Comsol Tutorial

Universitetet i Oslo
Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
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COMSOL Multiphysics: F Avdeling for Mekanikk

Geir Skeie
MEK4550
Elementmetoden i faststoffmekanikk I Contents
(24. september 2007) // ..
/ .
Foreleser: Geir Skeie
Page 1 of 40
(E-post:ges@math.uio.no)
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Innhold
F COMSOL Multiphysics 3
F.1 What is COMSOL Multiphysics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
F.2 What documentation exists? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

F.3 Start-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Avdeling for Mekanikk
F.4 Modeling in The Graphical User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Geir Skeie
F.5 Using the Structural Mechanics Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
F.6 Can you run COMSOL Multiphysics on Windows? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
G References 40
Contents
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F. COMSOL Multiphysics
The mechanics department at UIO has currently access to two commercial codes for doing Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
structural analysis based on the finite element method (FEM)

Avdeling for Mekanikk
ANSYS, and Geir Skeie
COMSOL Multiphysics .
The present document is intended to help the students to get acquainted with the two codes Contents
in a way so that they may find their way around the respective documentation.
// ..
The current introduction is written in English to comply with the written documentation of
both COMSOL Multiphysics and ANSYS. / .
In this first version of the document we focus on COMSOL Multiphysics since we will use this
Page 3 of 40
in MEK4550.
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F.1. What is COMSOL Multiphysics? Close
COMSOL Multiphysics is an engineering tool that performs equation based modeling in an Quit
interactive environment. The basic idea behind the tool is to make modeling and simulation
of physical phenomena as easy as possible. It seems that they have come along way in this
respect. Actually this is for you, the user, to decide.
COMSOL Multiphysics is a well filled tool box for solving PDEs in an approximate way using Subdomain boundary nodes

Subdomain boundaries
the FEM.
Currently, the mechanics department has access to two of the COMSOL Multiphysics modules: Geir Skeie
COMSOL Multiphysics and

Structural Mechanics Module.
Contents
The first is the generic tool for solving general PDEs, while the second module is a specialized
version intended to solve general structural mechanics problems. // ..
/ .
F.2. What documentation exists?
Page 4 of 40
Relevant documentation may be found in different sections of the basic COMSOL Multiphysics Go Back
module:
Close
Quick Start and Quick Reference provides a quick overview of COMSOL Multiphysicss
capabilities and how to access them and a reference section containing lists of prede- Quit
fined variable names, mathematical functions, COMSOL Multiphysics operators, equa-

tion forms, and application modes.
COMSOL Multiphysics Users Guide covers the functionality of COMSOL Multiphysics

across its entire range from geometry modeling to post processing. It serves as a tutorial
and a reference guide to using COMSOL Multiphysics.
COMSOL Multiphysics Modeling Guide provides an in-depth examination of the soft- Subdomain interior nodes
wares application modes and how to use them to model different types of physics and to
perform equation-based modeling using PDEs.
Geir Skeie
COMSOL Multiphysics Model Library consists of a collection of ready-to-run models that
cover many classic problems and equations from science and engineering. These models
have two goals: to show the versatility of COMSOL Multiphysics and the wide range of
applications it covers; and to form an educational basis from which you can learn about
COMSOL Multiphysics and also gain an understanding of the underlying physics. Contents
// ..
In addition the Structural Mechanics Module comes with its own Users Guide and Model
Library. / .
Even if focus is on single physics application we shall see that they may be considered in a Page 5 of 40
multi-physics environment.
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F.3. Start-up Close
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The COMSOL Multiphysics graphical interface shown in this document is generated on Win-
dows.
COMSOL Multiphysics may

be started from the local ma- Avdeling for Mekanikk
chines by typing Geir Skeie
%femlab
on the command-line. (The %

is the command-line propt.)
The window that now appears Contents
is shown below, Figure F.1,
and termed the Model Naviga- // ..
tor.
/ .
Figure F.1: The COMSOL Multiphysics Model Navi- Page 6 of 40

gator.
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Geir Skeie
You can access the COM-

SOL Multiphysics documenta-
tion through the Help but-
ton in the Graphical Us- Contents
er Interface. Pressing F1
is also an option and pro- // ..
duces the following screen,
Figure F.2. We recognize the / .
sections mentioned in sec-
tion F.2. Page 7 of 40
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Figure F.2: The COMSOL Multiphysics documentation.

