpolation function.
Gaussian Pulse The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example gp1. single argument within parenthesis.
The Gaussian pulse function defines For example:
a bell-shaped curve according to the gp1(x)
expression
–( x – x0 )
2
-----------------------
-
1 2σ
2

y ( x ) = --------------- e
σ 2π

It is defined by the mean parameter,

x0, and the standard deviation, σ.
The function has one argument.

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TEMPLATE NAME ARGUMENTS AND DEFINITION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

Image The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with
for example im1. comma-separated arguments within
Used to import an image (in BMP, parenthesis. For example:
JPEG, PNG, or GIF format) and map im1(x,y)
the image’s RGB data to a scalar
(single channel) function output
value. By default the function’s
output uses the mapping
(R+G+B)/3.
Interpolation The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with
for example int1. comma-separated arguments within
An interpolation function is defined parenthesis. For example:
by a table or file containing the int1(x,y,z)
values of the function in discrete
points.
The file formats are the following:
spreadsheet, grid, or sectionwise.
The function has one to three
arguments.
Piecewise The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example pw1. single argument within parenthesis.
A piecewise function is created by For example:
splicing together several functions, pw1(x)
each defined on one interval. Define
the argument, extrapolation and
smoothing methods, and the
functions and their intervals.
This function has one argument with
different definitions on different
intervals, which must not overlap or
have any holes between them.
Ramp The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example rm1. single argument within parenthesis.
A ramp function is a linear increase For example:
with a user-defined slope that begins rm1(x)
at some specified time.
The function has one argument. It
can also be smoothed.

148 |
TEMPLATE NAME ARGUMENTS AND DEFINITION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

Random The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with
for example rn1. comma-separated arguments within
A random function generates white parenthesis. For example:
noise with uniform or normal rn1(x,y)
distribution and has one or more The arguments x and y are used as a
arguments to simulate white noise. random seeds for the random
The function has arbitrary number function.
of arguments.
Rectangle The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example rect1. single argument within parenthesis.
A rectangle function is 1 in an For example:
interval and 0 everywhere else. rect1(x)
The function has one argument.
Step The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example step1. single argument within parenthesis.
A step function is a sharp transition For example:
from 0 to some other value step1(x)
(amplitude) at some location.
The function has one argument. It
can also be smoothed.
Triangle The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example tri1. single argument within parenthesis.
A triangle function is a linear For example:
increase and linear decline within an tri1(x)
interval and 0 everywhere else.
The function has one argument. It
can also be smoothed.
Waveform The function name is its identifier, The name of the function with a
for example wv1. single argument within parenthesis.
A waveform function is a periodic For example:
function with one of several wv1(x)
characteristic shapes: sawtooth, sine,
square, or triangle.
The function has one argument. It
can also be smoothed.

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TEMPLATE NAME ARGUMENTS AND DEFINITION SYNTAX EXAMPLE

External (Global An external function defines an The name of the function and the
Definitions only) interface to one or more functions appropriate number of arguments
written in the C language (which within parenthesis. For example:
can be a wrapper function myextfunc(a,b)
interfacing source code written in
for example Fortran). Such an
external function can be used, for
example, to interface a user-created
shared library. Note that the
extension of a shared library file
depends on the platform: .dll
(Windows), .so (Linux), or .dylib
(OS X).
MATLAB® A MATLAB® function interfaces The name of the function and the
(Global one or more functions written in appropriate number of arguments
Definitions only) the MATLAB® language. Such within parenthesis. For example:
functions can be used as any other mymatlabfunc(a,b)
function defined in COMSOL
provided LiveLink™ for MATLAB®
and MATLAB® are installed.
(MATLAB® functions are evaluated
by MATLAB® at runtime.)

150 |
Unar y and Binar y Operators

PRECEDENCE LEVEL SYMBOL DESCRIPTION

1 () {} . Grouping, Lists, Scope

2 ^ Power
3 ! - + Unary: Logical Not, Minus, Plus
4 [] Unit
5 * / Multiplication, Division
6 + - Binary: Addition, Subtraction
7 < <= > >= Comparisons: Less-Than, Less-Than or
Equal, More-Than, More-Than or Equal
8 == != Comparisons: Equal, Not Equal
9 && Logical And
10 || Logical Or
11 , Element Separator in Lists

Ex pres sions

P ARAMETERS
A parameter expression can contain: numbers, parameters, built-in constants,
built-in functions of parameter expressions, unary and binary operators.
Parameters can have units.

