Assignment 2: COMSOL Problems

Instructions
• Use COMSOL to solve the following problems.
• Submit your COMSOL files for all the problems.
• In addition, submit one word/PDF file (for all the problems) as a report where your
final answers and/or discussions are provided. You do not need to solve the
problems by hand.
• All the files can be zipped and submitted in the dropbox (Design Problem:
COMSOL)
• The due date is Tuesday, March 16 th at 11:59 pm.

Problem 1
A 2-D metal block of size 50 cm x 50 cm has a circular hole drilled in it (see figure below). The
diameter of the hole is 20 cm. The hole is suddenly exposed to source with 100 oC temperature.
The outer surface of the metal block is insulated.
a) Use COMSOL to observe the temperature field development with time (up to 1000 sec) for 3
different materials - copper, iron, and glass (you can generate three different COMSOL files for
each material). The initial temperature of the block is 15 oC.
b) For each material, generate a plot of temperature against time for any point above the hole and
discuss the results.

Figure for Problem 1

Problem 2
A square plate made of 3 materials (see the figure below), initially at 20 oC, is being heated in an
oven, which is maintained at 500 oC. The diameters of the circles are 8 and 6 cm, and more
information is provided in the figure. Take the properties of the unknown alloy as k = 110 W/m·K,
cp = 380 J/kg·K and ρ = 8530 kg/m 3. Using COMSOL with 3D:
a) Find the average temperature of each metal after 7 minutes.

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b) Find the temperature at the center of the shape and determine how long it takes the center of the
plate to reach 200 oC.
c) Investigate the effects of varying the heat transfer coefficient on the average temperature of each
metal after 7 minutes. Tabulate and generate plots for the temperature of each metal as a function
of h for 80 ≤ h ≤ 150 W/m2.K.

Figure for Problem 2

Problem 3
In a combined heat and power (CHP) generation process, by-product heat is used for domestic or
industrial heating purposes. Hot steam is carried from a CHP generation plant by a tube with
diameter of 127 mm centered at a square cross section solid bar made of concrete with thermal
conductivity of 1.7 W/m·K. The surface temperature of the tube is constant at 120°C, while the
square concrete bar is exposed to air with temperature of –5°C and convection heat transfer
coefficient of 20 W/m 2·K. If the temperature difference between the outer surface of the square
concrete bar and the ambient air is to be maintained at 5°C, use COMSOL (with 3D and steady
state) to determine the width of the square concrete bar.

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Figure for Problem 3