MCADCafe Editorial 
2021 MCADCafe Predictions
COMSOL — 2021 Industry PredictionsJanuary 15th, 2021 by 2021 MCADCafe Predictions
 Bjorn Sjodin, COMSOL 2020 brought great challenges to the global R&D community, as well as the community at large, and many of these challenges carry over to 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic forced workplaces to close, and businesses scrambled to make a quick switch to remote work in order to keep the workforce productive. Soon, many companies were set up for remote work and meetings, but for many operations, the switch to working from home was not so smooth. For instance, access to lab space and testing facilities became severely restricted, both in terms of physical access and the amount of time people could spend there. In 2021 and beyond, it is inevitable that R&D organizations will continue to look for ways to make the R&D process “quarantine-proof” as well as more robust with regards to similar crises in the future. What options do we have? One possible solution is to bring lab and test equipment to your home, which is not always convenient — or even possible. Another method is virtual testing by using modeling and simulation (M&S) software. Computer modeling in your home can offer a comfortable and decentralized alternative during pandemic times. It will not replace physical testing altogether, but at a minimum, it allows R&D work to progress despite all of the pandemic’s constraints. M&S can, for instance, help reduce both the number of times you have to go to the lab to run a test and the number of physical tests that you have to perform.
The Need for More Realistic Simulations Skeptics would probably object and say that simulations are hard to make realistic, since there are so many different factors at play and computer modeling has too many limitations. How can one make computer simulations more realistic? One aspect of this challenge: Traditional simulations are often too “narrow-minded”. Models are not set up to include all of the effects that physical testing can offer. This is why it is important that simulation software can incorporate a large number of physical effects and their interactions. In other words, by using multiphysics simulations, both models and simulation results will be more realistic. Moreover, current computer hardware allows for realistic multiphysics simulations either locally or, for more demanding tasks, with remote and cloud computing. The significance of a virtual testing environment has never been greater. Providing Simulation Technology to a Wider Audience Usually, the person who is using simulation software is not the same as the person who is also running the tests in the lab. How can virtual testing be put in the hands of groups of employees that are working with product development, production, and testing in a practical manner? For this purpose, organizations can utilize simulation apps. Apps allow the simulation software expert to decentralize their simulation work by providing easy-to-use and highly specialized apps, solving perhaps only one specific modeling task for a narrow target audience. Creating an app sounds like it could be a demanding project in itself, but the COMSOL Multiphysics® software includes the Application Builder, which can be used to quickly create simulation apps from physics-based models. These apps can be made available for remote access over, for example, a web browser using the COMSOL Server™ software or on a local computer in the form of a standalone application compiled with COMSOL Compiler™. The usefulness of simulation apps goes far beyond that of virtual testing and decentralization of simulation, as they can be used by managers or customers, in virtual demonstrations, for education, or delivered as standalone products. Bjorn Sjodin Bjorn Sjodin is the VP of product management at COMSOL. He has been with COMSOL since 1995 and started out as a member of the development team in Stockholm, Sweden. He joined the COMSOL office in Burlington, MA, in 2002. Tags: Industry Predictions |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
