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COMSOL Multiphysics® 5.6 Release Highlights

LiveLink™ for Solid Edge® Updates

For users of LiveLink™ for Solid Edge®, COMSOL Multiphysics® version 5.6 brings two new defeaturing and repair tools, as well as a new and updated tutorial model. Read more about these updates below.

Detect Interferences

The Detect Interferences tool, added to the Defeaturing and Repair menu, can detect interference between objects. This tool supports solid and surface objects as input and detects intersections, touches, gaps, and containments. You can see this feature demonstrated in the Creating a Fluid Domain Inside a Solid Structure tutorial model.

The COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 UI showing the Geometry ribbon tab, the Detect Interferences tool, and a model geometry in the Graphics window.
Several intersections, touches, and gaps are detected in this imported CAD assembly, including information about the objects and faces involved in the interferences. Gaps are listed together with the gap distance, and the Zoom to Selection button makes it easy to find the location of the interfering faces on the geometry.

Check Feature

The new Check feature, added to the Defeaturing and Repair menu, can be used to detect faults in CAD objects. Add a Check node to a geometry sequence, such as after a Delete Faces operation, to confirm that no problems remain after replacing a faulty face.

No faults remain in this geometry after replacing the faulty face using the Delete Faces operation.

Support for New and Updated CAD File Format Versions

The CAD file import and export functionality has been extended to support new versions for the following file formats:

Read from File
  • AutoCAD® (.dwg, .dxf): 2021
  • PTC Creo Parametric™ (.prt, .asm): 7.0
  • Inventor® (.ipt, .iam): 2021
  • NX™ (.prt): 1899
  • Parasolid® (.xt, .xb, .xmttxt, .xmtbin): 33.0
Write to File
  • Parasolid® (.xt, .xb, .xmttxt, .xmtbin): 33.0

New Tutorial Model: Geometric Parameter Optimization of a Bracket

The Bracket Optimization tutorial model minimizes the mass of a bracket that is synchronized from Solid Edge® via the LiveLink™ interface. There are limits both for the lowest natural frequency and the maximum stress in a static load case. The size and position of a number of geometrical features are changed to optimize the mass, while several geometrical constraints are enforced to maintain the design intent.

The Solid Edge UI in the background and the COMSOL Multiphysics UI in the foreground, where the same bracket appears in both software as a geometry and optimized model, respectively.
The Solid Edge® user interface showing the original geometry and the COMSOL Multiphysics® user interface showing the optimized bracket.

Application Library Title:
bracket_optimization_llse
Download from the Application Gallery

Updated Tutorial Model: Electrical Heating in a Busbar Assembly

This updated tutorial model analyzes a larger busbar assembly designed to conduct direct currents, from a current source to the anode, in an electrolysis process. Selections defined in the CAD assembly files are used to assign materials and boundary settings in the simulation. A parametric sweep over two parameters in the Solid Edge® assembly has been included to study the influence of the geometry on the physics phenomena, and the results of the sweep are visualized through a Table Surface plot. This can help in selecting geometric parameter combinations that keep the maximum temperature in the copper components below the desired maximum value.

The Solid Edge UI in the background and the COMSOL Multiphysics UI in the foreground, where the same busbar assembly appears in both software as a geometry and simulation analysis, respectively.
The Solid Edge® user interface showing the original geometry and the COMSOL Multiphysics® user interface showing the results.

Application Library Title:
busbar_llse
Download from the Application Gallery Entry

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Parasolid, NX, and Solid Edge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. PTC, Creo, and Creo Parametric are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and in other countries. SOLIDWORKS is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. COMSOL AB and its subsidiaries and products are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or supported by these third parties.