F.4. Modeling in The Graphical User Interface
The Quick Start and Quick References document serve as an ideal entry point for a more Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
thorough discussion of the topics discussed below. Subdomain interior nodes

COMSOL Multiphysics support two modes of specifying the mathematical model expressing
Geir Skeie
our physical phenomena:
a free-form entry of custom partial differential equations, or
use a specialized physics application modes. Contents
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We can illustrate the PDE mode of applications by solving the one-dimensional continuum
problem. The governing equations in this case is an ordinary differential equation given by
/ .

d du
EA =q
dx dx Page 8 of 40
with appropriate boundary conditions. E is Youngs modulus and A is the truss section area. Go Back
We use the Coefficient Form in this case. The model navigator for this problem set-up is shown
Figure F.3. Close
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In the Model Navigator we se-

lect the space dimension and ap- Avdeling for Mekanikk
plication modes to begin working Geir Skeie
on a new model, open an existing
model we have already created, or
open an entry in the Model Li-
brary.
Contents
We note that we select Lagrange-
Linear elements.
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/ .
Figure F.3: Model Navigator for a 1D example us-
ing the coefficient form. Page 9 of 40
In our problem the coefficients in the equation are given by

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c = EA, a = 0, = 0, =0 and f = q
Close
Quit

If we press OK a new window Geir Skeie
appears, namely the Graphi-
cal User Interface, special-
ized to our current problem
settings.
In the Graphical User Inter- Contents
face we use commands, tool-

bars and dialog boxes to per- // ..
form tasks.
/ .
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Figure F.4: The Graphical User Interface for our 1D
model problem.
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The menus in the Graphi-

cal User Interface contains
three different menu sets:
The top row is the Subdomain interior nodes
Menu bar.
The second row contains Geir Skeie
the Main toolbar.
Figure F.5: Main tools in the Graphical User Interface
The left column is the
for our 1D model problem.
Draw toolbar.
Contents
At the bottom of the COM-
SOL Multiphysics user inter-
face a status bar shows infor- // ..
mation and provides buttons
for changing some user inter- / .
face properties. The contents
depend on the space dimen- Page 11 of 40
sions of the current geometry

in your model. Double-clicking Go Back
a status bar button toggles Figure F.6: Status bar in the Graphical User Interface
its features on and off. More for our 1D model problem. Close
information may be found in

the Users Manual, Geometry Quit
Modeling and CAD Tools .

The first thing we may do is

to set the geometry window to Avdeling for Mekanikk
fit our problem domain. We do Geir Skeie
this from the menu bar
Options Axes/Grid Settings
Contents
Figure F.7: Axis/Grid Settings for our model problem. // ..
/ .
Page 12 of 40
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We may define constants that Subdomain interior nodes
may be used later in the mod-

eling process
Geir Skeie
Options Constants
Figure F.8: Constant expressions that may be used in our

model problem. Contents
// ..
/ .
Next we define the geometry

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of our model problem We can
do this in several ways. One
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option is to use the
Close
Draw Specify Objects Line
Quit
Figure F.9: Draw a line for our model problem.

Next we specify the Physics of our model problem.

The coefficients of our truss
Geir Skeie
example are specified in
Physics Subdomain Settings
Note that we are selecting a

subdomain, with the label 1. Contents
// ..
Figure F.10: Subdomain settings for our model problem. / .
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Geir Skeie
The essential boundary condi-

tions are specified in the
Physics Boundary Settings Contents

Figure F.11: Boundary settings for our model problem.
Note that we are selecting a // ..
boundary, with the label 1.
The natural boundary condi- / .
tions are applied to the bound-
ary with the label 2. Page 15 of 40
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The next item of our list of Subdomain interior nodes
operations is to specify mesh

control parameters
Geir Skeie
Mesh Mesh Parameters
In the current analysis we se-

lect a mesh size of 1.
Contents
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/ .
The axial displacement along the truss axis is shown below.
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Geir Skeie
Contents
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/ .
Figure F.14: The axial deformation along the truss axis, two elements. Page 17 of 40
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The model problem may be re-generated form the .m-file.
Close
% COMSOL Multiphysics Model M-file
% Generated by COMSOL 3.2 (COMSOL 3.2.0.222, $Date: 2005/09/01 18:02:30 $)
Quit
flclear fem
% COMSOL version
clear vrsn
vrsn.name = COMSOL 3.2;
vrsn.ext = ;
vrsn.major = 0;
vrsn.build = 222; Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

vrsn.rcs = $Name: $;
vrsn.date = $Date: 2005/09/01 18:02:30 $;
fem.version = vrsn; Avdeling for Mekanikk
% Constants Geir Skeie
fem.const = {EA,1, ...
q,1};
% Geometry
g1=solid1([0,2]);
clear s
s.objs={g1}; Contents
s.name={I1};
s.tags={g1};
// ..
fem.draw=struct(s,s);
fem.geom=geomcsg(fem);
/ .
% Initialize mesh
fem.mesh=meshinit(fem, ...
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hmax,[1]);
% (Default values are not included)

