Vasu Venkateshwaran Talks About Accelerating Product Development with COMSOL Server™

In the Business of Selling Materials to Other Companies

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. was established in a basement in 1958. Since then, the organization has grown to an international scale with manufacturing and sales offices in countries around the globe. Throughout the three divisions (fabrics, medical products, and performance solutions), everything they produce has to meet the company’s high quality standard and, as Vasu Venkateshwaran said during his keynote talk at the COMSOL Conference 2017 Boston, the products have to “do what we say they will do — every time.”

The foundation for producing materials that perform to spec is a deep understanding of the customer’s needs and end-use applications. This is where modeling and simulation come into play.

Modeling and Simulation at W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Each division of the organization includes a few people who use modeling and simulation to understand the details and processes behind the technology and to optimize designs. Simulation tools lead to accelerated development because they can both reduce the need for experiments and be used to support experiments for better designs. As a global company, W. L. Gore employs researchers located in the U.S., Germany, and Japan. It’s important that the company coordinates these resources and analytics efficiently, and simulation can help meet that goal.

The work of a new project begins when someone reaches out to the modeling team and says something along the lines of: “I have this material. I want to make a product that will meet this particular customer need. Can you tell me what I can do with it? What’s the best operating point? How can I make this more efficient? What are the deathblows?” The modeling team’s combined expertise includes porous media, optimization, structural mechanics, acoustics, numerical solutions of differential equations, reaction engineering, and fluid flow. They use the COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation software for many of these areas. The simulation expert works with the provided specs to build a model for figuring out the different operating conditions. Next, (s)he wants to give the simulation to the team that initiated the project so they can run it and learn from it. Therein lies a big challenge.

“Our team has some expertise in using the software, but then the engineers we communicate with don’t always necessarily have that background, so we have to make a dissemination of this information that is very easy for them [to understand],” Venkateshwaran explained in his keynote presentation.

Communicating Simulation Information to a Diverse Audience

According to Venkateshwaran, the company used to put a lot of effort into writing custom code and making executables so that engineers didn’t have to install software and were able to use it on their own computer with just a few clicks. This, of course, had limitations. The simulation team would build a model and pass it to someone else, but then they would have no control over or knowledge of who else ended up using the model. This meant that people could be basing critical decisions on a model that was not built for that particular use case. That was very risky for a company known for developing reliable and high-quality products.

Monitoring and Controlling Use: A Big Concern

Thanks to the built-in Application Builder in COMSOL Multiphysics, the simulation engineers can instead produce easy-to-use apps for specific use cases. Venkateshwaran grouped their apps into three different types:

1. Calculators (most frequently used)
2. Design-manipulation tools, where certain factors change based on customer needs
3. Parametric studies for distributing computational load

Venkateshwaran pointed out that the Application Builder allows the simulation experts to include documentation in their apps. This is an important feature to W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. because the app users can know what the app is designed for; how to use it; what information they might need to obtain in advance experimentally (e.g., to find certain properties); as well as how to run any necessary experiments. Another plus is that it’s easy to extend the apps with Java® code to give them more advanced functionality.

All of these apps are then organized, deployed, and monitored via COMSOL Server™, which the company is in the process of moving to a cloud service. To further alleviate the concern regarding incorrect use, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. takes advantage of the ability to set up user groups within COMSOL Server™. Then, they turn to the user logs to facilitate maintaining and monitoring the app use. If an app is only suited for a specific user or scenario, they can restrict it from being misused.

Standardizing Processes and Integrating the Tools on a Global Scale

Since COMSOL Server™ is synched with their network and Windows® Active Directory® directory service, all engineers in the company have access to the apps — no matter where in the world they are located. What’s more, there is no local installation required; you just open up a browser and connect, and you’re ready to use the app. This promotes standardized processes worldwide, as the same tools are used consistently throughout the organization. It is also easy to create new custom apps upon request and keep the different versions organized in the COMSOL Server™ library.

