The New Engineering Imperative for Electrification
As industries worldwide race toward electrification, a fundamental challenge has emerged: traditional prototyping methods are increasingly inadequate for complex energy systems. What functions perfectly as a laboratory prototype often fails under real-world conditions, particularly when dealing with the intricate interplay of electromagnetic, thermal, and structural forces. This prototyping gap has elevated multiphysics simulation from a luxury to an essential component of electrification research and development, with recent multiphysics simulation advances demonstrating unprecedented capabilities in modeling complete systems rather than isolated phenomena.
“In electrification, at its core, you have this combination of electromagnetic effects, heat transfer, and structural mechanics in a complicated interplay,” explains Bjorn Sjodin, senior vice president of product management at COMSOL. This Stockholm-based software company has pioneered simulation platforms that simultaneously calculate multiple physical parameters, enabling engineers to model complex systems like wireless charging apparatuses with unprecedented accuracy. The significance of these developments extends beyond individual companies, as regulatory partnerships worldwide are increasingly recognizing the importance of advanced simulation in meeting electrification targets.
Beyond Single-Physics Limitations
Traditional engineering simulation typically focused on individual physical phenomena—electromagnetic behavior, thermal characteristics, or structural integrity examined in isolation. Multiphysics modeling represents a paradigm shift by simulating all pertinent physics simultaneously under real-world operating conditions. This holistic approach has proven particularly valuable in battery development, where complex behaviors emerge across different scales.
“I think when it comes to batteries, there is another attraction when it comes to simulation,” says Niloofar Kamyab, a chemical engineer and applications manager at COMSOL. “It’s multi-scale—how batteries can be studied across different scales. You can get in-depth analysis that, if not very hard, I would say is impossible to do experimentally.” This capability becomes increasingly crucial as financial markets respond to the massive investments required for electrification infrastructure.
Thermal Management: The Critical Frontier
Thermal management has emerged as perhaps the most pressing challenge in electrification systems. For battery packs, thermal runaway represents a catastrophic failure mode that multiphysics simulation can help prevent. “Most of the people who do simulations of battery packs, thermal management is one of their primary concerns,” Kamyab notes. “You do this simulation so you know how to avoid it. You recreate a cell that is malfunctioning.”
This simulation capability enables battery engineers to safely test designs under extreme conditions that would be dangerous or impractical to recreate physically. The approach has proven equally valuable in wireless charging systems, where higher power levels create unique thermal challenges. “At higher power levels, localized heating of the coil changes its conductivity,” explains Nirmal Paudel, a lead engineer at Veryst Engineering. This thermal effect can cascade through the entire system, altering circuit behavior and the performance of surrounding components.
Innovative Applications Across Industries
The transportation sector exemplifies how multiphysics simulation is enabling novel approaches to electrification. “For trucks, people are investigating, Should we use batteries? Should we use fuel cells?” Sjodin says. “Fuel cells are very multiphysics friendly—fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reactions, and electrochemical reactions.”
Perhaps the most innovative applications are emerging in hybrid battery systems. Berlin-based automotive engineering company IAV has developed powertrain systems that integrate multiple battery formats and chemistries in a single pack. “Sodium ion cannot give you the energy that lithium ion can give,” Kamyab explains. “So they came up with a blend of chemistries, to get the benefits of each, and then designed a thermal management that matches all the chemistries.”
Jakob Hilgert, a technical consultant at IAV, described how multiphysics simulation enabled the design of a dual-chemistry battery pack combining sodium-ion cells with more expensive lithium solid-state batteries. “If we have some cells that can operate at high temperatures and some cells that can operate at low temperatures, it is beneficial to take the exhaust heat of the higher-running cells to heat up the lower-running cells, and vice versa,” Hilgert said. This thermal synergy approach represents a significant advancement in battery management systems.
Electric Motors and Power Conversion Evolution
Electric motor development has particularly benefited from multiphysics approaches. According to electrical engineer and COMSOL senior application engineer Vignesh Gurusamy, traditional development methods are proving insufficient for modern requirements. “The recent surge in electrification across diverse applications demands a more holistic approach as it enables the development of new optimal designs,” Gurusamy says.
GPU accelerators and surrogate models are enabling dramatic improvements in electric motor capabilities and efficiencies. Even seemingly simple components like stator windings provide optimization opportunities through multiphysics simulation. “A primary frontier in electric motor development is pushing power density and efficiency to new heights, with thermal management emerging as a key challenge,” Gurusamy explains. “Multiphysics models that couple electromagnetic and thermal simulations incorporate temperature-dependent behavior in stator windings and magnetic materials.”
Transforming Wireless Charging and Grid Infrastructure
Wireless charging technology is undergoing its own revolution through multiphysics simulation. “Traditional design cycles tweak coil geometry,” Paudel says. “Today, integrated multiphysics platforms enable exploration of new charging architectures,” including flexible charging textiles and smart surfaces that adapt in real-time.
The electric grid itself represents perhaps the most complex multiphysics challenge. “The grid is designed for a continuous supply of power,” Sjodin notes. “So when you have power sources like wind and solar shutting off and on all the time, you have completely new problems.” These challenges are particularly relevant as technology education initiatives worldwide prepare the next generation of engineers to tackle electrification’s complexities.
The Future of Electrification Through Simulation
According to Sjodin, algorithmic and hardware improvements are multiplying together to enable simulation of increasingly realistic systems. This progression is critical as battery technology continues its rapid evolution toward higher power densities and lower price points.
“The reason that many ideas that we had 30 years ago are becoming a reality is now we have the batteries to power them,” Kamyab observes. “That was the bottleneck for many years. As we continue to push battery technology forward, who knows what new technologies and applications we’re making possible next.”
From electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft to grid-scale energy storage, multiphysics simulation is proving indispensable for navigating the complex interplay of physical forces that characterize modern electrification systems. As these simulation capabilities continue advancing, they promise to accelerate the global transition to electrified technologies across virtually every sector of the economy.
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