Ansys Maxwell Capabilities

Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field Simulation

ANSYS Maxwell is a premier low-frequency electromagnetic field simulation solution which uses the highly accurate finite element method to solve static, frequency-domain, and time-varying electromagnetic and electric fields. Maxwell includes a wide range of solution types for a complete design flow for your electromagnetic and electromechanical devices.

Solvers included with ANSYS Maxwell:

• Magnetic transient — Nonlinear analysis with:
• Rigid motion — rotation, translational, non-cylindrical rotation
• External circuit coupling
• Permanent magnet demagnetization analysis
• Core loss computation
• Lamination modeling including manufacturing process dependency for 2D/3D
• Irreversible temperature dependency on demagnetization of permanent magnets
• Magnetic vector hysteresis
• Magnetoresistive modeling in 2D/3D

• AC electromagnetic — Analysis of devices influenced by skin/ proximity effects, eddy/displacement currents
• Magnetostatic — Nonlinear analysis with automated equivalent circuit model generation
• Electric field — Transient, electrostatic/current flow analysis with automated equivalent circuit model generation

Automatic, Adaptive Meshing

A key benefit of Maxwell is its automatic adaptive meshing techniques, which require you to specify only the geometry, material properties and the desired output to obtain an accurate solution. The meshing process uses a highly robust volumetric meshing technique and includes a multithreading capability that reduces the amount of memory used and accelerates time to solution. This proven technology eliminates the complexity of building and refining a finite element mesh and makes advanced numerical analysis practical for all levels of your organization.

High-Performance Computing

Adding an ANSYS Electronics HPC license to Maxwell opens a world of bigger, faster and higher-fidelity simulations. ANSYS goes well beyond simple hardware acceleration to deliver groundbreaking numerical solvers and HPC methodologies that are optimized for single multicore machines and scalable to take advantage of full cluster power.

HPC in the Cloud
The ANSYS Cloud service makes high-performance computing (HPC) extremely easy to access and use. It was developed in collaboration with Microsoft® Azure™, a leading cloud platform for HPC. It has been integrated into ANSYS Electronics Desktop, so you can access unlimited, on-demand compute power from the design environment. For more information visit the ANSYS Cloud page.

Time Decomposition Method
The Time Decomposition Method delivers computational capacity and speed for the full transient electromagnetic field simulations required for electric motors, planar magnetics and power transformers. This patent-pending technology enables you to solve all time steps simultaneously instead of sequentially, while distributing the time steps across multiple cores, networked computers and compute clusters. The result is a phenomenal increase in simulation capacity and speed.

Multithreading
Take advantage of multiple cores on a single computer to reduce solution time. Multithreading technology speeds up the initial mesh generation, direct and iterative matrix solves, and field recovery.

Spectral Decomposition Method
The majority of electromagnetic simulations require results such as RLC parameters, torque and loss. Spectral decomposition distributes the multiple frequency solution in parallel over compute cores to accelerate frequency sweeps. You can use this method in tandem with multithreading. Multithreading speeds up extraction of each individual frequency point, while spectral decomposition performs many frequency points in parallel.

Multidomain System Modeling

Simplorer is a powerful platform for modeling, simulating and analyzing system-level digital prototypes integrated with ANSYS Maxwell, ANSYS HFSS, ANSYS SIwave, and ANSYS Q3D Extractor. Simplorer enables you to verify and optimize the performance of your software-controlled, multidomain systems. With flexible modeling capabilities and tight integration with ANSYS 3D physics simulation, Simplorer provides broad support for assembling and simulating system-level physical models to help you connect conceptual design, detailed analysis and system verification. Simplorer is ideal for electrified system design, power generation, conversion, storage and distribution applications, EMI/EMC studies and general multidomain system optimization and verification.

