The prototyping problem appears in today’s efforts to electrify everything. What works as a mock-up of lab benches actually breaks down. Harnessing and storing energy safely at grid scale and in cars, trucks, and airplanes is a very difficult problem that simplistic models sometimes cannot address.
“At the core of the electrification process is this combination of electromagnetic effects, heat transfer, and structural mechanics in complex interaction,” he says. Björn Sjodinsenior vice president of product management at the Stockholm-based software company Comsol.
COMSOL is an engineering research and development software company that seeks to simulate not just a single phenomenon—for example, the electromagnetic behavior of a circuit—but instead everyone Relevant physics that must be simulated to develop new technologies in real-world operating conditions.
Engineers and developers gathered in Burlington, Massachusetts, October 8-10 for the COMSOL conference Boston Annual ConferenceThey discussed engineering simulations across multiple simultaneous physics packages. and Multiphysics modelingas this emerging field is called, has emerged as an element of electrification research and development that has become more than just a pretty thing.
“Sometimes, I think some people still look at simulation as a fantasy thing in R&D,” he says. Nilofar KamyabChemical Engineer and Applications Manager at COMSOL. “Because they see it as an alternative to experiments. But no, experiments still need to be done, even though experiments can be done in a more efficient and optimal way.”
Can multiphysics expand the scope of electrification?
Multiple physics can sometimes be only half the game, says Kamyab.
“I think when it comes to batteries, there’s another attraction when it comes to simulation,” she says. “It’s multiplesize– How batteries can be studied across different levels. You can get an in-depth analysis, if not very difficult, I would say impossible to do experimentally.
This is partly because batteries reveal complex behaviors (and wild reactions) at the cell level, but also in new and unpredictable ways at the battery pack level as well.
“For most people who simulate battery packs, thermal management is one of their primary concerns,” says Kamyab. “You’re doing this simulation so you know how to avoid it. You’re recreating a defective cell.” She adds that the multi-physics simulation of thermal runaway enables battery engineers to safely test how each design behaves even in the most extreme conditions, in order to stop any battery problems or fires before they happen.
Wireless charging systems are another area of electricity, with their own thermal challenges. “At higher power levels, local heating of the coil changes its conductivity,” he says. Nirmal Paudelprincipal engineer at Superior engineeringan engineering consulting firm based in Needham, Massachusetts. This, in turn, can change the entire circuit as well as the design and performance of all the elements surrounding it, he points out.
Electric motors and power converters require similar simulation expertise. According to COMSOL Electrical Engineer and Senior Application Engineer Vignesh GurusamyOld ways of developing these ancient electrical technologies are proving less useful today. “The recent boom in the use of electricity across diverse applications requires a more holistic approach as it enables new optimal designs to be developed,” says Gurusamy.
And transportation of goods: “For trucks, people investigate; Should we use batteries?? Should we use fuel cells?“Fuel cells are very friendly to multiple physics — fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reactions, electrochemical reactions,” Sjodin says.
Finally, there is the electrical grid itself. “The grid is designed to provide a continuous supply of power,” Sjodin says. “So when you have the energy sources [like wind and solar] When you turn it off and on all the time, you face entirely new problems.
Multiphysics in the design of batteries and electric motors
Taking such a comprehensive approach to engineering simulations can also yield unexpected benefits, Kamyab says. Berlin-based automotive engineering company IAVFor example, It develops powertrain systems that integrate multiple battery formats and chemistries into a single package. “Sodium ion It can’t give you that energy Lithium ion “It can give,” Kamyab says. “So they came up with a combination of chemistries, to get the benefits of each, and then designed a thermal management that matched all the chemistries.”
Jacob Hilgert, who works as a technical advisor at IAV, recently contributed a COMSOL industry case study. In his book, Hilgert described the design of a dual-chemistry battery array that combines sodium-ion cells with a more expensive solid-state lithium battery.
Using multiphysics simulations enabled the IAV team to manipulate the different properties of the two chemicals from each other, Hilgert says. “If we have some cells that can operate at high temperatures and some cells that can operate at lower temperatures, it is advantageous to take the exhaust heat from the higher-operating cells to heat the lower-operating cells, and vice versa,” Hilgert said. “That’s why we came up with a cooling system that diverts energy from cells that want to be in a cooler state to cells that want to be in a hotter state.”
According to Sjodin, IAV is part of a larger trend in a range of industries that are being affected by the electrification of everything. “Algorithmic improvements and hardware improvements add up,” he says. “This is the future of multiphysics simulation. It will allow you to simulate bigger and bigger, more realistic systems.”
According to Gurusamy, GPU accelerators and alternative models allow for greater leaps in electric motor capabilities and efficiency. Even seemingly simple components, such as the turns of copper wire at the heart of the motor (called the stator), provide parameters that multiple physics can optimize.
“The fundamental frontier in electric motor development is pushing power density and efficiency to new heights, with thermal management emerging as a key challenge,” says Gurusamy. “Multiphysics models combining electromagnetic and thermal simulations…incorporate temperature-dependent behavior in stator windings and magnetic materials.”
Simulation is also changing the world of wireless charging, Bodell says. “Traditional design cycles modify engineering files,” he says. “Today, integrated multi-physics platforms enable the exploration of new cargo architectures, including flexible cargo textiles and smart surfaces that adapt in real time.
Batteries, according to Kamyab, continue to push toward higher energy densities and lower price points. This changes not only industries where batteries are already used, such as consumer electronics and electric vehicles. High-capacity batteries are also driving new industries such as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs).
“The reason many of the ideas we had 30 years ago have become reality is because we now have the batteries to power them,” says Kamyab. “This has been a bottleneck for many years. … As we continue to push battery technology forward, who knows what new technologies and applications we will make possible next.”
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