MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – COMSOL

By David Kan, COMSOL

David Kan

The physics simulation software industry has seen remarkably steady growth over the past 20 years, both in terms of business metrics and scientific advances. At COMSOL, we believe 2023 will continue this trend. In particular, there are three notable directions in which we expect to see significant progress.

First is the impact that multiphysics will have on the industry as a whole. In 2023, we believe that we will continue to see the use of software with multiphysics capabilities become the default way that detailed simulations are performed. Moreover, since different physics often exist on vastly different time and length scales, we think multiscale analysis will increase in prominence.

Second is the emergence of probabilistic and statistical methods within physics simulations. Currently, deterministic methods for solving partial differential equations, like the finite element method, make up the majority of these simulations. A single simulation alone, though, cannot capture the variability that inevitably occurs in materials and manufacturing and which, in turn, gives rise to uncertainty in engineering design and analysis. Over the last several years, techniques have been developed to quantify this uncertainty. These techniques, known collectively as uncertainty quantification (UQ), typically involve using probabilistic inputs, rather than fixed inputs, and then running simulations several times. Statistical studies are then applied to analyze the results. For example, say a material property is known within a certain tolerance. Rather than using a constant value for that property, you replace it with a random variable covering those tolerances and run several simulations. You can then analyze the resulting data to determine the statistical effect. The “several simulations” aspect of this process often requires reduced-order models for speed and efficiency, which will come down to the essential, traditional task of numerical analysis: creating faster, more efficient methods and solvers.

The third direction we expect to see for the industry in 2023 involves the organization and sharing of simulation data. There are currently many applications that could benefit greatly from the insight gained from such data. This data, however, can be complex and thus difficult to access. It is for this reason that simulation process data management (SPDM) tools, such as the Model Manager in COMSOL Multiphysics®, were created. We believe these tools will undergo significant development in the short term, resulting in another step toward the democratization of simulation — the widespread dissemination of simulation results by a growing population of engineering professionals.

All in all, physics simulation continues to be a dynamic industry with steady growth. We will certainly see changes this year, and we expect that the industry’s culture of innovation will further advance the capabilities of simulation, much to the benefit of engineers and scientists everywhere.

Category: Industry Predictions

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