Case Study: CompuToolAble advances historic preservation with COMSOL Multiphysics

CompuToolAble predicts wall temperature and humidity changes with COMSOL

CompuToolAble, a consulting firm founded by Jos van Schijndel, specializes in the mathematical modeling of building physics to improve the built environment and preserve historic structures. Their challenge was making complex multiphysics simulations accessible to clients who are not simulation experts and to students learning the subject. To address this, they partnered with Comsol and leveraged its COMSOL Multiphysics® software and Application Builder to create customized simulation apps.

The solution implemented by Comsol enabled CompuToolAble to build intuitive user interfaces that allow clients and students to run virtual tests easily without needing to build models from scratch. This facilitated the analysis of heat transfer, air flow, and moisture transport to predict and mitigate damage to historic buildings and artifacts. The results included precise predictions of temperature and humidity distributions, allowing for better preservation efforts, such as identifying optimal locations to hang paintings to avoid solar heating damage and deducing the sources of moisture intrusion.

CompuToolAble