COMSOL Multiphysics

Kommentare: If anyone wants to get the best out of this software, it is highly recommended to go through intensive training provided by COMSOL, it is worth. This software is able to do real-world complex simulations, and in my experience, it can often become challenging to even deploy the full potential this software can provide because we are not even aware what can be done with this. It is better to run complex 3D simulations on a powerful workstation or cluster computer, as COMSOL is intensive memory consuming software.

Vorteile: I have been using this software for the past 10 years and have witnessed the growth of this software. COMSOL is one of the best software to date for Multiphysics applications. Some of the distinct advantages I have experienced are:
1. It is very easy to learn provided one must know the underlying theory behind the simulation, i.e. equations and empirical relations one has to consider for a specific problem.
2. Documentation is easily accessible, blog posts and COMSOL user community is very helpful and growing rapidly. Additionally, they have the best and easily accessible support staff able to answer any relevant questions.
3. GUI and post-processing visualizations are remarkable.
4. Highly capable multiphysics software with great ease of use and customizable for a wide range of applications and real-world scenarios. Very easy and simple coupling between physics modules. Simulations are easy to set up which involves multiphysics.
5. CAD modeling is unbeatable. Complex geometries can be solved with an ease that are extremely difficult with other software.

Nachteile: COMSOL has a lot of cons and listing all of them is impossible. But some of them which I frequently have to deal with are:
1. It is computationally intensive software, needs a lot of memory and processing power.
2. It is slow because many post-processing steps equations are solved simultaneously and when actual post-processing is done, it just extracts the results from the solver. This makes the solution extremely slow if complex geometries are involved.
3. Due to the finite element approach, the convergence of the solution can often become challenging.
4. Because of the meshing issues for complex geometries, the converged solution can be difficult to trust. Also, apart from the built-in functions for physics, it can be really hard to figure out how to numerically solve pure and applied math problems that don't fit neatly in their packages.

Vorteile: Very versatile for the study of coupled or multiphysical phenomena, also offering a very good interface with Matlab, for example.
Even more versatile is the fact that the simulation packages that make up the program are multiplatform, so they can run in Windows environments, such as Mac and Linux, for example, which for a teacher, as in my case, gives me wide freedom for its pedagogical use among students.
Another intrinsic property of importance is the fact that the user can define at pleasure, practically the number of local coordinate systems that he wishes, being able to work simultaneously in 3D, 2D and 1D.

Nachteile: The amount of memory that is required to run a simulation is large and the execution time can be quite long for an individual simulation.
However, if the Comsol Mutiphysics is used with a floating network license it is possible to use the client-server operation mode to access the remote calculation resources to solve large models, while continuing to use the graphics card in a machine local for the visualization of the graphics.
This mode of operation can generate many advantages above all in terms of obtaining faster and more efficient results when working with models where intrinsically is being solved over and over again, a large system of equations.

Kommentare: It is expensive. It needs a powerful computer. But it is much better than ANSYS. It also suits more to small scale mechanics like MEMS, etc.

Vorteile: COMSOL has various modules like MEMS, mechanics, stresses, frequency, magnetism, etc. All of the modules can be seemlessly integrated with the main software. Developing main geometry and running the final study is quite smooth. Various parameters can be controlled within the study. The final results is provided with different color gradient which makes it much easier to visually explain the result to non-tech people. I also liked the variety of materials which COMSOL has got. It is also quite convenient to change different parameters of the materials.

Nachteile: What I liked least about the software is the computation power it needs. If I run solidmechanics and electromagnetism modules all together with finest meshing, it would take more than 2 hours for my computer to complete the simulation, considering that I have a high end desktop with 16GB RAM and i7 processor. Therefore, it is better to use it from a remote server which is alot more powerful than desktops.

Kommentare: Learned about multiple physical mechanism acting on engineering products. Developed several mulphysics CAE model in less time duration. Simulated and validated innovative engineering products and published as technical papers.

Vorteile: The coupled phenomena of multiple physics for designing engineering products and the flexibility to edit governing equations is an innovative approach. Easy to use and design engineering products in virtual environment. Comsol Application builder is really a great platform to develop simulation app from comsol model.

Nachteile: A little challenging to understand coupling of multiple physics and mathematical modeling in a single environment.

Kommentare: I learnt a lot in general about how finite element modelling works. I worked with a lot of different element types, mesh sizes to see how it affects my problem.

Vorteile: The best thing about this software is the freedom that it offers the user to select the physics of problem and the kind of dimensional space the user is working with. The user can make the geometry with ease and mesh it according to his or her needs. There are a lot of options available for post processing data which helps the user to see convergence of various mesh sizes and make sure that their model is an accurate representation of the true problem. The user can combine various solution sets and extract data for further processing.

Nachteile: There is not a good library for this software. One has to browse through forums online if they get stuck at some point with their problem.