™

QuickField
Finite Element Analysis System

Version 6.3 User's Guide.

Tera Analysis Ltd.

 Copyright © 2017, Tera Analysis Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Acknowledgments:
TetGen (www.tetgen.org)
CGAL (www.cgal.org)
VTK (www.vtk.org)
Open CASCADE Technology (www.opencascade.org)

Tera Analysis Ltd.

Knasterhovvej 21
DK-5700 Svendborg
Denmark

Phone: +45 8820 8201

Fax: +45 8853 6948
http://quickfield.com

QuickField is a trademark of Tera Analysis Ltd.

DXF is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks, and Microsoft Word is a
trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners
 iii

Contents

About This Manual 9

What Is QuickField? 9
How to Use this Manual 9
Conventions 10

Chapter 1 Getting Started 11

Required Hardware Configuration 11
QuickField Installation 11
Autorun Applet 11
Using QuickField Setup Program 12
QuickField password (for Professional version only) 13
Modifying, Repairing and Removing QuickField 13
Installing Several Versions of QuickField Simultaneously 14
Configuration Notes 14

Chapter 2 Introductory Guide 15

Basic Organization of QuickField 15
Window Management Tips 17
Problem Window 17
Document Windows 17
Tool Windows 18
Properties Window 18
Overview of Analysis Capabilities 18
Magnetostatic Analysis 18
Transient Magnetic Analysis 19
AC Magnetic Analysis 20
Electrostatic Analysis 21
DC Conduction Analysis 22
AC Conduction Analysis 22
Transient Electric Field 23
Thermal Analysis 24
iv Contents

Stress Analysis 24

Chapter 3 Problem Description 27

Structure of Problem Database 27
Editing Problems 28
Editing problem description properties 28
Establishing Coupling Links 29
Setting Time Parameters 31
Automatic Time Step Size Calculation in Transient Analysis 32
Choosing Length Units 33
Cartesian vs. Polar Coordinates 33
Problem Properties Window 34

Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition 37

Terminology 37
Geometry Description 38
Creating Model Objects 38
Basic Objects Manipulation 40
Drag and Drop and Clipboard Editing 44
Undo/Redo Operations 50
Definition of Properties, Field Sources and Boundary Conditions 52
Meshing Technology 53
Geometry Model Properties Window 55
Tuning the View of the Model 55
Zooming 56
Model Discretization Visibility 56
Background Grid 57
Exchanging Model Fragments with Other Programs 58
Importing Model Fragments from DXF Files 58
Exporting Model Fragments to DXF Files 58
Copying Model Picture to Windows Clipboard 59
Exporting Model Picture 59
Printing the Model 60

Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description 61

Editing properties of materials and boundary conditions 62
Creating a New Label 63
Editing Label Data 63
Editing Data in DC and Transient Magnetics 63
Editing Data in AC Magnetics 67
Editing Data in Electrostatics 72
 Contents v

Editing Data in DC Conduction Problems 74

Editing Data in AC Conduction Problems 76
Editing Data in Transient Electric Analysis 77
Editing Data in Heat Transfer Problems 79
Editing Data in Stress Analysis 81
Periodic Boundary Conditions 84
Editing Curves 85
Using Formulas 86
Copying, Renaming and Deleting Labels 96

Chapter 6 Electric Circuit Definition 97

What is a Circuit? 97
How to Create a Circuit 98
Adding Electric Components to the Circuit 98
Specifying Properties for Circuit Components 98
Adding Components Representing Model Blocks to the Circuit 99
Connecting Circuit Components with Wires 100
Editing Circuit 100
Moving, Copying and Resizing Circuit Elements 100
Rotating Circuit Components 101
Deleting Circuit Elements 101

Chapter 7 Solving the Problem 103

Achieving Maximum Performance 104
Adaptive Mesh Refinement 104

Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution 105

Building the Field Picture on the Screen 106
Interpreted Quantities 106
Field Presentation Methods 111
Field Picture Constructing 112
Zooming 114
Selecting a Time Layer 114
Animation 115
Calculator Window 115
Examining Local Field Data 116
Analysis of Connected Electric Circuit 117
Current and Voltage Time Plots for the Circuit Elements 118
Parameter Calculation Wizards 119
Inductance Wizard 120
Capacitance Wizard 122
vi Contents

Impedance Wizard 124

Editing Contours 124
X-Y Plots 126
X-Y Plot Control 127
Calculating Integrals 127
Data Tables 148
Table Columns 149
Table Rows 149
Plots and Tables versus Time 150
Time Plot 150
Time Plot Curves 152
Time Dependencies Table 152
Controlling the Legend Display 153
Trajectories of Charged Particles 154
Theoretical Background 154
Using Trajectories 155
Export of Field Calculation Results 157
Printing the Postprocessor Pictures 157
Copying the Postprocessor Pictures 158
Field Export into File 159
Additional Analysis Opportunities 160
Field Distribution along the Contour Harmonic Analysis 160
Partial Capacitance Matrix Calculation for the System of
Conductors 160

Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem 163

Introduction 163
Creating 3D Model by Extrusion 164
Creating 3D Model by Importing from CAD 164
2D and 3D problems 165
2D problems 165
3D problems 166
Problem definition – adding 3D features 167
Geometry model in the 3D subsystem 167
Creating 3D Model by Extrusion 168
Creating 3D Model by Importing 171
3D View of the Model Editor 172
Manipulation with 3D view 173
Image rotation, panning and zooming 175
Object selection 177
Hidden and Transparent Bodies 178
 Contents vii