Features:

Multiphysics

Maxwell's electromagnetic field solvers are linked through ANSYS Workbench to the complete ANSYS engineering portfolio. By coupling the electromagnetic field solution with other solvers, you can examine coupled physics phenomena and achieve the highest fidelity solution to eliminate reliability problems and design safe and effective products. The ANSYS platform manages the data transfer between physics solutions and handles solver interactions, so you can easily set up and analyze complex coupled-physics behaviors such as:

• Electromagnetic–Structural with deformed mesh feedback
• Electromagnetic–Structural with stress and strain feedback on magnetic properties
• Electromagnetic–Fluids
• Electromagnetic–Structural–Fluids
• Electromagnetic–Structural Dynamics–Acoustics

Harmonic force coupling

The transient 3D solver in ANSYS Maxwell is valuable for achieving the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) goals of low frequency applications such as electric vehicles (EVs), transformers, traction drive trains, pumps, fans, turbomachinery, etc. This transient 3D solver supports element-based volumetric harmonic force coupling for many low frequency applications and improves their design to meet noise regulation guidelines. Maxwell is used for the transient electromagnetic simulation to calculate the forces which are directly mapped to ANSYS Mechanical through ANSYS Workbench for harmonic analysis. Optionally, an acoustic analysis can be performed to study noise. The forces from Maxwell are mapped as force vectors within the volume of the individual mesh elements, allowing a detailed and accurate form of mapping. This is because element-based mapping allows forces to be calculated for individual mesh elements, increasing the accuracy.

Noise, vibration and harshness

ANSYS Maxwell has a significant new capability for noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) analysis of electrical machines and transformers. NVH is an important analysis required by manufacturers of motors used in hybrid/electric vehicles, appliances, commercial transformers and other applications where quiet operation is an essential design parameter. Two-way transient magnetostriction coupling enables the magnetostrictive forces to be added to the magnetic forces and coupled to a mechanical design to predict acoustic noise.

Read the Application Brief - Electric Machine Noise and Vibration

Expert Design Interfaces

Maxwell includes two specialized design interfaces for electric machines and power converters.

RMxprt – Rotating Electric Machines
RMxprt calculates machine performance, makes initial sizing decisions and performs hundreds of "what if" analyses in a matter of seconds. In addition to providing classical motor performance calculations, RMxprt automatically generates geometry, motion and mechanical setup, material properties, core loss, winding and source setup for detailed finite element analysis in Maxwell. In addition, RMxprt automatically generates geometry, corresponding material properties assignment, boundaries and excitation conditions for detailed electronics cooling simulation using CFD in ANSYS Icepak.

PExprt – Electronic Transformers and Inductors
PExprt's template-based interface for transformers and inductors can automatically create a design from voltage waveform or converter inputs. The autodesign process considers all combinations of core shapes, sizes, materials, gaps, wire types and gauges, and winding strategies to optimize the magnetic design. PExprt creates Maxwell models to evaluate the magnetic properties based on finite element analysis. This enables you to assess quantities such as flux density in the core and current density distribution in the windings.

Optimetrics

Parameterization and optimization are key enablers for Simulation-Driven Product Development. Parametric analysis provides a thorough understanding of the design space based on your design variables, so that you can make better engineering decisions. Optimization algorithms enable the software to automatically find better designs. Parameterization and optimization capabilities available with Maxwell include:

Advanced Electromagnetic Material Modeling

Accurately predicting performance of electric machines often depends on the operating temperature and loading history of its components. These effects can be accurately accounted for with Maxwell's advanced material modeling capabilities.

Vector Hysteresis
ANSYS Maxwell employs a vector hysteresis model to accurately predict the minor loops and losses for soft and hard magnetic materials and permanent magnets. The model accounts for both isotropic and anisotropic materials, laminated and non-laminated structures, and the magnetic behavior of ferromagnetic materials when the magnetic operating point history has significant impact on the performance of such devices.

Temperature-Dependent Permanent Magnets
ANSYS Maxwell's demagnetization analysis features enable you to study permanent magnet demagnetization characteristics extended into the third quadrant. External magnetic fields and heating can alter the magnetic properties of permanent magnets, leading to local demagnetization. You can combine these effects to accurately determine the performance of a machine.