All of this makes for efficient distribution of simulation tools and accelerates product development at W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Don’t take my word for it; watch the keynote video above to hear directly from Vasu Venkateshwaran.

GORE-TEX is a registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates.

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Microsoft, Active Directory, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Expansions to the Application Library

You may notice that all of the add-on products are included in evaluation versions of both COMSOL Multiphysics and COMSOL Server™. For the latest version of the software, the Application Libraries have been expanded to include nearly 60 example apps that you can run, inspect, modify, or copy contents from into your own apps. Some of these apps function as ready-to-use simulations in their own right, whereas others are for demonstrating certain functionality of the Application Builder, or for educational purposes in academia. Let’s take a look at a few of the new example applications.

One of the example apps for microwave engineering is the Single Slot-Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna Array Synthesizer. This app analyzes an antenna array that is fabricated on a multilayered low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) substrate. This app has potential uses for phased antenna array prototypes for 5G mobile networks.

The Microstrip Patch Antenna Array Synthesizer simulation app.

The Absorptive Muffler Designer is used for studying and designing a simple resonant muffler with a porous lining. These devices have acoustical applications in the automotive and HVAC industries. This application is an example of a “dynamic specification sheet” for a given muffler model. A sales engineer can bring this type of simulation app to customers and show them the performance of a custom muffler designed specifically for them. A muffler may, for example, be designed to be placed in a vehicle with spatial constraints. In this case, the performance can be readily visualized and different options can be investigated together with the customer.

The Absorptive Muffler Designer app.

For structural analysis, the Beam Section Calculator app computes steel beam section properties for a broad range of American and European standard beams. The app also calculates a detailed stress distribution over the cross section of the beam given a set of forces and moments acting on it.

The Beam Section Calculator app’s user interface.

For heat transfer analysis, you can use the Cooling Finned Pipe Designer to customize a long cylindrical pipe with predefined inner and outer fins or grooves to observe and evaluate their cooling effects. Finned pipes are used for coolers, heaters, and heat exchangers to increase thermal performance.

The Cooling Finned Pipe Designer example app.

The example apps are visible in the Application Library page of the COMSOL Server™ web interface. During the installation process, the installer lets you choose if you wish to install the example apps or not. For a production installation, you may only want to show your proprietary apps.

The Application Library view in the COMSOL Server™ web interface.

Launch and Reconnect in a Browser or Client

On the COMSOL Server™ Application Library page, each app has a card with two menu options: Launch in Browser and Launch in COMSOL Client. The Launch in Browser option will start the app on the server and then show its user interface in a separate browser tab. This option has been available since the first release of COMSOL Server™.

The Membrane Dialysis app, run in a web browser.

The Launch in COMSOL Client option is new with version 5.2 and lets you open the app in a separate window with the look and feel of the COMSOL Desktop. In other words, even if you are browsing to the COMSOL Server™ interface from a web browser, you can now run the app in the COMSOL Client. If you didn’t already install the COMSOL Client, it will prompt you to download and install it. The COMSOL Client for Windows® is available as a free download.

The new option for launching an app in the COMSOL Client for Windows®.

The Membrane Dialysis app, run in the COMSOL Client for Windows®.

If, for some reason, you lost connection to an app, you can now reconnect to it on the fly. This could happen if you lose your network connection to the COMSOL Server™ installation, for example, or if you just want to change the computer from which you log into COMSOL Server™. You can, for example, log in and start running an app at work, close the user interface (the client), go home, and log into COMSOL Server™ again and continue with your app session where you left off.

The new options for reconnecting to an already running application.

You may ask: When I run an app with COMSOL Server™, where are all of the computations taking place? The answer is that all of the heavy computations take place server-side, with only the user interface components running in the web browser or the COMSOL Client. Whenever you change an input parameter and click on a button that requires recomputing or remeshing, the heavy work is done on the computer where the COMSOL Server™ installation resides. This could be locally on your computer, but more commonly, somewhere else on your network or possibly in a remote location in the world. It all depends on where you choose to install COMSOL Server™ or if you decide to connect to an already existing COMSOL Server™ installation.