Cutting the Model by a Plane 179

Text label assignment to the 3D model objects 179
Control of the Density of 3D Mesh 180
3D Finite Element Mesh 181
Editing material properties and boundary conditions 182
Solving 3D problems 182
Result analysis 183
Calculation results window 183
Result presentation modes control 184
Field view presentations 185
Local field values calculation 199
Integral calculation 200

Chapter 10 Add-ins 203

Add-ins Available in QuickField 204
Advanced Add-in Features 204
Adding, Editing and Deleting Add-ins 204
Creating Your Own Add-ins 204
Add-in Properties Dialog Box 205
Add-in Menu Item Dialog Box 206

Chapter 11 Theoretical Description 207

Magnetostatics 208
Field Sources 208
Boundary Conditions 209
Permanent Magnets 210
Calculated Physical Quantities 211
Inductance Calculation 212
Transient Magnetics 213
Field Sources 214
Boundary Conditions 215
Permanent Magnets 216
Calculated Physical Quantities 217
AC Magnetic 219
Field Sources 221
Boundary Conditions 222
Calculated Physical Quantities 223
Impedance Calculation 225
Electrostatics 226
Field Sources 226
Boundary Conditions 227
viii Contents

Calculated Physical Quantities 228

Capacitance Calculation 229
DC Conduction Analysis 230
Field Sources 230
Boundary Conditions 230
Calculated Physical Quantities 231
AC Conduction Analysis 232
Field Sources 233
Boundary Conditions 233
Calculated Physical Quantities 234
Transient Electric Analysis 235
Field Sources 235
Boundary Conditions 236
Calculated Physical Quantities 237
Heat Transfer 238
Heat Sources 239
Boundary Conditions 239
Calculated Physical Quantities 241
Stress Analysis 241
Displacement, Strain and Stress 242
Thermal Strain 244
External Forces 245
Restriction Conditions 245
Calculated Physical Quantities 246
Coupled Problems 247
Importing Joule Heat to Heat Transfer Problem 248
Importing Temperature Field to Stress Analysis Problem 249
Importing Magnetic Forces to Stress Analysis Problem 249
Importing Electric Forces to Stress Analysis Problem 249
Importing Magnetic State to DC or AC Magnetic Problem 250
Importing Temperature Field to AC Magnetic Problem 250

Index 251
 9

About This Manual

What Is QuickField?
Welcome to QuickField Finite Elements Analysis System. QuickField is a
PC-oriented interactive environment for electromagnetic, thermal and
stress analysis. Standard analysis types include:
 Electrostatics.
 DC and AC conduction analysis.
 Linear and nonlinear DC and transient magnetics.
 AC magnetics (involving eddy current analysis).
 Linear and nonlinear, steady state and transient heat transfer and
diffusion.
 Linear stress analysis.
 Coupled problems.
During a 15-minute session, you can describe the problem (geometry,
material properties, sources and other conditions), obtain solution with
high accuracy and analyze field details looking through full color picture.
With QuickField, complicated field problems can be solved on your PC
instead of large mainframes or workstations.

How to Use this Manual

This manual has eleven chapters:
Chapter 1, “Getting Started”, describes first steps of using QuickField.
In this chapter, you will learn how to install and start the package.
Chapter 2, “Introductory Guide”, briefly describes the organization of
QuickField and gives an overview of analysis capabilities.
Chapter 3, “Problem Description”, explains how to specify the analysis
type and general problem features.
10 About This Manual

Chapter 4, “Model Geometry Definition”, explains how to describe

geometry of the model, build the mesh, and define material properties and
boundary conditions.
Chapter 5, “Problem Parameters Description”, introduces
non-geometric data file organization, and the way to attach this file to the
model.
Chapter 6, “Electric Circuit Definition”, describes the circuit schematic
editor.
Chapter 7, “Solving the Problem”, tells you how to start the solver to
obtain analysis results.
Chapter 8, “Analyzing Solution”, introduces QuickField Postprocessor,
its features and capabilities.
Chapter 9, “Working with 3D Problem”, describes QuickField
capabilities for solving and analyzing three-dimensional problems.
Chapter 10, “Add-ins”, describes QuickField add-ins, and methods of
their creation and use.
Chapter 11, “Theoretical Description”, contains mathematical
formulations for all problem types that can be solved with QuickField.
Read this chapter to learn if QuickField can solve your particular problem.

Conventions
In this manual we use SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS to specify the names of
keys on your keyboard. For example, ENTER, ESC, or ALT. Four arrows on
the keyboard, collectively named the DIRECTION keys, are named for the
direction the key points: UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, and
LEFT ARROW.

A plus sign (+) between key names means to hold down the first key
while you press the second key. A comma (,) between key names means
to press the keys one after the other.
Bold type is used for QuickField menu and dialog options.
 11

C H A P T E R 1

Getting Started

Required Hardware Configuration

Operating System: Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later,
Windows Vista,
Windows 7,
Windows 8,
Windows 10.

Peripherals: USB port for hardware copy-protection key (not

required for Student’s version or workstation
installations of networked Professional versions).

QuickField Installation
QuickField can be supplied on a CD, or packed in ZIP-archive. Depending
on the format, do the following:
 Professional QuickField in a ZIP-archive - unpack the archive
preserving the directory structure and run Autorun.exe from the root
of the unpacked directory tree.
 Student QuickField in a ZIP-archive - unpack the archive in the same
way and run Setup.exe.
 QuickField on a CD - insert the CD and, if not started automatically,
run Autorun.exe from the CD root.

