Ansoft Tools Couple with ANSYS for Real-world Simulation

By DE Editors

ANSYS, Inc. has announced a milestone in coupling ANSYS and Ansoft products, successfully performing multiphysics simulations that involve electromagnetic applications. As electronics become more embedded into automotive, aerospace, industrial and consumer products, engineers must consider factors such as the circuitry’s ability to withstand vibration shocks, heat generation, and electromagnetic interference.

In performing several case studies, ANSYS engineers deployed the electromagnetic effects determined by Ansoft software directly in ANSYS thermal and structural simulation. Work is ongoing to fully integrate Ansoft software directly into the ANSYS Workbench platform for future bidirectional and seamless operation.

For example, a high-power electronic connector used in a military radar application to connect a transmitter to an antenna must be engineered from electromagnetic, thermal, and structural perspectives to ensure success. The simulation was performed by coupling Ansoft’s HFSS software with the ANSYS Workbench environment. Engineers used HFSS to ensure that the device was transmitting in the proper path by calculating the high-frequency electromagnetic fields, power loss density distribution, and S-parameters. In such high-power applications, it is critical to determine the temperature distribution to ensure the device stays below temperatures that cause material failure, such as melting. The power loss density results from the HFSS simulation were used as the source for the thermal simulation performed within ANSYS Mechanical software, which simulated the temperature distribution of the device.

In another case, a valve-actuating solenoid application used a coupled ANSYS and Ansoft simulation to analyze temperature distribution. Solenoids are commonly found in automotive starter systems, home appliances, industrial air hammers, and other devices that rely on a sudden burst of power to move a specific part. Maxwell software was used to calculate the power loss from the low-frequency electromagnetic fields within the solenoid. The power loss was used as an input for a thermal simulation performed with ANSYS Mechanical software to determine the temperature profile of the device. Subsequently, the application predicted how the device deformed due to the rise in temperature.

Engineers soon will be able to address electro-thermal-stress problems associated with optimizing state-of-the-art radio frequency (RF) and electromechanical components including antennas, actuators, power converters, and printed circuit boards (PCBs), according to the company.

For more information, visit ANSYS, Inc.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.