For a COMSOL Server™ installation with many users, you can choose to run secondary servers. This means that the workload of running the applications can be distributed across several physical computers. This load balancing is taken care of automatically by the primary COMSOL Server™ installation. The users running the applications still only need to log into the primary server.

The only “computation” taking place client-side, in a web browser or the COMSOL Client, is the graphics rendering. All graphics rendering is performed locally in order to utilize hardware acceleration, if available. Even web browsers nowadays support sophisticated interactive 3D graphics out of the box, using a standard called WebGL™.

Faster Launches with Preloaded Apps

Apps are much faster to launch in version 5.2 thanks to a new way of allowing COMSOL Server™ to preload apps in the background. There are two different methods for preloading. The first method is to select a set of important apps that should always be preloaded. The second method is to set the number of recently run apps that should be preloaded. These two methods can also be combined. Launching preloaded apps can be up to five times faster than in previous versions.

The administrator preferences for preloading apps for faster launch times.

The administrator view of prelaunched application processes.

Focused Apps Upon Login

COMSOL Server™ can now be configured to be a “one-app server”. This is very useful if you plan to use a COMSOL Server™ installation for the purpose of running a single dedicated app. As an administrator, you can configure which app to run from the Administrator Preferences page.

The new setting for launching an application directly upon login.

When configured in this way, a nonadministrative user will never see the Application Library page. Instead, the dedicated app will be launched directly upon login. The app that is selected to run on login will always be preloaded to make sure that it starts as soon as possible.

How Does a COMSOL Server™ License Work?

How does a COMSOL Server™ license work in comparison to a traditional COMSOL Multiphysics license? With regards to the license management of a COMSOL Server™ license, a FlexNet® license manager is used just like a traditional floating network license. This license manager can run locally on your computer or anywhere else in your organization. The COMSOL Server™ license then lets you use standard web technology to connect to your COMSOL Server™ installation.

COMSOL Server™ uses the same computational engine that is used in COMSOL Multiphysics. In addition to the computational engine, a COMSOL Server™ installation also includes a web server software component. For your colleagues to connect to your COMSOL Server™ installation, you just send them its web address, which will bring them to the login page and then the Application Library page. You can even give them direct access to a dedicated app by sending them a link, such as http://my-company.example.com/app/absorptive_muffler. This will bring them to the app directly, rather than to the Application Library page.

What about a case where you only want a local installation and you want to use COMSOL Server™ on a computer that may not even be connected to a network? This case is particularly simple. The COMSOL Server™ installation, including its web server component, will run on your local computer. You connect to it from a browser or COMSOL Client that is also running on the same computer. In this case, you use a local web address, such as http://localhost:2036/app/absorptive_muffler, where 2036 is the so-called port number. With version 5.2, you are able to access the capabilities of COMSOL Server™ anywhere, even within the boundaries of a single computer!

Further Reading on COMSOL Server™ Version 5.2

• Read more about the updates included with version 5.2 of COMSOL Multiphysics and COMSOL Server™.

1. Create Apps for Coworkers and Customers

As a simulation expert, there are times when a coworker needs you to repeatedly run a simulation for a project with minor changes. With the Application Builder tool in the COMSOL Multiphysics® software, you can create a specialized version of your model in the form of an app and deploy it to colleagues via COMSOL Server™. This enables those without your level of simulation expertise to make easy changes to the model on their own time. It saves time and resources and avoids bottlenecking in the research and development branch of your organization.

The user interface of the Application Builder for an Ion Implanter Evaluator app.

For example, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in the United Kingdom uses apps to enhance processes throughout their organization and optimize the process for their specific 3D printing technique. With the Application Builder and COMSOL Server™, MTC was able to build and deploy their additive manufacturing app with other members of their team to test their designs and further improve their 3D printing process.