Autorun Applet
On the left side of the Autorun screen you can see several menu topics
organized in a scrollable tree. When you highlight a topic, additional
topic-related information appears in the bottom pane. To execute the
command associated with this topic double-click it or click Run in the
right-bottom corner of the window.
12 Chapter 1 Getting Started

Menu topics allow you to:

 See the complete QuickField User's Guide in Adobe PDF format
(Read User’s Guide command);
 Learn QuickField interactively (Virtual classroom command);
 Find technical support and sales contact information (Contact Us);
 Install QuickField (Install QuickField command group).
With the Student version of QuickField the last command starts
QuickField installer.
With QuickField Professional the installation steps depend on the type of
license you purchased. For single-user license, choose the Single-
user QuickField option below.
If your QuickField is licensed for multiple users, install the workstation
component (Network: workstation option) on every workstation, and the
license server (Network: license option) on the server computer.

Using QuickField Setup Program

QuickField installer can be launched either from the Autorun applet or
manually by running Setup.exe found in the unpacked ZIP-archive with
QuickField.

Note. Installation of QuickField always requires administrator privileges.

First of all, installer offers to review the license agreement. To continue

the installation, you must accept its conditions checking I accept the
license agreement. That activates the Install and the Advanced buttons.
We strongly recommend choosing Install which automatically installs all
components of QuickField in the default folder.
Still, if you want to change the installation folder, or, for some reason,
skip installation of individual components, choose Advanced. The
installer will first prompt you to select the installation folder for
QuickField and its help system. Secondly, it will display the tree of
QuickField components. To skip installation of a component, click the
down arrow to the left of the component's name and choose Entire
feature will be unavailable. Having finished with the tree click Install to
begin the installation process.
Having transferred all necessary files to your hard drive the installer might
ask you to reboot the system. Press OK to agree. If you have other
software protected by Sentinel hardware key (e.g. another version of
Professional QuickField), installer might also ask whether you want to
upgrade the Sentinel system driver. We recommend you to agree. Then
attach the protection key to your computer (to the license server computer
in case of network license) and wait for the notification message that the
device is detected and ready to go. After that, QuickField is ready to use.
 QuickField Installation 13

If you met any troubles answering the questions of QuickField Setup

program you may try to find answers in the Installation Guide.htm file in
the Doc folder on your QuickField compact disk.

QuickField password (for Professional version

only)
After the end of installation you are ready to start QuickField for the first
time. Before that, you must attach your hardware copy-protection key.
Having installed the single-user licensed QuickField attach the key to the
USB port of your computer. Otherwise, attach the key to the USB port of
the computer acting as a license server and be sure that the license server
software is properly installed and running. This procedure is detailed in
NetLicence.htm file in the Doc folder on your QuickField compact disk.
See also ReadMe.pdf in the Sentinel folder on the same CD.
During the first run of QuickField you must enter the password supplied
by Tera Analysis Ltd. The password is a case insensitive string of 16 Latin
letters uniquely identifying the hardware copy-protection key and the
purchased subset of QuickField options. Every time you change the key or
the set of options you must enter the new password to activate it.
If you upgrade QuickField without changing the subset of options, you
can use the same password with the upgraded version of QuickField. To
make it possible you need to choose Edit->Password from QuickField
menu.
In its first run QuickField should not be used as automation server (e.g.
from LabelMover or ActiveField samples). In such case its behavior
would be unpredictable since there would be no way to enter the
password. To avoid this, we recommend starting QuickField in interactive
mode immediately after the installation.

Modifying, Repairing and Removing QuickField

Having installed QuickField you can always modify or repair its
configuration or uninstall it from your computer. To do that, open the
Control Panel and start the Add/Remove Programs (or Programs and
Features, depending on the Windows version you are using) applet. After
that, choose QuickField from the list of installed software and choose the
appropriate item from the menu.
Installer provides you with three options:
 Modify (or Change) lets you to add another QuickField component
or remove any optional QuickField component that was installed on
your computer;
14 Chapter 1 Getting Started

 Repair automatically restores the installed QuickField configuration.

For example, you might need it having unintentionally deleted some
of mandatory files or after virus attack.
 Remove (or Uninstall) completely removes QuickField from your
hard disk.

Installing Several Versions of QuickField

Simultaneously
When you install QuickField alongside one or several older versions
installed in different folders, old installations remain usable. You can even
run them simultaneously. However, you should be aware that each copy of
QuickField attempts to register itself in the system registry as the default
handler of all QuickField documents and automation requests. Any client
program that uses QuickField will be served by the copy of QuickField
that was registered last. To register another version of QuickField as the
default handler, start it in interactive mode. On Windows Vista and later
Windows versions with UAC QuickField successfully registers itself only
when it is started with administrator’s privileges.
If you remove (uninstall) any of installed QuickField versions, a part of
information related to other versions is also removed from the system
registry. To restore usability of another QuickField version after such
action, you would have to start that version in interactive mode.

Configuration Notes
To solve very large problems on a computer with insufficient memory it is
essential that virtual memory is configured optimally.
To manage virtual memory settings:
1. Bring up Control Panel and double-click System.
2. Switch to Performance tab.
3. See Windows Help for details.
 15

C H A P T E R 2

Introductory Guide

This chapter briefly describes the basic organization of the QuickField

program. It presents an overview of the available capabilities.
The aim of this chapter is to get you started with modeling in QuickField.
If you are new to the QuickField, we strongly recommend you to study
this chapter. If you haven't yet installed QuickField, please do so. For
information on installing QuickField, please see Chapter 1.