Core Loss
Maxwell accurately computes core loss in magnetic materials. Electromagnetic degradation in laminate components and motor assemblies is difficult to predict because of the gap between virgin material data provided by the material supplier and the actual material performance when subjected to real operating conditions. Maxwell takes into account the feedback of the core-loss effect based on a unique algorithm that is predictable, reliable and easy to use.

Magnetostriction
Based on sequential load transfer couplings between ANSYS Maxwell and ANSYS Mechanical solvers, designers can model materials whose magnetic characteristics are strongly dependent on mechanical stress and strain. These effects cause energy loss due to frictional heating in ferromagnetic cores. The effect is also responsible for the low-pitched humming sound that can be heard coming from transformers, caused by oscillating AC currents, which produce a changing magnetic field. Similarly, for rotating electric machines, the reluctance forces and forces due to magnetostriction acting on the stator teeth are major causes of noise emission.

GRANTA Materials Data for Simulation

The ANSYS GRANTA Materials Data for Simulation dataset in ANSYS Electronics Desktop puts a wealth of materials information at your fingertips. You have easy access to a library of 700+ new generic materials and 500+ producer-specific materials to support modeling of electrical and electronic devices. The data set contains temperature-dependent mechanical and thermal properties, as well as electromagnetic materials properties. All materials data are simulation-ready, saving you the effort of finding, entering and transforming data into a suitable format before using it in your designs. Coverage includes ferrous and nonferrous metals, engineering plastics, various types of ceramics, concrete, glass, wood, composites, liquids, gases, solders and PCB laminates. This large materials database helps you make informed choices when developing products. A unified materials database across multiple solvers in Electronics Desktop and other ANSYS products ensures that you are drawing from the same materials properties when performing multiphysics simulations.

In the core Materials Data for Simulation dataset , each record describes a generic material type that is representative of a broader class of material grades. This makes it easy to compare properties across the full range of material options and supports analysis during the early stages of the design process. In ANSYS Maxwell, you benefit from an additional set of 500+ records that provide B-H curves and core-loss data for producer-specific grades of magnetic materials that are relevant for electromechanical simulation, enabling more exact analysis. Utilizing accurate and reliable data collated by ANSYS Granta, leaders in materials information, improves device performance, accuracy and reliability, and avoids delays in product launch.

Network Data Explorer

Network Data Explorer provides a convenient way to plot and analyze large sets of single-ended or mixed-mode S-, Y- and Z-parameter data and export that data in a variety of different formats. It also acts as a front end to ANSYS Full-Wave SPICE: S-parameter data can be converted to passive, causal, SPICE-compatible models using ANSYS' patented state-space ROM technology. For low frequency applications, Network Data Explorer offers visualization, analysis and manipulation tools for network data pertaining to 3D and 2D eddy current solutions.

ANSYS Electronics Desktop

The ANSYS Electronics Desktop environment houses the ANSYS gold-standard electromagnetics simulation applications. Tight integration among the simulators yields unprecedented ease of use for setup and solution of complex simulations for design and optimization. It is the native desktop for HFSS, Maxwell, Q3D Extractor, Twin Builder and other simulators. More information is available on this page.

ANSY Maxwell Packages

Maxwell is available as part of the Electronics Pro, Premium and Enterprise product suite. Listed below is a sampling of capabilities at each level that are most relevant for designing low frequency applications.

Electronics Pro 2D:

• 2D Low Frequency Static and Transient solvers
• Expert Design Interfaces for Rotating Machines and Transformers
• Analog and Digital Circuit Analysis

Electronics Premium Maxwell:

• 3D Low Frequency Static and Transient solvers
• ECAD and MCAD modeling and translation
• Advanced Circuit Analysis
• Electronics Pro 2D

Electronics Enterprise:

• Design of Experiments
• ANSYS SpaceClaim Design Modeler
• Electronics Premium (Maxwell, Icepak, HFSS, Q3D Extractor, SIwave)

The complete list of the Electronics Product Package contents is available in the table below.