Thermal Actuator — Parameterized

Application ID: 8493


This tutorial model of a two-hot-arm thermal actuator couples three different physics phenomena: electric current conduction, heat conduction with heat generation, and structural stresses and strains due to thermal expansion.

The model exists in three versions:

  • Joule Heating of a Microactuator (thermal_actuator_jh.mph): In this model version, only the currents and temperatures are computed, while the deformation is ignored. Only the COMSOL Multiphysics license is required.

  • Thermal Actuator (thermal_actuator_tem.mph): In this model version, a fully coupled electrical-thermal-structural analysis is performed. A license for either the Structural Mechanics Module or the MEMS Module is required.

  • Thermal Actuator - Parameterized (thermal_actuator_tem_parameterized.mph): This model is identical to the previous, except that the geometry is parameterized so that the effect of varying the actuator's dimensions can be analyzed. A license for either the Structural Mechanics Module or the MEMS Module is required.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: