Deformed Mesh Fundamentals
About Deformed Meshes
A deformed mesh can be useful if the boundaries of your computational domain are moving in time or deform as a function of some parameter. The deformation can also be physics-induced — for example, depending on computed velocities or solid deformation. The point is that a new mesh need not be generated for each configuration of the boundaries — instead, the software perturbs the mesh nodes so they conform with the moved boundaries.
In COMSOL Multiphysics, control the movement of the interior nodes in these ways:
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By propagating the moving boundary displacement throughout the domain to obtain a smooth mesh deformation everywhere. This is done by solving PDEs for the mesh displacements (a Laplace, Winslow, or hyperelastic smoothing PDE, or one borrowed from continuum mechanics) with boundary conditions given by the movement of the boundaries.
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By specifying an explicit formula for the mesh deformation. The formula can make use of other dependent variables, such as the displacement components of structural mechanics.
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By leaving the control of the mesh displacement to a Solid Mechanics interface, which has built-in deformed mesh functionality, or to a multiphysics interface of which Solid Mechanics is part.