You can also deploy apps to colleagues on the sales and customer support side of your organization to use with customers as a demo tool. For instance, simulation engineers at Parade Technologies create apps for their R&D colleagues to better design touchscreens for electronic devices. They also create apps for their customer support team, which lets them run a simulation for a particular customer’s needs without requiring the know-how to properly set up a complex model.

2. Enhance Your Model

The Application Builder tools are packaged in a tidy user interface to make building apps an enjoyable experience. Because apps are built with the Java® programming language, you can take advantage of certain features that are not available in the Model Builder. Therefore, by building an app for yourself, you can enhance your own simulation.

Consider the Wavelength Tunable LED demo app, one of many examples included with the Application Builder to help get you started building your own apps. In this example, you are able to build a fully functional simulation of an LED and add more features. For instance, you can add a color display window to the app that gives immediate feedback on the color emission of the LED based on different inputs.

Certain apps, such as the Wavelength Tunable LED example shown here, include special features that enhance the model.

3. Request Feedback from Someone Without a COMSOL Multiphysics® Software License

Getting feedback on your project from an expert in a certain field becomes difficult if that expert doesn’t have a COMSOL Multiphysics® software license to open, inspect, and run your simulation. With the Application Builder, you can build an app of your project and instead use COMSOL Server™ to provide access to the expert. Your peer will then be able to open and run the app to analyze your project and give specific feedback.

Deploying apps with COMSOL Server™ is secure: You control who sees each app and which apps each person can access.

The COMSOL Server™ license enables you to deploy apps to people anywhere in the world, through a browser.

4. Put a Project Aside for Later

Simulation engineers often have to juggle multiple projects at a time with ever-changing priorities. If you fall into this category of jumping from model to model, an app can come in handy.

Store the most important aspects of your model in an app to help remember which aspects to focus on when you return to that project. The longer the project is on ice, the more helpful the app will become.

An app created from a model can be used to remember details of a simulation for later use. Shown here: The Plasmonic Wire Grating Analyzer demo app.

5. Use Apps for Teaching and Learning

A common challenge for educators is how to simplify complex ideas to hasten the learning process. When students use simulation software to learn finite element analysis, they must first learn how to use the software itself. With the Application Builder, teachers can create specialized apps to focus the students’ attention on the important aspects of the model — the physics.

You could simplify a model to introduce students to a concept or make a more complex app to challenge students. A more detailed example of this use case can be found in this previous blog post on the Tubular Reactor app.

While in school, physics and engineering students need to hone their simulation skills. However, the steep learning curve for complex simulation software can be a challenge. With the Application Builder tool in COMSOL Multiphysics, professors can create apps to teach their students basic modeling skills in a shorter amount of time.

The Tubular Reactor app is an example of giving students the opportunity to learn chemical reaction engineering in an interactive way.

6. Link a Simulation to Legacy Code

Established companies often develop their own code and programs, and some of this code is over 25 years old. A significant amount of work is done on these programs, called legacy codes, which are often command-line driven and not very graphical.

With the Application Builder, you can create an app that uses the functionality of these codes but has a more user-friendly interface. The Application Builder supports external Java® and C libraries. This capability ensures that new employees at a company will still be able to use the older code years down the road. In essence, the Application Builder preserves legacy code, makes it more accessible and simple, and also allows you to improve upon its functionality by adding more features.

7. Your Next Project!

These are just some of the many ways to use the Application Builder and COMSOL Server™, but there are few limits when combining the two. You may have a different idea on how to enhance your next simulation project using these tools.

Let’s Get Started…

If you want to learn more about the Application Builder and COMSOL Server™, please contact us so we can help you evaluate the software.

You can also consult these resources for more ways to start spreading the power of multiphysics simulation:

• Browse all blog posts about building and using apps
• Read a blog post introducing the COMSOL Server™ license
• Watch a video on how to build and run apps

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

What Is COMSOL Server™?

COMSOL Server™ is a powerful tool that enables you to share simulations.