VARIABLES
A variable expression can contain: numbers, parameters, constants, variables,
functions of variable expressions, unary and binary operators. Variables can have
units.

F UNCTIONS
A function definition can contain: input arguments, numbers, parameters,
constants, functions of parameter expressions including input arguments, unary
and binary operators.

| 151
Appendix D—File Formats

C O M S O L F i l e Fo r m a t s

The COMSOL Model file type, with the extension .mph, is the default file type
containing the entire model tree. The file contains both binary and text data. The
mesh and solution data are stored as binary data, while all other information is
stored as plain text.
The Application Builder file type, with the extension .mphapp, contains an
application that can be run in COMSOL Multiphysics, the COMSOL client for
Windows®, or through a web browser. See the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual and the Application Builder Reference Manual for more information.
The COMSOL binary and text file types, with the extension .mphbin and
.mphtxt, respectively, contain either geometry objects or mesh objects which can
be imported directly to the Geometry or Mesh branches in the model tree.
The Physics Builder file type, with the extension .mphphb, contains one or more
physics interfaces that you can access from the Model Wizard. See the Physics
Builder Manual, for more information.
See “Supported External File Formats” for more information about all the other
formats supported by COMSOL.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

COMSOL Model .mph Yes Yes

Application Builder .mphapp Yes Yes
Binary Data .mphbin Yes Yes
Text Data .mphtxt Yes Yes
Physics Builder .mphphb Yes Yes

S u p p o r t e d E x t e r n a l F i l e Fo r m a t s

CAD
The CAD Import Module and Design Module allow for import of a range of
industry-standard CAD file types. Additional file types are available through the

152 |
bidirectional functionality of the LiveLink products for CAD as well as with the
File Import for CATIA® V5 add-on.
The DXF (2D), VRML (3D), and STL (3D) file types are available for import with
COMSOL Multiphysics and don’t require any add-on products. Unless noted
otherwise in the table below, import of the listed file types is available on all by
COMSOL supported versions of Linux®, Mac OS X, and Windows® operating
systems.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

AutoCAD®1,2,3 .dwg Yes Yes9

Inventor®1,2,3 .ipt, .iam Yes Yes9
NX®1,4 .prt Yes No
PTC® Creo® Parametric™1,3 .prt, .asm Yes Yes9
PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®1,3 .prt, .asm Yes Yes9
Revit® Architecture3,5 .rvt Yes9 Yes9
Solid Edge®3,6 .par, .asm Yes9 Yes9
®1,2,3
SOLIDWORKS .sldprt, .sldasm Yes Yes9
DXF (3D1,2 and 2D) .dxf Yes Yes10
Parasolid®1 .x_t, .xmt_txt, .x_b, .xmt_bin Yes Yes
®1
ACIS .sat, .sab, .asat, .asab Yes Yes
STEP1 .step, .stp Yes No
1
IGES .iges, .igs Yes No
® 2,7
CATIA V5 .CATPart, .CATProduct Yes No
8
VRML, v1 .vrml, .wrl Yes No

| 153
FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

STL8 .stl Yes Yes

1Requires one of the LiveLink™ products for AutoCAD®, Revit®, PTC® Creo® Parametric™,
Inventor®, PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®, Solid Edge®, SOLIDWORKS®; or the CAD Import Module;
or the Design Module
2
Import supported on Windows® operating systems only
3Synchronization of files between COMSOL and a linked CAD program supported on
Windows® 7, 8, and 8.1 operating systems only
4Import supported on Windows® and Linux operating systems only
5
Requires LiveLink™ for Revit®
6Requires LiveLink™ for Solid Edge®
7
Requires the CAD Import Module (or the Design Module, or one of the LiveLink™ products
for AutoCAD®, PTC® Creo® Parametric™, Inventor®, PTC Pro/ENGINEER®, Solid Edge®, or
SOLIDWORKS®) and the File Import for CATIA® V5
8Limited to a single geometric domain
9
From/To file using linked CAD package provided the original CAD geometry is created in the
CAD package
10
Writing to file is supported for 2D geometry only

ECAD
The ECAD Import Module allows for import of 2D layout files with automatic
conversion to 3D CAD models. The Touchstone file type is used for exporting
S-parameters, impedance, and admittance values from simultaneous port and
frequency sweeps. The SPICE Circuit Netlist file type is converted at import to a
series of lumped circuit element nodes under an Electrical Circuit node.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

