How do you design and conduct experiments to support and complement multiscale and multiphysics simulations?

1 Define your objectives

Before you start designing and conducting experiments, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your simulations. What are the research questions or engineering problems that you are trying to solve? What are the key variables and parameters that affect your system? How do you measure and quantify the outputs and outcomes of your simulations? These objectives will guide you to select the appropriate experimental methods and techniques that can provide the data and information that you need.

2 Choose your experimental scale

One of the main challenges of multiscale and multiphysics simulations is to bridge the gap between different levels of resolution and complexity. For example, you may want to simulate the behavior of a material or a structure that involves atomic, molecular, microstructural, and macroscopic scales. To support and complement your simulations, you need to choose an experimental scale that can capture the relevant features and phenomena of your system. Depending on your objectives, you may need to perform experiments at multiple scales or focus on a specific scale that can provide the most insight.

3 Select your experimental techniques

Once you have chosen your experimental scale, you need to select the experimental techniques that can provide the data and information that you need. There are many types of experimental techniques that can be used for multiscale and multiphysics simulations, such as microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, tomography, mechanical testing, thermal analysis, and so on. You need to consider the advantages and limitations of each technique, such as the resolution, accuracy, sensitivity, cost, time, and safety. You also need to ensure that the experimental techniques are compatible and consistent with your simulation methods and models.

4 Design your experimental setup

After you have selected your experimental techniques, you need to design your experimental setup that can implement them effectively and efficiently. You need to consider the practical aspects of performing the experiments, such as the sample preparation, the equipment configuration, the measurement procedure, the data acquisition, and the data analysis. You need to ensure that your experimental setup can produce reliable and reproducible results that can support and complement your simulations. You also need to plan and optimize your experimental resources, such as the time, budget, and personnel.

5 Conduct your experiments

When you have designed your experimental setup, you are ready to conduct your experiments. You need to follow the experimental protocol that you have established and document the process and the results. You need to check the quality and validity of the data and information that you have obtained and identify any errors or uncertainties. You need to compare and contrast the experimental results with the simulation results and evaluate the agreement and discrepancy. You need to interpret and explain the findings and implications of your experiments and simulations.

6 Communicate your results

The final step of designing and conducting experiments to support and complement multiscale and multiphysics simulations is to communicate your results to your audience. You need to present and report your results in a clear and concise way that can highlight the main points and conclusions of your work. You need to use appropriate formats and media, such as graphs, tables, images, videos, or animations, to illustrate and demonstrate your results. You need to acknowledge the limitations and challenges of your experiments and simulations and suggest possible improvements and extensions for future work.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?