It all starts with COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software. As a simulation expert, you can create the simulations you need with COMSOL Multiphysics and transform these into apps with the Application Builder. You can include only information relevant to the user and exclude anything unnecessary. This way, the users of your streamlined application will have an easier interface in which to work.

Before others can take advantage of your application, they will need access to it. This is where COMSOL Server™ comes into play.

The person responsible for distributing the applications will buy a capacity of licenses for each app user. Depending on your situation, these could be customers, engineers, factory workers, or anyone who is not a COMSOL Multiphysics user but could make use of the simulations. For example, if you have four engineers who need to use your app, you would buy four COMSOL Server™ licenses. Now each engineer is able to run your app — and as many as three other apps at the same time.

Why Should I Use COMSOL Server™?

The opportunities are limitless with COMSOL Server™. What you make is up to you. No matter what you create, COMSOL Server™ simplifies the distribution process of your simulation apps.

Before COMSOL Server™, only those knowledgeable in COMSOL Multiphysics could run simulations using our software. The task of reworking the simulation when new data was discovered and sharing the new results fell on the simulation engineer. Now you can create an app that allows people without simulation knowledge to do the work themselves.

Let’s say you are a simulation expert and work at a company that builds cars. Using your expertise in COMSOL Multiphysics, you create apps based on the models you use most. One day, your company decides to create an innovative electric car. The engineers want to look into different metals and alloys for the frame, but they may not have the simulation expertise to work in COMSOL Multiphysics. Instead, they can simply open up COMSOL Server™ and filter apps to search for what they need. In this case, they would look for an app in the materials category. After choosing the application they want, they can simulate how different materials affect the car frame. If they use this application often, they can favorite the app for even easier access.

With COMSOL Server™, you can share an app that empowers the people using it to get the results themselves. This saves time and allows knowledge and expertise to spread more easily between different team members, departments, and companies.

Brief Introduction to Using COMSOL Server™

COMSOL Server™ is very versatile. It can be used to access simulation apps on your computer as well as on other devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This lets you take your app with you wherever you go. There are two main ways to run applications with COMSOL Server™:

1. In a web browser
2. In COMSOL Client

Let’s review both options next.

Running COMSOL Server™ in a Web Browser

Running COMSOL Server™ in a web browser has many advantages. You can access it on most of the major web browsers, including Google Chrome™ browser, Firefox® browser, Safari® browser, and Internet Explorer® browser. This means that you can take your app anywhere and use it on different kinds of devices without having to download anything.

There are a few downsides, though. When running COMSOL Server™ on a browser, you won’t have access to some features such as LiveLink™ products for CAD software. Additionally, smartphones and tablets may have further limitations. These are all things to consider when choosing the best method for you.

To run an application in a web browser, you click on a link that someone gave you or directly enter the web address of a COMSOL Server™ web interface into the address bar of your browser. The address will typically be the computer name and port number of the web interface. For instance, if the port number was 2036, you would enter your information as follows:

From this screen, you need to log in to access your Application Library page. Upon doing so, you will see a list of the available apps in your library. Simply choose the application you want to run and click on the Launch button to open it in a new tab, as seen below.

Running COMSOL Server™ in COMSOL Client

An alternative to using a web browser is COMSOL Client for Windows® operating system. This product can be downloaded by itself or installed together with COMSOL Server™. COMSOL Client runs in Windows® and gives you superior graphics performance and the ability to use LiveLink™ products. Do note that this method can only be used with Windows®.

To run an application using this method, open COMSOL Server™ and enter your user information.

This will take you to the same Application Library page, as we saw when following the web browser option. The only difference is that this method will make any app that you run look like a Windows program. Now you have full access to your Application Library and simply have to select an app to use.

Next Steps

Once logged into COMSOL Server™, you can filter your apps to find whatever you’re looking for. If one app is particularly important for your work, favorite it. As an administrator, you can monitor your license and control who can access your apps.

There’s a lot you can do with COMSOL Server™. Check out the product page and watch this archived webinar to learn more.