Basic Organization of QuickField

In QuickField, you work with several types of documents: problems,
geometry models, material libraries and so on. Each document is opened
into a separate window within the main application window of
QuickField. You can open any number of documents at once. When
switching between windows, you switch from one document to another.
Only one document and one window are active at a time, so you can edit
the active document. Editing actions are listed in the menu residing on the
top of main window of QuickField. Menu contents are different for
different document types. You can also use context-specific menus, which
are available by right-button mouse clicking on specific items in
document window.
The QuickField documents are:
Problem corresponds to specific physical problem solved by QuickField.
This document stores the general problem parameters, such as the type of
analysis ("Electrostatics", "Magnetostatics", "Heat transfer" and etc.) or
the model type (planar or axisymmetric). The detailed description of
working with problems is given in Chapter 3.
Geometric Model is a complete description of the geometry, the part
labels and the mesh of your model. Several problems may share the same
model (this is particularly useful for coupling analysis). Editing models is
described in details in Chapter 4.
Property Description or Data documents are specific to types of analysis
(Electrostatics data, Stress Analysis data, etc.) These documents store the
16 Chapter 1 Getting Started

values of material properties, loadings and boundary conditions for

different part labels. Data documents can be used as material libraries for
many different problems. The detailed description of how to specify
material properties and boundary conditions is given in Chapter 5.
Electric Circuit defines the associated electric circuit and the parameters
of its elements. You can associate circuits with problems of the following
types:
 AC Magnetics
 Transient Magnetics
For the problem to be solved and analyzed, it must reference the model
and data documents. For convenience, the problem can reference two data
documents at once: one document containing properties for commonly
used materials (material library), and another document containing data
specific for the problem or group of problems.
The last of QuickField documents stores the solution results. QuickField
creates it while solving the problem. The file always has the same name as
and belongs to the same folder as the problem description file. Its
extension is .res.
Between sessions, QuickField documents are stored in disk files, separate
file for each document. During the session, you can create new documents
or open existing ones. The detailed description of how to get and explore
the results of the analysis is given in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8.
Using this very flexible architecture, QuickField helps you build and
analyze your design problems very quickly. In analyzing a problem, the
typical sequence of phases that you go through with QuickField is
depicted in the flowchart below:

Create new, empty problem Provide data for the materials,

File > New Problem loads and boundary conditions

Specify the problem Obtain the solution

parameters Problem > Solve
Problem > Properties

Define the geometry, part Review the results and obtain

labels and mesh for the model the postprocessing parameters
Problem > Geometry Model Problem> View Field Picture
 QuickField Installation 17

Window Management Tips

QuickField is a multi-document application, so you can work with several
documents – geometry, materials, results, etc. – at once. We will discuss
dealing with specific documents later; here are the common principles for
creating and opening documents, switching between the editors and
arranging the windows.
There are three basic window types in QuickField:
1. The Problem window presents the structure of the problem and its
components.
2. The Document window shows graphics and tables related to the model
geometry, or the field picture, the circuit, etc.
3. Tools windows display additional information and provide control
functions.
Windows of each type can be differently arranged on the screen.

Problem Window
The problem window is normally docked on the left side of the main
QuickField window. When several problems are open at once, their
windows can be docked side by side, or in a column, or they can be tabbed
in a single pane, leaving maximum space for graphics. This window can
also be left floating on top of the other windows.
To move the problem window, simply drag it to the new position holding
by the window title. While dragging, the possible docking positions are
shown by the diamond shaped arrows. When you move the pointer over
the diamonds, QuickField shows the corresponding rectangle where the
window can be docked if you release the mouse button.

Document Windows
QuickField document windows, such as the model editor, the field plot, or
the electric circuit window, occupy the main are of the QuickField
workspace; they cannot be docked. For fast switching between these
windows, there is a tab bar near the bottom edge of the main window,
similar to the Windows task bar.
A document window can be minimized to an icon, or maximized, or
arranged with its regular size and position, which you can change by
dragging any corner or edge of the window. This is useful to display
several document windows at once. QuickField can also tile all document
windows automatically, when you choose Tile Vertically or Tile
Horizontally in the Window menu.
Some document windows can be split into two or four panes. To split the
window, drag the small gray rectangle on top of the vertical scrollbar or
18 Chapter 1 Getting Started

on the left of the horizontal scrollbar. You can also choose Split in the
Window menu. To switch between panes, click it with the mouse or use
F6.
To restore the single view, double-click the splitter or drag it to the
window border until it disappears.

Tool Windows
Finally, the tool windows–the field calculator, color legend, circuit
elements list, etc. –are usually docked within the corresponding document
window. Like the problem window, you can drag and dock tools within
their parent’s boundaries. When floating, tools can be dragged anywhere
on the screen, even to another monitor.

Properties Window
The Properties window can be opened using the Properties command in
the View menu. This window is docked to the problem window (as shown
in the picture) by default or can be switched to floating. The Properties
window displays different editing fields relevant to the current object (the
problem, geometry model, etc.) Some properties are for information only
(shown in grey), the others can be changed by typing in the new value or
selecting from the dropdown list. The changed property value comes into
effect immediately.

Overview of Analysis Capabilities

This section provides you with the basic information on different analysis
capabilities. For detailed formulations of these capabilities, see
Chapter 11.