NETEX-G1 .asc Yes No

ODB++1 .zip, .tar, .tgz, .tar.gz Yes No
ODB++(X)1 .xml Yes No
GDS1 .gds Yes No
Touchstone2 .s2p, .s3p, .s4p, ... No Yes
SPICE Circuit Netlist3 .cir Yes No
1Requires the ECAD Import Module
2
Requires one of the AC/DC, RF, MEMS, or Wave Optics Modules
3
Requires one of the AC/DC, RF, MEMS, Plasma, or Semiconductor Modules

154 |
M ATERIAL D ATABASES
The Chemical Reaction Engineering Module can read CHEMKIN® files to
simulate complex chemical reactions in the gas phase. The Plasma Module can
read LXCAT files for sets of electron impact collision cross sections.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

CHEMKIN®1 .dat, .txt, .inp3 Yes No

CAPE-OPEN1 (direct connection) n/a n/a n/a
LXCAT file2 .lxcat, .txt Yes No
1Requires the Chemical Reaction Engineering Module
2
Requires the Plasma Module
3
Any extension is allowed; these are the most common extensions

M ESH
The NASTRAN® Bulk Data file types are used to import a volumetric mesh. The
VRML and STL file types are used to import a triangular surface mesh, and cannot
be used for creating a volumetric mesh. If imported as a Geometry, VRML and
STL files can be used as a basis for creating a volumetric mesh for a single
geometric domain.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

NASTRAN® Bulk Data .nas, .bdf, .nastran, .dat Yes Yes

VRML, v1 .vrml, .wrl Yes No
STL .stl Yes Yes

I MAGES AND M OVIES

Results visualization can be exported to a number of common image file types, see
the table below. Images can also be read and used as interpolation functions for
physics modeling. Animations can be exported to one of the Animated GIF,
Adobe® Flash®, and AVI file types.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

JPEG .jpg, .jpeg Yes Yes

PNG .png Yes Yes
BMP .bmp Yes Yes
TIFF .tif, .tiff No Yes
GIF .gif Yes Yes

| 155
FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

EPS (1D graphs only) .eps No Yes

Animated GIF .gif No Yes
Adobe® Flash® .swf No Yes
AVI1 .avi No Yes
1Available for Windows® only

P ROGRAMMING L ANGUAGES AND S PREADSHEET

®
Model files for Java are editable script files, with the extension .java, that contain
sequences of COMSOL commands as Java® code. Edit the files in a text editor to
add additional commands. You can compile these Java® files into Java® Class files,
with the extension .class, and run them as separate applications.
Model files for MATLAB® are editable script files (M-files), similar to the model
files for Java®, for use with MATLAB®. These model files, which have the
extension .m, contain a sequence of COMSOL commands as a MATLAB® M-file.
You can run the model files in MATLAB® like any other M-file scripts. It is also
possible to edit the files in a text editor to include additional COMSOL
commands or general MATLAB® commands. Running model files in the M-file
format requires the COMSOL LiveLink™ for MATLAB®.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

® ®
MATLAB : model file for MATLAB .m No Yes
® 1
MATLAB : Function .m Yes No
Java®: model file for Java® .java No Yes
® ®
Java : compiled model file for Java .class Yes No
3 4 5
C: Function .dll , .so , .dylib Yes No
®2
Excel .xlsx Yes Yes
1
Requires LiveLink™ for MATLAB®
2Requires LiveLink™ for Excel®, available for Windows® only
3
Available for Windows® only
4
Available for Linux® only
5Available for OS X only

N UMERICAL AND I NTERPOLATION D ATA FORMATS

The grid, sectionwise, and spreadsheet file types can be read for defining
interpolation functions. The sectionwise and spreadsheet file types can

156 |
furthermore be read and used for defining interpolation curves and written for
exporting results. In addition, tables can be copy-pasted on spreadsheet format.
Parameters and variables can be imported and exported to the plain text,
comma-separated values, or data file types.
The continuous and discrete color table text file types are used for user-defined
color tables for results visualization.
Digital elevation model (DEM) files can be read and used as a parametric surface
for defining a geometry.

