What’s New in Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1?

By Chad Ghalamzan

With Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1, we deliver new capabilities and performance enhancements to help you model the complexity of your electromechanical devices and explore the possibilities with advanced optimization. Here are some highlights of what the new release offers.

More Magnetostriction Capabilities For Tougher Problems

Firstly, let’s explore the increased model accuracy for grain-oriented electrical steel (sometimes called silicon steel) which enhances the magnetostrictive force calculations added in Simcenter MAGNET 2020.2.

Many transformer cores use grain-oriented electrical steel. Likewise, it can also be used in other stationary equipment in which the magnetization direction is unidirectional. Obtaining a thorough set of measured material property data can be challenging. That is because the measurements are complex and require sophisticated equipment. The material characterization is a crucial component for accurate simulation of magnetostrictive forces in such types of steels.

Therefore, to address this issue, Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1 converts more easily and accurately available uniaxial measured data into anisotropic property data for grain oriented electrical steels. This results in more accurate predictions of the magnetostrictive forces.

Simcenter MAGNET model of a power transformer — Model of a power transformer

Simcenter MAGNET power transfomer core — Model of a power transformer

The forces can be exported for further NVH analysis in Simcenter 3D or other structural analysis software.

You can read the Magnetostriction, a Source of Noise in Transformer blog for more details on how these new capabilities predict the vibration flashpoints in a laminated grained-oriented steel core.

Magnetostriction, a Source of Noise in Transformers

Coil Whine? Check Your Lorentz forces

New in Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1 is a Lorentz forces export for structural analysis. In transformers, these forces are acting on the windings. The forces produce an electromagnetically excited acoustic noise more commonly referred to as coil whine.

Shown below is a 3-phase transformer with 3 sets of windings wound around 3 limbs. Due to the stray field from the transformer core, the windings experience a force which is proportional to the magnitude of the magnetic field and the currents flowing in the windings. This force can cause vibration. Under severe conditions such as short circuit currents, it can lead to a total failure and pose a safety hazard. Therefore, a structural analysis which includes Lorentz forces is necessary to avoid such issues.

Simcenter MAGNET can help predict coil whine. The windings in a 3-phase transformer vibrate and cause an audible whine due to the Lorentz forces act — Simcenter MAGNET can help predict coil whine. The windings in a 3-phase transformer vibrate and cause an audible whine due to the Lorentz forces.

Direct Interface with HEEDS: Design Space Exploration for Electromagnetics

Simcenter MAGNET is available as a direct portal in the HEEDS Workflow Manager without the need for custom scripting. As a result, Simcenter MAGNET’s electromagnetic simulations data is automatically shared between different modeling and simulation products.

Questions or Interested in Trying Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1?

If you are a current customer, download Simcenter MAGNET 2021.1 or contact your representative via Support Center
For all others, please contact us to discuss further