Simulate Electromagnetics with Complex Structures and Dynamical Charged Particles with VSim on HyperWorks

Engineers can now simulate their electromagnetic system designs by using the VSim tool within the Altair Partner Alliance (APA) framework. Altair Engineering recently announced the addition of Tech-X’s VSim tool to APA to broaden the capabilities of that tool suite.

Simulation of a helix traveling wave tube with VSim. (Image courtesy of APA.)

Simulation of a helix traveling wave tube with VSim. (Image courtesy of APA.)

Engineers designing electromagnetic systems can use VSim to simulate the behavior of electromagnetic components, systems and interactions with complex structures and dynamical charged particles and fluids. Users can specify regular, structured or orthogonal meshes as well as define embedded boundaries for complex geometries. Meshes can be imported from a CAD tool or defined in VSimComposer, the front-end user interface to the VSim tool. Finite-difference time-domain numerical computation solvers rapidly integrate Maxwell’s equations in full or approximated form to simulate the components or systems. VSim can simulate primary and secondary form electron emission from cut cell surfaces, dispersion control, sputtering, collisions, field ionization and quasi-particle propagation for applications such as RF amplifiers and oscillators (including klystrons), helix traveling wave tube amplifiers, magnetrons and microwave structures like waveguides and coaxial cables.

Users can safely simulate dangerous and damaging effects with VSim to avoid damage to equipment and risk of harm to people. For example, high-energy microwaves can degrade performance or even damage RF devices but are easily and safely simulated with VSim. Users can simulate potentially harmful effects like controlled plasma discharges without damaging expensive prototype devices or risking safety.

Users can access VSim packages to simulate application areas including electromagnetics, microwave devices, plasma acceleration and plasma discharges. Each package provides extensive examples that demonstrate the use of the tool as well as provide a starting point for user analysis.

 Users “pay as they go” within the APA framework and purchase HyperWorksUnits (HWUs), tokens to gain on-demand access to a wide range of tools including statistical, database, visualization and simulation tools within the APA environment.

The computation required to perform complex simulations in practical time remains a primary limitation for many simulation tools, so Tech-X addressed these concerns to speed up VSim simulations. The VSim software is written as scalable parallel modules that can scale to tens of thousands of processor cores, allowing users to model more complex geometries and physical effects while still completing simulations in reasonable time.

Electromagnetics engineers can use the VSim tool to improve analysis and reduce analysis time. Engineers would do well to take a close look at the VSim tool as well as the breadth and depth of tools available within the APA environment.