FILE TYPE EXTENSION READ WRITE

Copy and paste spreadsheet format n/a Yes Yes

Excel® spreadsheet1 .xlsx Yes Yes
Table .txt, .csv, .dat Yes Yes
Grid .txt Yes Yes
Sectionwise .txt, .csv, .dat Yes Yes
Spreadsheet .txt, .csv, .dat Yes Yes
Parameters .txt, .csv, .dat Yes Yes
Variables .txt, .csv, .dat Yes Yes
Continuous and Discrete color table .txt Yes No
Point data for Cut Point data sets .txt Yes No
DEM .dem Yes No
1 ® ®
Requires LiveLink™ for Excel , available for Windows only

| 157
Appendix E—Connecting with LiveLink ™ Add-Ons

The following table shows the options to start COMSOL and the different linked
partner software using the LiveLink add-ons.

COMSOL® Can Start COMSOL Can Start Partner Software Can Connect
Software from Partner Software from COMSOL Running Sessions
LiveLink™ Yes1 Yes2 No
for Excel®

LiveLink™ Yes3 Yes4 Yes5

®
for MATLAB

LiveLink™ No No Yes
for AutoCad®

LiveLink™ No No Yes
for Revit®

LiveLink™ No No Yes
for PTC®Creo®
Parametric™

LiveLink™
for Inventor®

- Bidirectional No No Yes
Mode
- One Window Yes No No
Mode
LiveLink™ No No Yes
for PTC®
Pro/ENGINEER®

LiveLink™ No No Yes
for Solid Edge®

LiveLink™
for SOLIDWORKS®

- Bidirectional No No Yes
Mode
- One Window Yes No No
Mode
1
When you open a COMSOL model from Excel®, a COMSOL model window starts and a link is
established automatically. The COMSOL model window is an output window that displays
geometry, mesh, and results.

158 |
2
A COMSOL model that includes a table reference to an Excel® spreadsheet automatically starts
an Excel® process in the background when the model is run in COMSOL Desktop environment.
3
You can start a COMSOL Multiphysics Server from a MATLAB® session using the system
command and then connect to it using mphstart in the MATLAB® command prompt.
4
The “COMSOL 5.1 with MATLAB® desktop shortcut starts a COMSOL Multiphysics Server
and MATLAB®, then connects them automatically. When you run a COMSOL model in the
COMSOL Desktop interface that includes a MATLAB® function (Global Definitions>Functions), a
MATLAB® engine and connection is started automatically.
5
You can connect a MATLAB® session to a running COMSOL Multiphysics Server using the
COMSOL command mphstart in the MATLAB® command prompt.

| 159
160 |
Index

A AC/DC Module 52 adding to selection 68

accuracy variables scope 20
convergence analysis 45 boundary condition 64
recover option 43 automatically defined 39
Add Material window boundary load 38
busbar model 60 busbar, setting 64
opening 34, 59 electric current 64, 67
add-on modules fixed constraint 37
AC/DC 52 free 36
Application Libraries, and 22 ground, electrical 69
CAD Import 120, 152 heat transfer 64
CFD 93 insulating 66
Chemical Reaction Engineering 155 material interface 39
ECAD Import 154 settings window, and 8
MEMS 86 boundary load 39
physics list, and 30, 53 boundary section
Plasma 155 context menu, and 65
Structural Mechanics 29, 39 boundary selection, busbar model 66
study types, and 54 Build All button
advanced study options 116 geometry 57
advanced topics 78 meshes 39, 71
analysis built-in
convergence 45 constants, functions, and variables 21
example, parametric sweep 49 materials 34, 59
application 22 variables 75
Application Builder 5, 6, 8, 19, 22, 139
C CAD Import Module 120, 152
Application Libraries
cancel button 10
examples 22
CFD Module 93
file types 23
Chemical Reaction Engineering Module
MPH-files 22
155
opening 22
cloud computing 116
Application Library Update 24
Cluster Computing node 116
average temperature 110
Cluster Sweep node 116
B blank model, creating 12, 14 Compact MPH-files 23
boundaries 66 Component node, adding materials 60

