CST STUDIO SUITE

Low Frequency Electromagnetic

Design and Simulation
In the world of electromagnetic and electromechanical design, state-of-the-art Finite Element simulation is
critical to the virtual testing of new concepts and optimization of existing designs. This enables a reduction in
the number of costly prototypes and offers the engineer an insight into the behavior of the magnetic field which
complements, rather than competes with, test and measurement. CST EM STUDIO® (CST EMS) is a specialist
tool for the static and low frequency simulation, design and analysis of electromagnetic devices. Applications
covered include electrical machines, electromechanical components, sensors, power electronic components,
power engineering and industrial equipment.

LAPP 400 kV Double Tension Set QATAR

Low frequency problems inherently require many physical mod- A key factor in the effective use of simulation in electromagnetic
els and simulation techniques for handling non-linear material design is the efficiency with which such a tool may be used in a com-
properties, permanent magnetic, eddy currents, power loss calcu- mercial/industrial environment. Effective simulation tools therefore
lation, open boundaries and so on. Sometimes, simple approaches need to offer a balance between user-friendliness and flexibility.
to complex problems can be successfully applied such as the use To facilitate this, CST EM STUDIO supports:
of electrostatic solutions to aid in the estimation of a breakdown
risk in high voltage equipment. ó Complex model creation and import
ó Fast and efficient multi-grid solvers
Full-wave solutions, whereby the full range of Maxwell’s equations ó Mesh adaption for reliable results
are solved, are required for applications such as proximity sensors ó Advanced techniques such as open boundaries and
where inductive and capactive effects require modeling. On the surface impedance approximation
other hand, effcient solutions may be obtained when displace- ó Automatic and flexible post-processing
ment currents can be safely neglected. In this case, electro- and
magneto-quasi-static solvers offer rapid and memory-efficient so-
lutions. Transient phenomena may also arise in, for example, non
destructive testing sensors and can be succesfully simulated with
transient eddy current solvers.

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Power Engineering Electromagnetic Sensors

CST EM STUDIO can be successfully applied to the simulation of Sensors are used in systems such as encoders, input devices and
devices and components in the energy sector. A common require- non-destructive eddy current testing devices to detect numer-
ment is the estimation of dielectric breakdown in equipment such ous phenomena, including proximity, touch, posititon, fuel level,
as switchgear and transformers. Critical to this process is the ef- weather conditions and hidden materials flaws. Electromagnetic
ficiency import and modification of complex CAD models, applica- field simulation may be applied to devices where hall-effect
tion of special curved and higher order elements, and especially transducers are involved or where coils are in use e.g. eddy current
important, the fast and easy extraction of fieldlines data. probes. In the former, permanent magnets are commonly found.
The numerical requirements for sensor simulation may vary from
straightforward electrostatic solutions of touch screen devices
where capacitive effects are involved to full-wave time-harmonic
solutions of proximity sensors in which both inductive and capaci-
tive effects need to be accounted for.

Typical parameters important in, for example, proximity sensor

design, include complex impedance, Q-factor and the Q-sensitivity
as a function of frequency and sensor/target position. These may be
automatically extracted from full-wave simulation results.

Simulation of a measurement system for a gradiometer used in proximity applications

Geometry and fieldines of a transformer terminal lead

Courtesy of Dr. Beriz Bakia, PTD Transformers, Siemens AG, Nuremberg, Germany One application of the full-wave time-harmonic solver is to visual-
ize the electromagnetic field generated by the Helmholtz coils in a
newly designed measurement system of a gradiometer sensor at
Losses and forces in bus bar systems may also be calculated and 1 MHz. Simulation with CST EMS can reveal the presence of high
exported for thermal and structural mechanics simulation in CST electric fields which render accurate measurement impossible. This
MPHYSICS® STUDIO (CST MPS) or third party tools. Surface imped- effect can only be seen in simulation which was then successfully
ance aids in the accurate and efficient modeling of skin effect. applied to the development of a broken cage shielding arrangement.

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Electromechanical Components Power Electronics

Actuators, solenoids and circuit breakers can all be simulated with With increasing demands on the performance of power electronic
CST EMS. An important requirement for such applications is the components, optimal thermal characteristics is a critical require-
need to accurately calculate the electromagnetic forces such me- ment. The CST MPS thermal solver can import winding and core
chanical devices may consist of coils, solid bus bar conductors and/ losses obtained from CST EM STUDIO simulations. This coupled
or permanent magnets. With the powerful integrated parameteri- EM-Thermal approach has been used to determine the temperature
sation and post-processing modules in CST EMS, the force charac- rise in a power choke in a solar inverter system.
terics can be extracted from the simulation.

DC current flow in an industrial circuit breaker

Model courtesy of Bticino, Sp.A, Italy

Equivalent circuits can be extracted for use in CST DESIGN STUDIO™

(CST DS) or external system level circuit simulators. For this pur-
pose, non-linear inductances, energy and co-energy and flux link-
ages are automatically provided.

Circuit co-simulation

CST DS set-up of a multi-domain simulation of a solenoid system coupling the

electric, magnetic and mechanical domains for dynamic studies

Loss distribution in a power choke operating at 18.8KHz

Courtesy of Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration IZM.[1]

[1]
As part of SOlar project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant

agreement no 16N10943

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CST EM STUDIO – Features

ó Powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use user interface

ó CAD import, automatic healing, structure modification (Pro/E, CATIA, STEP, DXF)
ó Robust automatic meshing with manual mesh control
ó State-of-the-art multi-grid solver technology
ó Statics
ó Time-Harmonic Quasi-/Full Wave-Solvers
ó Transient Magnetoquasistatic
ó Direct and iterative solvers
ó Higher order elements for increased accuracy
ó Curved elements
ó Infinite elements for open boundary modeling in Electrostatic solvers
ó Surface Impedance for modeling skin effect in time-harmonic magnetoquasistatic solutions
ó 2D Cartesian and axisymmetric Magnetostatic Solver
ó Non-linear DC current flow solver
ó Automatic adaptive mesh refinement
ó Fully integrated optimization and parameterization modules
ó Global and local optimization methods - Trust Region, Nelder-Mead Simplex, Genetic, Particle Swarm
ó Automatic calculation of force, torque, inductance, capacitance, flux linkage and induced coil voltages
ó Potential and charge definition
ó Voltage sources, stranded coils, current paths
ó Permanent magnets, nonlinear materials
ó Automatic Post-Processing Template system for manipulation of simulation data
ó Integrated field line visualization and data export
ó Power loss and force density export to CST MPS for thermal and structural mechanics simulation

Electrostatic field results used for the breakdown estimation and analysis in a 24 kV gas insulated ring main unit load break switch
The Pro/E CAD model shown was provided with the permission and courtesy of ABB, Baden-Dätwill, Switzerland

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CST, CST STUDIO SUITE, CST MICROWAVE STUDIO, CST EM STUDIO, CST PARTICLE STUDIO, CST CABLE STUDIO, CST PCB STUDIO, CST
MPHYSICS STUDIO, CST MICROSTRIPES, CST DESIGN STUDIO, PERFECT BOUNDARY APPROXIMATION (PBA), and the CST logo are trademarks
or registered trademarks of CST in North America, the European Union, and other countries. Other brands and their products are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be noted as such.

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