Preprocessing: This includes defining the geometry of the system, selecting the material properties, and applying boundary conditions. For catalytic systems, this might involve specifying the reactor geometry, the properties of the catalyst, and the operating conditions. Meshing: The entire domain is divided into smaller, simpler finite elements. The quality of the mesh can significantly impact the accuracy and computational cost of the simulation. Solving: The governing equations for the physical phenomena (e.g., fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reactions) are solved numerically over the finite elements. Postprocessing: The results are analyzed and visualized. This can include temperature distributions, concentration profiles, and stress fields within the catalytic system.
