Materials library added to simulation software

March 22, 2007
Version 3.3a of Comsol Inc.'s, Multiphysics simulation software now runs on Microsoft's Vista operating system as well as on Intel-based Macs.
This model shows the deformation in a wheel rim. The Material Library features 2,500 materials for quick and accurate model setup.

It features an optional Material Library with property information on over 2,500 materials including the elements, minerals, rocks, soil, metal alloys, oxides, steels, thermal insulators, semiconductors, and optical materials.

Users specify a material in the Material Library browser by name or via UNS (Unified Numbering System) or DIN (German Institute for Standardization) numbers. Each material is represented by property functions for as many as 24 key material properties such as thermal, elastic, or electrical. Users can plot and inspect these function definitions. These property functions let the material property change with some variable, typically temperature.

An internal material property database with more than 1,400 materials and 15,000 properties is also included. The material library can also accept files generated by the MatWeb material property database. This is a searchable database of over 59,000 material data sheets, including property information on thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, metals, and other engineering materials.

Multiphysics 3.3a also has available a CAD import module that makes it easy to refine geometry representations so users can model complex designs more quickly. There's also a Chemkin file-import facility that makes possible reading data for gas-phase reactions, combustion, and atmospheric chemistry in a format that's standard in the chemical industry.

More Information:
Comsol Inc.


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