Getting Started with

COMSOL Multiphysics
Presented By Mechanical Engineer: Loubna Khaled

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 Stresses and Strains in a Wrench
• This tutorial demonstrates how to set up a simple static structural analysis. The
analysis is exemplified on a combination wrench during the application of torque
on a bolt.
• Despite its simplicity, and the fact that very few engineers would run a structural
analysis before trying to turn a bolt, the example provides an excellent overview
of structural analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics.

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 Stresses and Strains in a Wrench

• The bolt’s fixed constraint is at the cross-section shown below. A load is applied at
the box end of the combination wrench.

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 Stresses and Strains in a Wrench
• Classical beam theory – idealizing the wrench as a cantilever beam to compute the
maximum bending stress.
• The computed maximum stress will be compared to the simulation results.

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Steps To Build A COMSOL Multiphysics
Project
 Program Setup (Initialization)
 Defining Parameters
 Building Geometry
 Defining Materials
 Defining Physics
 Defining Mesh
 Configuring Study
 Postprocessing The Results
 Report Generation
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 Program Setup (Initialization)
We start with choosing File>New, In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.
from Model choose Model Wizard

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 Program Setup (Initialization)
In the Select physics tree, select In the Select study tree, select
Structural Mechanics>Solid General
Mechanics (solid) >Add>Study. Studies>Stationary>Done

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 Defining Parameters
In the Settings window for
On the Model Builder toolbar, click Parameters, locate the Parameters
Parameters. section.
In the table, enter the following
settings Expressi Value Description
Name
on
F 100 [N] 150 N Applied force

Length 0.12 [m]

M F*Length Moment
c h/2
b 0.001778[ Width
m]
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I b*h^3/12 Moment of
inertia
 Building Geometry
On the Home toolbar, click Import In the Settings window for Import,
locate the Import section.
Click Browse

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 Building Geometry

 Program Files> COMSOL >

COMSOL61>Multiphysics>
Applications
>COMSOL_Multiphysics>Structura
l_Mechanics> wrench.mphbin
 Click Build all Objects
 Click the Zoom Extents button on
the Graphics toolbar.

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 Defining Materials
Go to the Add Material window.
On the Home toolbar, click Add
In the tree, select Built-In>Structural
Material to open the Add Material
steel.
window.
Click Add to Component in the
window toolbar.

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 Defining Physics
Fixed Constraint Boundary Load
• On the Physics toolbar, click • On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries
Boundaries and choose Fixed and choose Boundary Load.
Constraint. • Select Boundary 111 only.
• Select Boundary 35 only. • In the Settings window for Boundary Load,
locate the Force section.
• From the Load type list, choose Total
force.
• Specify the Ftot vector as

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 Defining Mesh

 In the Model Builder window,

under Component 1 (comp1) click
Mesh 1.
 In the Settings window for Mesh,
locate the Mesh Settings section.
 From the Element size list, choose
Finer.
 Click Build All.

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 Configuration Study

On the Study toolbar, click Compute.

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 Postprocessing The Results – Von
Mises Stress
The problem is solved for static structural
analysis to visualize the stress and strain.
The image demonstrates the von Mises
Stress in the wrench when a force is
applied on one end along with the
displacement of the wrench from its
original geometry.
To change the unit to MPa:
• In the Model Builder window, expand
the Stress (solid) node, then click
Surface 1.
• In the Settings window for Surface,
locate the Expression section.
• From the Unit list, choose MPa. 01/06/2025 15

• On the Stress (solid) toolbar, click Plot.

 Postprocessing The Results– First
Principle Strain
The strain induced in the wrench is
visualized in the image shown along with
the deformation of the geometry from the
baseline model.
• On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot
Group and choose 3D Plot Group.
• In the Model Builder window, right-click
3D Plot Group 2 and choose Surface.
• In the Settings window for Surface, click
Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expression section. From
the menu, choose Model>Component
1>Solid Mechanics> Strain>Principal
strains>solid.ep1 - First principal strain.
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• On the 3D Plot Group 2 toolbar, click Plot.
Postprocessing The Results– First Principle
Stress
• On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot
Group and choose 3D Plot Group.
• In the Model Builder window, right-
click 3D Plot Group 3 and choose
Surface.
• In the Settings window for Surface,
click Replace Expression in the upper-
right corner of the Expression section.
From the menu, choose
Model>Component 1>Solid
Mechanics> Stress>Principal
stresses>solid.sp1 - First principal
stress.
• On the 3D Plot Group 3 toolbar, click 01/06/2025 17

Plot.
 Postprocessing The Results

• Pay attention to the small moment around

the x-axis, causing the socket to twist
around the x-axis which is not taken into
account by the hand computation.
• This highlights the importance of the
simulation to present the real-life scenario
and to be more accurate than hand and
mathematical computations.

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 Report Generation

COMSOL Multiphysics offers a great tool

to generate a report for your project, it
can be:
• Brief Report
• Intermediate Report
• Complete Report
• Customized Report
It depends of the level of detail you want
to include in your report.
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 Report Generation

• After defining the type of report you

want, you name it, specify the
format needed, and edit all features
you want to show.
• You can preview the report to make
sure you have the right formatting.
• After making sure everything is as
needed you can generate the report
and share it to prove the validity of
your work.
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 Next Week’s Assignment

• You have to solve all the exercises of Chapter 3: Model Examples for Flexible
Structures, Parts, and Assembly for the Book COMSOL5 for Engineers and submit
the COMSOL files with the generated reports on Teams.
• Next week we will ask a student to present the new ideas he learned from the
assignment in the Structural Mechanics Module.

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Thank You and Good
Luck!

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