Magnetostatic Analysis
Magnetic analysis is used to design or analyze variety of devices such as
solenoids, electric motors, magnetic shields, permanent magnets, magnetic
disk drives, and so forth. Generally, the quantities of interest in
magnetostatic analysis are magnetic flux density, field intensity, forces,
torques, inductance, and flux linkage.
QuickField can perform linear and nonlinear magnetostatic analysis for
2-D and axisymmetric models. The program is based on a vector potential
formulation. Following options are available for magnetic analysis:
Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with constant
permeability, ferromagnets, current carrying conductors, and permanent
magnets. B-H curves for ferromagnets can easily be defined through an
interactive curve editor, see the "Editing Curves" section in Chapter 5.
 QuickField Installation 19

Loading sources: current or current density, uniform external field and

permanent magnets.
Boundary conditions: Prescribed potential values (Dirichlet condition),
prescribed values for tangential flux density (Neumann condition) ,
constant potential constraint for zero normal flux conditions on the surface
of superconductor.
Postprocessing results: magnetic potential, flux density, field intensity,
forces, torques, magnetic energy, flux linkage, self and mutual
inductances.
Special features: An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. The magnetic forces can
be used for stress analysis on any existing part (magneto-structural
coupling). A self-descriptive Inductance Wizard is available to simplify
the calculation of self- and mutual inductance of the coils. The magnetic
state of the media calculated using the demagnetization curves of all the
involved materials can be remembered for future use. In particular, it
allows for calculation of self- and mutual differential inductances of
multi-coil systems

Transient Magnetic Analysis

Transient magnetics allows performing transient or steady state AC
analysis designing a variety of DC or AC devices such as electric motors,
transformers, and so forth. Generally, the quantities of interest in transient
magnetics analysis are time functions of magnetic flux density, field
intensity, external, induced and total current densities, forces, torques,
inductance and flux linkage. The transient magnetic field simulation can
be coupled with electric circuit. The circuit can contain arbitrarily
connected resistors, capacitors, inductances, and solid conductors located
in the magnetic field region.
Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with constant
permeability, ferromagnets, time-dependent current carrying conductors,
and permanent magnets. B-H curves for ferromagnets easily defined with
interactive curve editor, see the "Editing Curves" section in Chapter 5.
The electrical conductivity of material can depend on temperature. . The
dependence of conductivity on temperature is given in tabular form using
the Curve Editor. The temperature value can be defined for each block
by a number or a formula of time and coordinates.
Loading sources: time-dependent current or current density, uniform
external field and permanent magnets. Electric circuit can contain any
number of time-dependent current and voltage sources. QuickField
introduces powerful Formula Editor allowing to define time dependency
with a wide set of intrinsic functions.
20 Chapter 1 Getting Started

Boundary conditions: prescribed potential values (Dirichlet condition),

prescribed values for tangential flux density (Neumann condition),
constant potential constraint for zero normal flux conditions on the surface
of superconductor.
Postprocessing results: magnetic potential, flux density, field intensity,
external, induced and total current densities, forces, torques, magnetic
energy, flux linkage, self and mutual inductances.
Special features: a special formula editor allows specifying virtually any
type of time-dependent sources (currents and current densities, Neumann
boundary condition). An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. The magnetic forces can
be used for stress analysis on any existing part (magneto-structural
coupling). Joule heat generated in the conductors can be used for transient
heat transfer analysis of your model (electro-thermal coupling).
QuickField provides a special type of inter-problem link to import field
distribution from another problem as initial state for transient analysis.
Transient magnetic field simulation can be coupled with electric circuit.
The circuit can contain arbitrarily connected resistors, capacitors,
inductances, and solid conductors located in the magnetic field region.

AC Magnetic Analysis
AC magnetic analysis is used to analyze magnetic field caused by
alternating currents and, vise versa, electric currents induced by
alternating magnetic field (eddy currents). This kind of analysis is useful
with different inductor devices, solenoids, electric motors, and so forth.
Generally the quantities of interest in AC magnetic analysis are electric
current (and its source and induced component), voltage, generated Joule
heat, magnetic flux density, field intensity, forces, torques, impedance and
inductance. The AC magnetic field simulation can be coupled with
electric circuit. The circuit can contain arbitrarily connected resistors,
capacitors, inductances, and solid conductors located in the magnetic field
region.
A special type of AC magnetic is nonlinear analysis. It allows estimating
with certain precision the behavior of a system with ferromagnets, which
otherwise would require much lengthier transient analysis.
Following options are available for AC magnetic analysis:
Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with constant permeability
or isotropic ferromagnets, current carrying conductors with known current
or voltage.
The electrical conductivity of material can depend on temperature. . The
dependence of conductivity on temperature is given in tabular form using
the Curve Editor. The temperature value can be defined for each block
 QuickField Installation 21

by a number or a formula of coordinates. In addition, the temperature field

can be imported) from a linked problem of heat transfer analysis.
The tab Core loss allows entering properties for the soft magnetic
material, which are required to calculate the core losses in it.
Loading sources: voltage, total current, current density, uniform external
field. Electric circuit can contain any number of time-dependent current
and voltage sources.
Boundary conditions: prescribed potential values (Dirichlet condition),
prescribed values for tangential flux density (Neumann condition),
constant potential constraint for zero normal flux conditions on the surface
of superconductor.
Postprocessing results: magnetic potential, current density, voltage, flux
density, field intensity, forces, torques, Joule heat, magnetic energy,
impedances, self and mutual inductances.
Special features: An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. The magnetic forces can
be used for stress analysis on any existing part (magneto-structural
coupling); and power losses can be used as heat sources for thermal
analysis (electro-thermal coupling). Two wizards are available for
calculation of the mutual and self-inductance of coils and for calculation
of the impedance.