Index | 161
 computing studies 49 materials 62
COMSOL Desktop environment physics 37
customizing 24 remove from selection 62
on Linux 15 variables scope 20
on OS X 15 dynamic help 10
overview 6
E ECAD Import Module 154
COMSOL Multiphysics
edges
native CAD format 32
variables scope 20
opening 30
eigenfrequency analysis 17
constants
Electric Currents interface
mathematical and physical types 21
defining boundary conditions 65
context menu
multiphysics, and 54, 69
domain and boundary sections 65
overview 64
contextual tab 14
electric potential 52
convergence analysis 45, 50
physics node 67
Convergence plot 9, 71
voltage drop, parameter 55
cooling
electrical heating 51
air stream 51
equation
natural convection 55
built-in 64
Create Selection button 89
user-defined 44
custom studies 54
error message, insufficient memory 41
customized desktop 24
evaluating
D data sets, defined 16 volume maximum 46
default feature 64 von Mises stress 46
Definitions node 28 example
degrees of freedom 45, 50 advanced, electrical heating 51
derivatives 21 basic, structural mechanics 29
Derived Values Excel® 158
defined 16 Export node, defined 16
Global Evaluation 50 exporting images 77
Volume Maximum 45, 49 expressions
Direct solver 41 Boolean 44
DirectX 11 manual entry 46, 55
discretize 39 replacing 44, 75
documentation, models 22 units, specifying 46
domain level 65 user-defined 44
domain section External Process window 10
context menu, and 65
F finite element
domains

162 | Index
 mesh 39 image snapshot button 77
preconditioning 49 zoom extents button 58, 73
sparse matrix 41 Graphics window 9
tetrahedrons 39 geometry, and 33
Fixed Constraint node 37 plot 41
Floating Network License 116 rotate geometry 37, 72, 74
form union, geometry 57 selecting boundary 37, 38, 69
frequency response 17 using 33, 59
frequency-domain study 17 zoom box 38
Full MPH-files 23 Ground, boundary condition 68
functions
H Heat Transfer in Solids interface
advanced topics 78
defining boundary conditions 65
built-in 21
multiphysics, and 54, 69
mathematical 21
overview 64
ppr(), recover option 46
Heat Transfer Module 93
scope 55
Help window
Functions node 55
defined 10
G geometric dimensions opening 16
parameters, and 18 high performance computing 116
parametric sweep 55 Home tab 14
geometry HPC 116
building 55 hybrid parallelism 118
CAD format 31
I Image Snapshot button 77
importing 31
images, creating thumbnails 77
in Application Libraries 56
importing geometry 31, 32
loading from file 55, 56
infinite elements 28
parameterized 18, 55, 57
information windows 9
settings window 8
initial conditions 8
Geometry node 27
Initial Values node
Global Definitions node 16
Electric Currents interface 65
functions 55
Heat Transfer in Solids interface 65
parameters 55
Solid Mechanics interface 36
scope 19, 55
Isosurface plot 72
variables 19
iterative solver
global parameters 19, 35, 47
multigrid 49
graphics
preconditioning 49
rendering and hardware 11
J Java 156
Graphics toolbar
Java-file 28
default view button 37, 43, 69, 76

Index | 163
 Joule heating physics-controlled, default 69
equations 64 refining 47
multiphysics coupling 69 settings 39
Joule Heating multiphysics interface 53 unstructured tetrahedral 69
user-controlled 48, 70
L Laminar Flow interface 97
mesh element size
Linux version 15
parameters, defining 18, 70
LiveLink™ add-ons 158
settings 39
Log window 9, 42
Message Passing Interface 118
LU factorization 41
Messages window 9, 42
M Material Browser
M-file 28
defined 10
modal tab 14
material contents section 34, 61
Model Builder
material interface
defined 15
mechanical contact 39
example 27
visualization accuracy 43
expanding sections 64
materials
geometry import 32
copper 51
node sequence example 36
domains, assigning 61
the ribbon, and 14
model tree 27
model history 28
settings window 8
model tree
steel 34, 44
building 15
titanium alloy 51
defined 55
Materials node 34, 59
example 27
mathematical constants and functions
geometry 27
21
Global Definitions node 16, 35, 55
MATLAB® 156
Materials node 27, 34
matrix 41
Model Builder, and 15
matrix equation system 41
nodes, and 15
Max/Min Volume plot 46
Results node 16
memory requirements (RAM) 40
root node 16
MEMS Module
Study node 17, 28
thermal expansion, and 86
the ribbon, and 14
mesh
Model Wizard
convergence analysis, and 45
adding physics 17, 30, 53
density 47
Component node, and 17
finite element 39
creating a new model 12
model tree, and 28
custom studies 31, 54
parameterizing 47, 69
opening 30, 52

