See How Multiphysics Simulation Is Used in Research and Development

Engineers, researchers, and scientists across industries use multiphysics simulation to research and develop innovative product designs and processes. Find inspiration in technical papers and presentations they have presented at the COMSOL Conference. Browse the selection below or use the Quick Search tool to find a specific presentation or filter by application area.


View the COMSOL Conference 2023 Collection

Geophysics and Geomechanicsx

Elastoplastic Models of the Interaction between Active Fronts of the Southern Alps and Dinarides (NE Italy and NW Slovenia)

M. Coccia[1], E. Carminati[1], F. Rolandone[2], M. Battaglia[1], D. Zuliani[3], and P. Fabris[3]
[1]Università La Sapienza, Roma, Italy
[2]Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
[3]Centro Ricerche Sismologiche, Udine, Italy

We use GPS measurements and Finite Element analysis to investigate strain accumulation in the interaction between active fronts of the Southern Alps and Dinarides at the northern edge of the Adriatic micro-plate. We develop a three dimensional model of the area taking into account the ... Read More

Use of COMSOL as an Educational Tool Through its Application to Ground Water Pollution

A. Modaressi-Farahmand-Razavi[1]
[1]MSS-Mat Laboratory, CNRS, Ecole Centrale Paris, Châtenay Malabry, France

Ensuring the quality of underground water and controlling its quantity is of major concern for the population. Therefore, this subject attracts many students from different specialties at different levels of their curriculum. In fact, the pedagogic objectives of the course may be ... Read More

Variation of the Frost Boundary below Road and Railway Embankments in Permafrost Regions in Response to Solar Irradiation and Winds 

N.I. Kömle[1] and W. Feng[2]
[1]Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
[2]State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Lanzhou, China

We present COMSOL solutions for a coupled gas flow and heat transfer problem, which occurs particularly when traffic pathways are constructed in high altitude and arctic regions, where the underground is frozen soil. To avoid melting of the frozen ground (which usually leads to ... Read More

Modeling Contaminant Diffusion in Highly Complex Rock Structures

N. Diaz[1], A. Jakob[1], L. Van Loon[1], and D. Grolimund[2]
[1]Paul Sherrer Institut NES/LES, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
[2]Paul Sherrer Institut NES/SLS, Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Opalinus clay is currently being proposed as a potential host rock for radioactive waste repository in deep geological formation. It is then important for performance assessments to understand the transport properties of such rocks. Clay materials are characterized by low hydraulic ... Read More

Modeling with COMSOL the Interaction Between Subducting Plates and Mantle Flow

J. Rodríguez-González[1], A.M. Negredo[1], P. Petricca[2], and E. Carminati[2][3]


[1]Departamento de Geofísica y Meteorología, Facultad de CC. Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
[2]Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Roma, Italy
[3]Istituto Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria – CNR, Roma, Italy

Subduction processes have great importance as are related to volcanism and earthquake occurrence. Old and cold plates should subduct steeper than younger ones, but the subduction angle is highly variable and does not always correlate with the age of the plates. Some researchers propose a ... Read More

Hydro-Mechanical Coupling in Saturated and Unsaturated Soils and its Consequences on the Electrical Behaviour

G. Della Vecchia[1], R. Cosentini[1], S. Foti[1], and G. Musso[1]

[1]DISTR, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy

The consequences of hydromechanical coupling on the electrical conductivity of saturated and unsaturated soils are investigated experimentally and numerically. Simulations of the consolidation problem under vertical load for an elastic medium and of the coupled flow of two immiscible ... Read More

A Semplified Model for the Evolution of a Geothermal Field

L. Meacci[1], A. Farina[1], F. Rosso[1], I. Borsi[1], M. Ceseri[1], and A. Speranza[1]


[1]Dipartimento di Matematica U. Dini, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy

The problem is to understand how a geothermal field can evolve from a water dominated state into a vapor dominated one. A first answer to this question is given by a simplified mathematical model of the dynamics of a geothermal field in which the geothermal fluid is entirely composed by ... Read More

An Extension of Lauwerier’s Solution for Heat Flow in Saturated Porous Media

S. Saeid[1] and F.B.J. Barends[2]
[1]Technical University of Delft, Delft, The Netherlands
[2]Deltares and TU-Delft, Delft, The Netherlands

One of the crucial topics in this century is sustainable energy. In this respect, the exploitation of geothermal energy from deep hot aquifers becomes opportune. Hence, insight is required in the heat balance of potential aquifer systems. Essential issues are convection, conduction and ... Read More

Radionuclide Transport Through Different Routes Near a Deposition Hole for Spent Nuclear Fuel

V-M.S. Pulkkanen[1]

[1]VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland

Radionuclide transport modeling is a part of the research concerning geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Typically, the transport models near a single deposition hole focus on the reactions of nuclides, while the model geometry and the flow of groundwater are often simplified. In ... Read More

Underground Coal Fire Extinction Model Using Coupled Reactive Heat and Mass Transfer Model in Porous Media

S. Suhendra[1], M. Schmidt[1], and U. Krause[1]
[1]Laboratory II.2: “Flammable Bulk Materials and Dusts, Solid Fuels”, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany

Green house gases emission associated with natural hazard of underground coal seam fire has been recognized as a worldwide problem leading to global warming threat. Therefore, in this paper a model to study underground coal fire is presented and the results will be devoted to strategic ... Read More