COMSOL Day: Renewable Energy

COMSOL Multiphysics^® has become widely used for modeling and simulation (M&S) in the field of renewable energy due to its multiphysics modeling capabilities.

The software is used for the research and design of electric motors, generators, battery systems, high-voltage cables, power electronics, hydrogen fuel cells, and water electrolyzers. In addition, it is widely used for understanding and optimizing heat transfer and thermal management processes and designs. Moreover, the unique features for creating standalone simulation apps based on multiphysics models and surrogate models have allowed for larger groups of engineers and scientists within an organization to benefit from M&S.

Attend this session to get an overview of the use of multiphysics models, simulation apps, digital twins, and surrogate models in the field of renewable energy. This session also offers an executive overview of the topics we’ll cover in this COMSOL Day.

Development efforts to meet the demand for electric motors and generators have increased exponentially with the transition to electric vehicles and wind turbine power production. Modeling and simulation are integral parts of the R&D process in the field, enabling engineers to address design considerations such as the:

• Need for electric motors to deliver high torque across a broad speed range
• Need for generators to provide power at low rotational speed
• Limited availability of key minerals

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and the AC/DC Module offer extensive capabilities for modeling, simulating, and optimizing radial and axial flux machines using different principles of operation such as permanent magnet, switched reluctance and induction machines. The add-on module's unique ability to handle nonlinear magnetic effects in combination with temperature-dependent properties and heat transfer has made it the preferred software for high-fidelity multiphysics models.

In this session, we will demonstrate the COMSOL^® software's capabilities for analyzing rotating electrical machines such as motors and generators. We will show how the software treats nonlinear magnetic effects such as hysteresis as well as temperature-dependent properties.

The COMSOL^® software aids in different processes in the field of renewable energy. It offers unique modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities as well as easy-to-use features for creating standalone simulation apps.

The Application Builder and COMSOL Compiler™ allow for bringing M&S to a larger group of scientists and engineers thanks to their capabilities for creating and deploying simulation apps. These apps can be incorporated into digital twins for use in equipment maintenance and process operation. The latest release of COMSOL Multiphysics^® contains functionality for creating surrogate models based on data from simulations and advanced function approximation such as DNN and Gaussian process, making simulation apps lightning-fast.

In this session, you’ll learn about the COMSOL^® software’s capabilities for creating simulation apps and digital twins.

Modeling and simulation (M&S) has become an important tool in the study of the design and operation of battery systems. The COMSOL Multiphysics^® software and its add-on Battery Design Module provide user-friendly yet powerful and versatile capabilities for describing batteries and electrochemical cells. The software also features multiphysics capabilities for coupling the electrochemistry within a battery with structural stress effects due to intercalation, heat generation, heat transfer, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Multiphysics models can be utilized to investigate thermal management and thermal runaway in individual cells as well as in battery modules and packs consisting of hundreds of cells.

Learn more about the COMSOL^® software's capabilities for M&S of battery energy storage systems (BESSs) in stationary applications as well as battery cells and packs for automotive applications in this session.

The Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module add-on to COMSOL Multiphysics^® features a wide range of functionality for modeling electrochemical cells with porous and solid electrodes, including gas-diffusion electrodes and gas-evolving electrodes. Scientists and engineers in the renewable energy field rely on the module for the study and design of cells, from the unit cell scale to the stack scale.

The module's unique modeling capabilities include descriptions of the transport of neutral and charged species for electrolytes of arbitrary composition, with ready-made formulations for the most common electrolyte types. Electrode kinetics can be described using Butler–Volmer, Tafel, or user-defined expressions of the overpotential and local electrolyte concentration. Multiphysics couplings allow for simulation that combines species transport with fluid flow, including, e.g., multiphase flow for gas-evolving electrodes.

In this session, you will get an overview of the modeling and simulation capabilities of the Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module and learn how it can be used in research and development in the field.

The COMSOL Multiphysics^® software is widely used for modeling and simulation in energy transmission and power electronics, which both have applications in the field of renewable energy.

In addition to its wide range of capabilities for the modeling of quasistatic and time-harmonic electromagnetic fields, the COMSOL^® software also features unique multiphysics capabilities for coupling thermal and structural effects with electromagnetic fields. Effects such as induction heating and Joule heating as well as structural stresses and strains caused by thermal expansion can be studied in user-friendly modeling interfaces. The impact of free and forced convection and computation fluid dynamics (CFD) on the operation and design of cables and power electronics devices can also be accounted for.

Join us in this session to get an overview of the modeling and simulation capabilities in the COMSOL^® software for the design of high-power cables and devices for power electronics.

Thanks to its versatility and user-friendliness, COMSOL Multiphysics^® has become a popular development tool across a wide range of engineering fields. In the development of power storage devices and electrical machines, it is particularly useful for understanding and designing essential thermal management systems. The software's unique multiphysics modeling capabilities make it ideal for studying heat transfer and heat generation in combination with electromagnetic fields and currents, nonisothermal flow, stresses and strains due to thermal expansion, as well as electrochemical processes in batteries and fuel cells.

Join us in this session to get an overview of the functionality in COMSOL Multiphysics^® that can be used to understand and design thermal management systems in power storage devices and electrical machines.