Electrostatic Analysis
Electrostatic analysis is used to design or analyze variety of capacitive
systems such as fuses, transmission lines and so forth. Generally the
quantities of interest in electrostatic analysis are voltages, electric fields,
capacitances, and electric forces.
QuickField can perform linear electrostatic analysis for two-dimensional,
axisymmetric and three-dimensional models. The program is based on
Poisson's equation. Following options are available for electrostatic
analysis:
Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with constant permittivity.
Loading sources: voltages, and electric charge density.
Boundary conditions: prescribed potential values (voltages), prescribed
values for normal derivatives (surface charges), and prescribed constraints
for constant potential boundaries with given total charges.
Postprocessing results: voltages, electric fields, gradients of electric
field, flux densities (electric displacements), surface charges, self and
mutual capacitances, forces, torques, and electric energy.
Special features: An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. Floating conductors with
22 Chapter 1 Getting Started

unknown voltages and given charges can be modeled. Electric forces can
be imported into stress analysis (electro-structural coupling). A
Capacitance Wizard is available for calculation of the self- and mutual
capacitance of the conductors.
3D analysis limitations: current QuickField version does not support the
anisotropic materials and coupled problems in 3D Electrostatic analysis.

DC Conduction Analysis
DC conduction analysis is used to analyze variety of conductive systems.
Generally, the quantities of interest in DC conduction analysis are
voltages, current densities, electric power losses (Joule heat).
QuickField can perform linear DC conduction analysis for two-
dimensional, axisymmetric and three-dimensional models. The program is
based on Poisson's equation. Following options are available for DC
conduction analysis:
Material properties: orthotropic materials with constant conductivity.
The electrical conductivity of material can depend on temperature. The
dependence of conductivity on temperature is given in tabular form using
the Curve Editor. The temperature value can be defined for each block
by a number or a formula of coordinates.
Loading sources: voltages, electric current density.
Boundary conditions: prescribed potential values (voltages), prescribed
values for normal derivatives (surface current densities), and prescribed
constraints for constant potential boundaries.
Postprocessing results: voltages, current densities, electric fields, electric
current through a surface, and power losses.
Special features: An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. The electric power losses
can be used as heat sources for thermal analysis (electro-thermal
coupling).
3D analysis limitations: current QuickField version does not support
anisotropic materials, temperature-dependent conductivity and coupled
problems in 3D DC Conduction analysis.

AC Conduction Analysis
AC conduction analysis is used to analyze electric field caused by
alternating currents and voltages in imperfect dielectric media. This kind
of analysis is mostly used with complex insulator systems and capacitors.
Generally, the quantities of interest are dielectric losses, voltage, electric
field components, forces, and torques.
The following options are available for AC conduction analysis:
 QuickField Installation 23

Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with constant electric

conductivity and permittivity.
Boundary conditions: prescribed voltage values (Dirichlet condition),
prescribed values for boundary current density (Neumann condition),
constant potential constraint for describing conductors in surrounding
dielectric media.
Postprocessing results: voltage, electric field, current density, power and
losses, forces, and torques.
Special features: An integral calculator can evaluate user-defined
integrals along specified contours and surfaces. Electric forces can be
imported into stress analysis (electro-structural coupling); and electric
losses can be used as a heat source for the thermal analysis (electro-
thermal coupling).

Transient Electric Field

Transient electric analysis is a generalization of electrostatics and
conduction analyses:
 An electrode potential or induced current density (field sources) can be
an arbitrary function of time;
 Dielectric materials can be moderately conductive, to account for
dielectric losses;
 Electric conductivity and permittivity of any material can vary with
electric field.
In contrast to electrostatics, prescribed electric charge density cannot be a
field source.
This analysis type may be used to study the field distribution in objects
subjected to pulse sources, e.g., lightning-induced overvoltages. It may
also be applied to design modern insulation constructions, which include
nonlinear field equalizing elements, varistor overvoltage protection, and
other applications, which involve zinc oxide varistors, semiconductive
ceramics, and similar materials.
The following options are available for transient electric analysis:
Material properties: air, orthotropic materials with electric field
dependent conductivity and permittivity.
Boundary conditions: prescribed voltage values (Dirichlet condition),
prescribed values for boundary current density (Neumann condition) ,
constant potential constraint for describing conductors in surrounding
dielectric media.
Postprocessing results: voltage, electric field, conduction and
displacement current density, ohmic and reactive power and losses, forces
and torques.
24 Chapter 1 Getting Started

Special features: A calculator of is available for evaluating user-defined

integrals on given curves and surfaces. Capacitance wizard is a convenient
tool to calculate the capacitance using different methods.

Thermal Analysis
Thermal analysis plays an important role in design of many different
mechanical and electrical systems. Generally the quantities of interest in
thermal analysis are temperature distribution, thermal gradients, and heat
losses. Transient analysis allows you to simulate transition of heat
distribution between two heating states of a system.
QuickField can perform linear and nonlinear thermal analysis for two-
dimensional and axisymmetric models; and linear steady-state thermal
analysis for three-dimensional models. The program is based on heat
conduction equation with convection and radiation boundary conditions.
Following options are available for thermal analysis:
Material properties: orthotropic materials with constant thermal
conductivity, isotropic temperature dependent conductivities, temperature
dependent specific heat.
Loading sources: constant and temperature dependent volume heat
densities, convective and radiative sources, Joule heat sources imported
from DC or AC conduction or AC or transient magnetic analysis.
Boundary conditions: prescribed temperatures, boundary heat flows,
convection, radiation, and prescribed constraints for constant temperature
boundaries.
Postprocessing results: temperatures, thermal gradients, heat flux
densities, and total heat losses or gains on a given part; with transient
analysis: graphs and tables of time dependency of any quantity in any
given point of a region.
Special features: A postprocessing calculator is available for evaluating
user-defined integrals on given curves and surfaces. Plate models with
varying thickness can be used for thermal analysis. The temperatures can
be used for thermal stress analysis (thermo-structural coupling). Special
type of inter-problem link is provided to import temperature distribution
from another problem as initial state for transient thermal analysis.
3D analysis limitations: current QuickField version does not support
anisotropic materials, non-linear dependencies (dependence of the thermal
conductivity or volume power of the heat source from the temperature),
radiation boundary condition, transient analysis and coupled problems.