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% Application mode 1
clear appl Close
appl.mode.class = FlPDEC;
appl.assignsuffix = _c;
clear prop Quit
prop.elemdefault=Lag1;
appl.prop = prop;
clear bnd
bnd.type = {dir,neu};
bnd.ind = [1,2];
appl.bnd = bnd;
clear equ
equ.c = EA; Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
equ.da = 0; Subdomain interior nodes
equ.f = q;
equ.ind = [1]; Avdeling for Mekanikk
appl.equ = equ;
fem.appl{1} = appl; Geir Skeie
fem.border = 1;
fem.units = SI;
% Multiphysics
fem=multiphysics(fem);
% Extend mesh Contents

fem.xmesh=meshextend(fem);
% Solve problem // ..
fem.sol=femlin(fem, ...
solcomp,{u}, ...
outcomp,{u}); / .
% Save current fem structure for restart purposes

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fem0=fem;
% Plot solution
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postplot(fem, ...
liny,{u,cont,internal}, ...
lincolor,[0.0,0.0,0.0], ... Close
title,Line: u, ...
refine,5, ...
axis,[-0.1,2.1,-0.025,0.525,-1,1]); Quit
F.5. Using the Structural Mechanics Module
The simple plain stress problem shown below is modeled, meshed and solved using the Struc- Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
tural Mechanics Module. Subdomain interior nodes

Geir Skeie
Contents
P = 40
// ..
x 12
/ .
48 Page 20 of 40
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Figure F.15: Shear loaded cantilever beam. The geometry and loading is shown. The isotropic Quit
material is specified by, E = 30000, = 0.25 and t = 1.
The problem input data is given in Figure F.15.
Model the problem in COMSOL Multiphysics using the Structural Mechanics Module. Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
Find the vertical displacement at (48, 0) using a 4 1 rectangular element mesh and Subdomain interior nodes
linear Lagrange shape functions.

Model the problem in COMSOL Multiphysics using the Structural Mechanics Module. Geir Skeie
Find the vertical displacement at (48, 0) using a 4 1 rectangular element mesh and
quadratic Lagrange shape functions.
Draw the axial stress, xx , variation across the section at x = 12. Compare with exact
results. Contents
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We start COMSOL Multi-

physics and selects the right Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
settings from the Structural

Mechanics Module. The prob- Avdeling for Mekanikk
lem is 2D, plane stress and Geir Skeie
static with linear Lagrange
elements. We select this under
Application Modes:
Contents
Structural Mechanics Module
Plane Stress Static // ..
Figure F.16: Model Navigator for example 2. / .
Page 22 of 40
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Geir Skeie
We note that the Graphical
User Interface has changed for
the 2D application.
Contents
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/ .
Figure F.17: Main tools in the Graphical User Interface
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for our 2D model problem.
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The first thing we may do is Subdomain interior nodes
to set the geometry window to

fit our problem domain. We do Avdeling for Mekanikk
this from the menu bar Geir Skeie
Options Axes/Grid Settings
Contents
Figure F.18: Axis/Grid Settings for our model problem.
// ..
/ .
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We may define constants that
may be used later in the mod-
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eling process
Options Constants Close
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Figure F.19: Constant expressions that may be used in
our model problem.
Next we define the geometry Subdomain interior nodes
of our model problem. We can

do this in several ways. One Avdeling for Mekanikk
option is to use the Geir Skeie
Draw
Specify Objects Rectangle
Contents
// ..
Figure F.20: Draw a rectangle for our model problem.
The rectangle is shown below. / .
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Geir Skeie
Contents
// ..
/ .
Figure F.21: Rectangular geometry for our model problem. Page 26 of 40
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Next we specify the Physics of

our model problem. This con-
sist of material data, essential Subdomain boundary nodes

and natural boundary condi-

tions. Avdeling for Mekanikk
Geir Skeie
Physics Subdomain Settings

subdomain, with the label 1.
We are also using the con- Contents
stants that we defined at start-
up. // ..
Figure F.22: Subdomain settings for our model problem,
material data.
/ .
Page 27 of 40
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The essential boundary condi- Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
tions are specified in the

Physics Boundary Settings
Geir Skeie
boundary, the left edge, with Figure F.23: Boundary settings for our model problem.
the label 1.
The natural boundary condi-
Contents
tions are applied to the bound-
ary with the label 4, the right
edge. // ..
The loading is expressed as
a parabolic load in the local / .
edge parameter s [0, 1].
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There exists two ways to gen-

erate a mesh
Triangulation, generat-
ing triangular elements, Avdeling for Mekanikk
and Geir Skeie
mapped meshing, result-
ing in quadrilateral ele-
ments.
Figure F.25: The mesh menu.
Contents
// ..
/ .
The exercise asks for quadri-
lateral elements However let
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us first generate a triangular
mesh. The mesh density is set Using
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using the command
Mesh Mesh Parameters Close
Figure F.26: Mesh settings for the triangular mesh algo- Quit
rithms.
the mesh setting above results in the mesh shown in the Figure below.

