The layered shell is a technology that models a 3D geometry using a surface (2D) geometry and an extra dimension (1D) geometry in the through-thickness (or normal) direction. The layered shell technology is sometimes more efficient in terms of computational resources when modeling thin structures such as PCB coils. In a layered shell, the surface geometry is a physical geometry and supposed to be created in the model whereas the extra dimension geometry is a virtual geometry created by the Layered Material and similar nodes. For more details, see the Layered Material in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

In the AC/DC Module, The Electric Currents in Shells Interface and The Electric Currents in Layered Shells Interface as well as some physics features use the layered shell technology.