Stress Analysis
Stress analysis plays an important role in design of many different
mechanical and electrical components. Generally, the quantities of interest
 QuickField Installation 25

in stress analysis are displacements, strains and different components of

stresses.
QuickField can perform linear stress analysis for 2-D plane stress, plane
strain, and axisymmetric models. The program is based on Navier
equations of elasticity. Following options are available for stress analysis:
Material properties: isotropic and orthotropic materials.
Loading sources: concentrated loads, body forces, pressure, thermal
strains, and imported electric or magnetic forces from electric or magnetic
analysis.
Boundary conditions: prescribed displacements, elastic spring supports.
Postprocessing results: displacements, stress components, principal
stresses, von Mises stress, Tresca, Mohr-Coulomb, Drucker-Prager, and
Hill criteria.
26 Chapter 1 Getting Started
 27

C H A P T E R 3

Problem Description

Structure of Problem Database

A special database is built for each problem solved with QuickField. The
core of the database is the problem description, which is stored in file with
the extension .pbm. The problem description contains the basics of the
problem: its subject, plane, precision class, etc., and also references to all
other files, which constitute the problem database. These files are the
model file, with standard extension .mod, or .m3d the connected electric
circuit file .qcr (where applicable) and physical data (property
description) files, with extension .dms, .dhe, .des, dtv,.dcf, .dec, .dht, or
.dsa, depending on the subject of the problem.
The problem description may refer to one or two files of physical data.
Both files have the same format, and differ only in purpose. Usually, the
first data file contains specific data related to the problem, as the second
file is a library of standard material properties and boundary conditions,
which are common for a whole class of problems.
Depending on the problem type, you may share a single model file or a
single data file between several similar problems.
While solving the problem, QuickField creates one more file—the file of
results with the extension .res. This file always has the same name as the
problem description file, and is stored in the same folder.
28 Chapter 3 Problem Description

Editing Problems
 To create a new, empty problem description, click New in the File
menu and then select QuickField problem in the list that appears.
Then enter the name and path of the new problem. You can also
create a new problem as a copy of another problem being currently
opened. In that case new problem inherits all the properties of the
sample one and the referenced model and data documents are copied
if necessary.
 To open an existing document, click Open in the File menu, or use
drag and drop features of Windows.
Open problem documents are shown in a special view to the left of main
QuickField window. In problem view, you can edit problem description
options and references to files. The tree shows the names of files, which
the problem currently references.
 To change problem settings or file names, click Problem Properties
in the Problem menu or context (right mouse button) menu.
 To start editing a referenced document (model, data, secondary data
or other problem referenced as coupling link), double-click its name
in the tree, or click Edit File in the context menu, or click
correspondent item in Edit menu.
 To solve the problem, click Solve Problem in the Problem menu or
context (right mouse button) menu.
 To analyze the results, click View Results in the Problem menu or
context menu.

Editing problem description properties

Problem type: Select the type of analysis, which your problem belongs
to.
 Editing Problems 29

Model class: Select the geometry class of your model: Plane-parallel,

Axisymmetric, 3D Extrusion or 3D Import. The first two classes lead to
two-dimensional analysis, where the last two introduces three-dimensional
analysis (see chapter 9). Enter the length of plane-parallel model in z-
direction (perpendicular to the model plane) into the LZ field. Default
depth of the model LZ is one meter.

Precision: Select the precision you need. Note that higher precision leads
to longer solution time.
Formulation: Select the formulation of planar stress analysis problem.
Frequency: Type the value of frequency for the time-harmonic problem.
Note the difference between frequency f and angular frequency :
 = 2f.
Files: Edit the file names of your model, data files, and circuit file (if
applicable). You may use long file names. If the name is given without the
full path, it is assumed with respect to the problem description file. You
can also click Browse to select file in any folder on your hard disk or the
network.
Edit: Instantly loads selected file into the new QuickField window.

Establishing Coupling Links

The stress analysis, heat transfer, and transient magnetic problems can
incorporate data, which come from other analysis types. The data types
are:
 electric and/or magnetic forces;
 temperature field for the stress analysis;
 power losses generated by the current flow for the heat transfer;
 remembered (frozen) magnetic state of the materials from another
problem;
 temperature field for calculating of the temperature dependent
electrical conductivity;
Transient problems can import initial state of field distribution from
another steady state or transient problem (at specified time moment in
case of importing from transient into static problem).
30 Chapter 3 Problem Description

To establish a link between the problem that imports data and the problem
that originates them, click Links tab in problem description dialog box.

