Comsol Case Studies Making Smart Materials Smarter with Multiphysics Simulation

	Making Smart Materials Smarter with Multiphysics Simulation Comsol

Making Smart Materials Smarter with Multiphysics Simulation

Comsol

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Applicable Industries	Electronics
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Machine Condition Monitoring Predictive Maintenance
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Engineers at ETREMA Products, Inc. face the challenge of designing devices using magnetostrictive materials, which change shape when exposed to a magnetic field. These materials are crucial for the production of transducers, sensors, and other high-powered electrical devices. The unique properties of magnetostrictive materials, such as their ability to mechanically respond to magnetic fields and their characteristic nonlinearity, make designing these devices complex. The challenge is to accurately represent the material properties and complex physics interactions within such devices to facilitate the production of the next generation of smart products. Read More
About Customer	ETREMA Products, Inc. is a company that specializes in designing devices using magnetostrictive materials for defense and other industry applications. These applications include sensors, loudspeakers, actuators, SONAR, and energy harvesting devices. ETREMA is the sole commercial producer of Terfenol-D, a giant magnetostrictive material first developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1970s. The company leverages advanced simulation tools to design and optimize their products, ensuring they meet the high standards required for their specialized applications. Read More
Solution	ETREMA uses COMSOL Multiphysics to model and simulate the complex interactions within their magnetostrictive devices. Their approach involves creating single-physics models to analyze individual physics and then building multiphysics simulations to determine how these physics interact. This method allows for a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the device's behavior. For example, in designing a close-packed SONAR source array, ETREMA used single-physics models to analyze deformation and stress, and multiphysics models to evaluate the overall electro-mechanical characteristics. The models helped optimize the design by reducing deformation and stress, and by ensuring that magnetic fields stayed confined to the magnetic components, thereby minimizing interference with electronics. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Applicable Industries

Electronics

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Machine Condition Monitoring

Predictive Maintenance

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Engineers at ETREMA Products, Inc. face the challenge of designing devices using magnetostrictive materials, which change shape when exposed to a magnetic field. These materials are crucial for the production of transducers, sensors, and other high-powered electrical devices. The unique properties of magnetostrictive materials, such as their ability to mechanically respond to magnetic fields and their characteristic nonlinearity, make designing these devices complex. The challenge is to accurately represent the material properties and complex physics interactions within such devices to facilitate the production of the next generation of smart products.

About Customer

ETREMA Products, Inc. is a company that specializes in designing devices using magnetostrictive materials for defense and other industry applications. These applications include sensors, loudspeakers, actuators, SONAR, and energy harvesting devices. ETREMA is the sole commercial producer of Terfenol-D, a giant magnetostrictive material first developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1970s. The company leverages advanced simulation tools to design and optimize their products, ensuring they meet the high standards required for their specialized applications.

Solution

ETREMA uses COMSOL Multiphysics to model and simulate the complex interactions within their magnetostrictive devices. Their approach involves creating single-physics models to analyze individual physics and then building multiphysics simulations to determine how these physics interact. This method allows for a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the device's behavior. For example, in designing a close-packed SONAR source array, ETREMA used single-physics models to analyze deformation and stress, and multiphysics models to evaluate the overall electro-mechanical characteristics. The models helped optimize the design by reducing deformation and stress, and by ensuring that magnetic fields stayed confined to the magnetic components, thereby minimizing interference with electronics.

Impact #1	ETREMA's modeling approach demonstrates the unique flexibility of COMSOL Multiphysics, allowing for both targeted and comprehensive analysis of physics interactions.
Impact #2	The use of single-physics models enables design diagnosis prior to the development of multiphysics models, making it easier to attribute undesired interactions to specific physics types.
Impact #3	Coupled multiphysics models provide a detailed understanding of how individual physics interact in the real world, facilitating the design, evaluation, and optimization of transducer technologies.

Impact #1

ETREMA's modeling approach demonstrates the unique flexibility of COMSOL Multiphysics, allowing for both targeted and comprehensive analysis of physics interactions.

Impact #2

The use of single-physics models enables design diagnosis prior to the development of multiphysics models, making it easier to attribute undesired interactions to specific physics types.

Impact #3

Coupled multiphysics models provide a detailed understanding of how individual physics interact in the real world, facilitating the design, evaluation, and optimization of transducer technologies.

Benefit #1	Terfenol-D demonstrates deformations 100 times that of iron.
Benefit #2	Iron elongates by 0.002 percent and nickel contracts by 0.007 percent when exposed to a strong magnetic field.

Benefit #1

Terfenol-D demonstrates deformations 100 times that of iron.

Benefit #2

Iron elongates by 0.002 percent and nickel contracts by 0.007 percent when exposed to a strong magnetic field.

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Overview

Making Smart Materials Smarter with Multiphysics Simulation

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit