The Optimization Interface

The interface (

) contains tools for setting up advanced optimization problems. The main purpose of the interface is its ability to set up objective functions, constraint contributions, and control variables that are defined locally only on certain geometric entities, as well as least-squares contribution with a time or parameter dependence.

You can define objective functions and constraints in terms of control and solution variables (the latter are given as the solution to the differential equations defined by the multiphysics model) and restrict these to specific geometric entities, or make them globally available. The Optimization interface itself does not have any geometry selection and is not associated with any particular space dimension. Instead you find the same set of feature nodes for domains, boundaries, edges and points.

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Optimization Theory

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Common Physics Interface and Feature Settings and Nodes in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

Settings

The is the default physics interface name.

The is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern <name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and underscores (_) are permitted in the field. The first character must be a letter.

The default (for the first physics interface in the model) is opt.

Optimization Toolbar

The following nodes are available from the ribbon toolbar (Windows users), context menu (Mac or Linux users), or right-click to access the context menu (all users).


	For step-by-step instructions and general documentation descriptions, this is the Optimization toolbar. Subnodes are available by clicking the parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.