Geir Skeie
Contents
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/ .
Page 30 of 40
Figure F.27: Using triangles for the cantilever.
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COMSOL Multiphysics gener-

ate quadrilateral elements us-
ing mapped meshing. In order
to do this we or the program Subdomain boundary nodes

needs to identify a quadrilat-

eral. This is specified using the Avdeling for Mekanikk
dialog box Geir Skeie
Mesh Map Mesh
The dialog defines the edge

group defining the quadrilat- Figure F.28: Selecting the quadrilateral used in mapped
Contents
eral. meshing.
// ..
Next we specify the number of elements along the edges
/ .
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Geir Skeie
Contents
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/ .
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Close
The above settings generate the mesh below
Quit

Geir Skeie
Contents
// ..
/ .
Figure F.29: The quadrilateral mesh. Page 33 of 40
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Quit
We can now solve the problem. Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
Solve Solve Problem

The symbol = defines the Geir Skeie
short cut command found in
the Main toolbar.
Figure F.30: Solving the cantilever problem. Contents
We are now in the position to look at the results.

// ..
/ .
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First, let us check if our
parabolic load distribution
produces the right resultant Go Back
The re-
force:
Close
Post processing Boundary Integration
Quit
Figure F.31: Checking the applied load.

sults are shown in the Message log portion of the GUI.

Geir Skeie
Figure F.32: The value of the integral is shown in the Message log window.
Contents
// ..
Also, we may check the de- / .

formed shape over-layed a
contour plot of the axial Page 35 of 40
stresses, xx .
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Post processing Plot Parameters
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Figure F.33: Activate the deformed shape and setting the

contour values.
The result is shown in the figure below.

Geir Skeie
Contents
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/ .
Page 36 of 40
Figure F.34: Deformed shape with xx contour plot. Go Back
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Geir Skeie
Finally, we shall look at the

axial stresses, xx , at x = 12.
Contents
Post processing
// ..
Cross-Section Plot Parameters
/ .
Page 37 of 40
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Close
Figure F.35: Cross section plot parameters. Quit
The stress variation is shown in the figure below.


Geir Skeie
Contents
// ..
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Page 38 of 40
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Figure F.36: xx variation at x = 12.
F.6. Can you run COMSOL Multiphysics on Windows?
It is possible to run COMSOL Multiphysics on Windows. However you have to use your Win- Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries
dows machine as a terminal towards the machines at UiO. This means that you have to be Subdomain interior nodes
able to run X-Windows on your PC.

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Contents
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Page 39 of 40
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G. References

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Contents
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Universitetet i Oslo

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

COMSOL Multiphysics: F Avdeling for Mekanikk

(24. september 2007) // ..

Subdomain interior nodes

F.2 What documentation exists? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Subdomain interior nodes

structural analysis based on the finite element method (FEM)

F.1. What is COMSOL Multiphysics? Close

Subdomain interior nodes

COMSOL Multiphysics and

fined variable names, mathematical functions, COMSOL Multiphysics operators, equa-

COMSOL Multiphysics Users Guide covers the functionality of COMSOL Multiphysics

F.3. Start-up Close

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

COMSOL Multiphysics may

on the command-line. (The %

Figure F.1: The COMSOL Multiphysics Model Navi- Page 6 of 40

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

Avdeling for Mekanikk

You can access the COM-

Figure F.2: The COMSOL Multiphysics documentation.

F.4. Modeling in The Graphical User Interface

thorough discussion of the topics discussed below. Subdomain interior nodes

Avdeling for Mekanikk

a free-form entry of custom partial differential equations, or

use a specialized physics application modes. Contents

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

In the Model Navigator we se-

In our problem the coefficients in the equation are given by

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

Avdeling for Mekanikk

face we use commands, tool-

The menus in the Graphi-

The top row is the Subdomain interior nodes

sions of the current geometry

information may be found in

Modeling and CAD Tools .

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

The first thing we may do is

Options Axes/Grid Settings

Figure F.7: Axis/Grid Settings for our model problem. // ..

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

We may define constants that Subdomain interior nodes

may be used later in the mod-

Figure F.8: Constant expressions that may be used in our

Next we define the geometry

Figure F.9: Draw a line for our model problem.

Next we specify the Physics of our model problem.

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes

Avdeling for Mekanikk

Physics Subdomain Settings

Note that we are selecting a

Figure F.10: Subdomain settings for our model problem. / .

Subdomain boundary nodes Subdomain boundaries

Subdomain interior nodes