All posts by Caty Fairclough
Happy Birthday, Robert Hutchings Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard is considered the “Father of Modern Rocketry”. Read about how he went from reading science fiction to making strides in scientific innovation.
Improving Architectural Designs with Building Physics Simulation
Building physics simulation can help engineers develop more energy-efficient architectural designs. We talked to Built Environments, Inc. to get a few examples of how.
Happy Birthday, Sir George Gabriel Stokes
Read about the life, work, and research of the physicist behind the famous fluid dynamics equation: Sir George Gabriel Stokes.
Studying the Program and Erase Cycle of an EEPROM Device
Using the Semiconductor Module, you can study the program and erase cycles of an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) device.
Happy Birthday, Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin, an accomplished chemist and X-ray crystallographer, conducted research that changed how we understand DNA and virology.
Investigating a Three-Port Ferrite Circulator Design with RF Simulation
Get a quick introduction to microwave circulators and modeling them with the RF Module. The featured example is a three-port ferrite circulator.
Modeling Copper Electrodeposition on a Circuit Board
Copper electrodeposition is used to manufacture PCBs. Here, we discuss modeling the electrodeposition of copper in the trench of a PCB.
Modeling a MOS Capacitor with the Semiconductor Module
MOS capacitors (MOSCAPs) contain 3 main parts: a semiconductor body or substrate, an insulator film, and a metal electrode (or gate). You can use the Semiconductor Module to model MOSCAP designs.
Happy Birthday, Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal was a mathematician who wanted to make mathematical calculations easier. His work in projective geometry led to what is now known as Pascal’s theorem.
Analyzing Magnetotellurics with Electromagnetics Simulation
Magnetotellurics (MT) is a geophysical method for mapping the magma flow of volcanos. Using electromagnetics simulation, engineers are able to study and improve this technique.
Happy Birthday, Inge Lehmann
Inge Lehmann was a Danish geophysicist and seismologist who used seismic waves generated by earthquakes to answer the age-old question: What’s really at the center of the earth?
Happy Birthday, Jean-Charles de Borda
Jean-Charles de Borda traveled the seas in the French military before making strides in the fields of fluid mechanics, geodesy, navigation, and more.
Teaching Students About Acoustics Phenomena with Apps
Acoustics concepts and their underlying theories can be difficult for engineering students to visualize. For one university, simulation applications proved to be an effective teaching tool.
Analyzing a Supersonic Ejector with CFD Simulation
From food refrigeration in a local market to debris removal in the outer corners of space, ejectors have a wide range of uses. You can use the CFD Module to analyze a supersonic ejector design.
Simulating an SMA Connector on a Grounded Coplanar Waveguide
SMA connectors are used in cellphone antennas and PCB testing. To optimize their performance for a specific use, electrical engineers can evaluate their designs with simulation.
Advancing Additive Manufacturing with Sequential Simulations
In some ways, additive manufacturing is like sewing or weaving. We talk to a professor of additive manufacturing about how sequential simulations can be used to analyze and optimize the process.
Happy Birthday, Joseph von Fraunhofer
Joseph von Fraunhofer is known for developing the spectroscope and discovering a set of spectral lines that are now known as Fraunhofer lines.
Designing Spiral Slot Antennas with Electromagnetics Simulation
Spiral slot antennas have nearly perfect circularly polarized radiation and wideband frequency response, and they can maintain a consistent radiation pattern and impedance over large bandwidths.
Analyzing the Deformation of a Biomedical Stent with Simulation
By studying deformation in an arterial stent, biomedical engineers can account for unwanted effects like dogboning and foreshortening long before the device is ever implanted.
Happy Birthday, Robert Maillart
Balancing structural engineering and artistic capabilities, civil engineer Robert Maillart designed some of the world’s most impressive bridges, including the Salginatobel and Schwandbach.
Optimizing Thermophotovoltaic Designs with Heat Transfer Simulation
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, known for their flexible fuel choice options, immovable parts, and potential for efficient power generation, can be optimized with heat transfer modeling.
Analyzing the Viscous and Thermal Damping of a MEMS Micromirror
Micromirrors are efficient and inexpensive. Here, we go over 2 types of analyses for a MEMS micromirror design, frequency-domain and transient, using the COMSOL® software.
Predicting Solute Transport in Groundwater Using Simulation
In order for groundwater to be useful for irrigation and drinking, we need to understand how its various solutes move through the water. The Subsurface Flow Module includes features for this.
Analyzing White Pupil Échelle Spectrographs via Ray Tracing Simulation
Astronomers use échelle spectrographs to detect far-away planets. To design a white pupil échelle spectrograph with optimized sensitivity, engineers can turn to ray tracing software.