164 | Index
 preset studies 31, 54 Parameters node 55, 78
space dimension 30, 53 parametric study 55
study 17, 54 parametric sweep 18
models example 48
defining 15 meshes, and 47
discretization 39 range, defining 49
documentation 22 Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) 28
saving 59 physics
structural mechanics 29 adding 53
symmetry 74 boundary conditions 64
workflow 27 electromagnetic heating 53
MPH-files heat transfer 53
full and compact 23 Joule heating 51, 64
saving 59, 76 laminar flow 97
MPI 118 model tree, and 27
multicore processors 116 physics interface 12
multiphysics models 51 Electric Currents 54
Multiphysics node 64, 65, 69, 88 Heat Transfer in Solids 54
multiphysics phenomena 51 Joule Heating 53
Multislice plot 72 Laminar Flow 97
Solid Mechanics 30
N nodes 15
Plasma Module 155
default feature 36
Plot Group 16
reordering 28
3D, adding 44
O OpenGL 11
plots 43
OS X version 15
expression, user-defined 44
P parallel computing 116 max/min volume 46
Parameter settings model tree, and 28
expression 47 regenerating 43, 47
name 47 surface 42, 44
parameters 18 windows 9
defining 47, 55 points, variables scope 20
editing 57 polynomial functions 39
expression 18 polynomial-preserving recovery 46
global 19 preconditioning 49
meshes, and 47 preferences 11
range of values 49 preset studies 54
scope 55 principal stress 93
using, referencing 67 program code

Index | 165
 model file for Java 28 model thumbnails, and 77
model M-file 28 Model Wizard, and 30
progress bar 10 running simulations 71
Progress window 9
S saving files 59, 76
Q Quick Access Toolbar 8, 15 scope
global definitions 55
R renaming plot groups 44
parameters and variables 19
rendering options 11
parameters and variables, defined 18
reports, defined 16
variable name 21
reserved name 21
Select Study window 13
resolution of curvature, mesh 70
Selection 89
results
Selection List window 10, 123
color table range 72, 75
selection of multiple boundaries 89
derived values 45, 49
Settings windows 8, 15
displaying 42
shared memory parallelism 116
quality, accuracy 43
simulation, running 71
recover option 43, 44, 46
Software Rendering 11
surface settings, modify 72
Solid Mechanics interface 30
units, changing 42
add-on modules, and 86
Results node
solvers
3D plot group 46, 74
configurations 41, 49
busbar defaults 72
default settings 40
subnodes 16
default settings, changing 41
surface node, adding 74
direct 41
ribbon
iterative 48, 49
Add Material 34, 63, 96
memory requirements 40
Build All 58
memory-limited settings 41
Build Mesh 71
stationary 40, 49
Compute 49, 91, 106
using 40
defined 8, 14
space dimension 12
example 6
sparse matrix equation system 41
importing geometry 32
Stationary study 31, 40
Model Builder, and 14
steady-state study 17
Physics tab 37, 88
structural analysis 29
Windows 10, 42, 123
structural displacement field 39
Work Plane 121
structural mechanics
root node
design 45
default units, and 109
plastic deformation 44
defined 16
stresses and strains 51, 61

166 | Index
 von Mises stress 42 overview 6
Structural Mechanics Module user-controlled mesh 48
application library 29
V variables
mechanical contact, and 39
advanced topics 78
thermal expansion, and 86
built-in 21
studies
example, built-in 50
computing solutions 49, 71
expression 19
defining 40
scope 55
example, multigrid iterative 49
scope, limit 20
example, stationary 40
Variables node 19, 55
model tree, and 28
visualization 9
preset 54
accuracy 43
types 17
color table 72, 75
Study node 17
Volume Maximum, evaluating 46
solution sequence 71
von Mises stress 42, 93
Surface plot
W Windows list 42, 123
busbar results 72
workflow 27
color table range 75
deformation 42 Y yield stress 29, 44
electrical current density 74
Z zoom 107
replace expression 75
settings 44
updating 73, 75

T Table window 10
graph plot 50
wrench results 46
Tables node 16
tables, evaluating 50
temperature 72, 107
temperature, average 110
tetrahedron, polynomial functions 39
thermal expansion 51, 61
thumbnail image 77
time-dependent study 17
torque, applied 29

U unit, changing 42, 92

user interface
COMSOL Desktop 6

Index | 167
168 | Index