Nature-Inspired Surfaces and Engineering Applications Using COMSOL Multiphysics®

R. C. Thiagarajan [1], P. Asutosh[1],
[1] ATOA Scientific Technologies Pvt Ltd, Whitefield, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Published in 2016

Engineering design has long been dominated by orthogonal Cartesian principles. Nature inspired equation based mathematical surfaces are under renewed interest due to their innovative design potential and practical viability by 3D printing. In this paper, the parametric surface modelling feature of COMSOL Multiphysics® is leveraged for developing engineering structures from equation based mathematical surfaces. The ability of parametric model for creating and visualizing complex shapes is detailed. Mathematical surfaces such as, Fresnel’s Wave, Klein, and Gyroid surface and applications are elaborated with surface to engineering applications link. As the 3D printing industry is growing from small scale to mainstream product manufacturing, equation based surface models will enable 3D printable innovative engineering applications.