Thermal–Electric–Structural Interaction
The Joule Heating and Thermal Expansion Interface
enables thermal–electric–structural interaction. This is a combination of three physics interfaces: Solid Mechanics, Heat Transfer in Solids, and Electric Currents.
The thermal-electric coupling is bidirectional, with Joule heating and temperature-dependent electrical properties, while the temperature coupling to the Solid Mechanics interface is unidirectional.
By default, COMSOL Multiphysics takes advantage of the one-way dependence and solves the problem sequentially using the segregated solver. Temperature and electric potential are solved using a coupled approach and then the stress-strain analysis uses the computed temperature field from the heat transfer equation.
Using a single iteration does not produce a correct result if there are thermal properties or electrical that depend on the displacements, making the thermal-structure part into a bidirectional coupling.