To add a data link:

1. Select the type of the data in the Data Type list;
2. Type a name of the source problem in the Problem box, or click
Browse button to make the selection from the list of existing
problems;
3. In case the source problem is of transient analysis type, specify the
time moment you wish to import in the Time field; if this specific time
layer does not exist in the results file, the closest time layer will be
imported;
4. And, click Add button to add the link to the list of data sources.
To change a data link:
1. Select the link of choice in the Data Sources list;
2. Change the source problem name or the moment of time as necessary;
3. And, choose Update button to update the link in the list of data
sources.
To delete a link:
1. Select the link of choice in the Data Sources list box;
2. And, click Delete button to delete the link from the list of data sources,
or use Delete All button to delete all data links at once.
The links to the imported data are considered to be a part of the problem
description. The changes made in them are preserved only if you choose
OK when completing the problem description editing. And, vice versa, if
you would choose Cancel button or press ESC, the changes made in data
links will be discarded along with other changes in problem description.
 Editing Problems 31

Setting Time Parameters

With problems of transient analysis type, you need to set up the time
parameters, before the problem can be solved. To do so, click Timing tab
in the problem description dialog box.

Calculate up to: Specify the period of time you wish to simulate.

Simulation always starts at ‘zero’ time moment.
With the step of: Specify the step size for the calculation. In transient
analysis, this is the most important parameter controlling the precision of
calculations in time domain: the smaller the step, the better the precision.
Usually you will have minimum of 15 to 20 steps for the whole
integration period. It may have sense to start with bigger value of this
parameter and then decrease it if the result seems to change not smoothly
enough.
If for some model you cannot estimate suitable time parameters, we
recommend that you set some arbitrary value for the time period, and set
the step size to have 5-7 points of integration, and then explore the X-Y
plots against time in several points in the domain to tune the parameters.
Auto: specifies that QuickField should calculate step size automatically.
Store the results every: defines the time increment for saving the results
of calculation to the file. This value must be equal or greater than the step
size.
Starting from the moment: defines the first point to be written to the
file. If this value is zero, the initial state will be written.
Initial temperature: Enter the temperature value for the initial (zero)
moment of time. Temperature may be defined as a constant or coordinate-
dependent formula. If the initial temperature is not defined, it is
considered zero. If the initial temperature value (formula) is set and also
32 Chapter 3 Problem Description

the coupled problem provides the initial temperature distribution then the
imported temperature has a priority.

Automatic Time Step Size Calculation in

Transient Analysis
In transient analysis, QuickField is now capable to automatically calculate
and adjust the time step size for the integration process.
To calculate the initial time step size, the following conservative estimate
is used:
t0 = min (2/4),
where ξ is the "mesh size" (diameter of a mesh element)

and    for problems of heat transfer,
C

1
   for magnetic problems.
g

The ratio 2/4 is evaluated in all the mesh elements in the model, and the
smallest value is used as an initial time step size.
As the solution progresses, the time steps are adjusted automatically by an
adaptive time stepping scheme.
The next time step is adjusted by
tn +1 = ktn,
where k is a scaling factor varying from 0.25 to 4.0 (with discrete values
of 0.25; 0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 4.0) and dependent on behavior of potential and its
time derivative, as well as all the time- and coordinate-dependent sources
and boundary conditions in the model.
The two factors are taken into account when choosing the value of k:
 The norm of time derivative variation on previous time step in all
mesh nodes:
u n  u n 1
un  2
u n  u n 1

 The inverse of characteristic time:

  u n   Fn  F n 1 
T

n  ,
un  K T  un 
T
 n

In thermal analysis, {Fn} is the heat flow vector associated with

conduction, convection, and radiation. In magnetics, {Fn} is a vector of
induction, u - is a potential value, and KT is a stiffness matrix in the finite-
element analysis.
 Editing Problems 33

The actual value of scaling factor k is chosen based upon two

dimensionless characteristics:  u n and 2/tn n, by means of
predetermined proprietary threshold tables, and the smaller is considered
to be used for the next time step size, thus guaranteeing to produce smooth
and accurate time dependency in every spatial point of the model.

Choosing Length Units

QuickField allows you to use various units for coordinates when creating
model's geometry. You can use microns, millimeters, centimeters, meters,
kilometers, inches, feet, or miles.

Chosen units are associated with each particular problem, which gives you
freedom to use different units for different problems. Usually units of
length are chosen before creating the model geometry. It is possible to
change units of length later, but it does not affect physical dimensions of
the model. So, if you create your geometry as a square with 1 m side and
then switch to centimeters, you will get a square measured 100 cm by
100 cm, which is the same as it was before. To actually change size of the
model you should rather use Scaling option of the Move Selection
command of the Model Editor (see page 42 for details).
The choice of length units does not affect units for other physical
parameters, which always use standard SI units. E.g., the current density is
always measured in A/m2 and never in A/mm2. The only physical quantity
that is measured in chosen units of length, is the displacement vector in
stress analysis problems.

Cartesian vs. Polar Coordinates

Problem geometry as well as material properties and boundary conditions
can be defined in Cartesian or polar coordinate systems. There are several
34 Chapter 3 Problem Description

places in QuickField where you can make choice between Cartesian and
polar coordinate systems. Using Coordinate System section in problem
description dialog box you can define the default coordinate system
associated with a problem. The same option is also available in the Model
Editor and in the Postprocessor. Definition of orthotropic material
properties, some loads and boundary conditions depends on the choice of
the coordinate system. You can choose Cartesian or polar coordinate
system for each element of data individually and independently from the
default coordinate system associated with the problem. This choice is
available in the dialog boxes of the Data Editor.

Problem Properties Window

The Properties window can be opened using the Properties command in
the View menu. This window is docked to the task windows by default or
can switched to floating.
The Properties window dynamically displays the current problem's
properties.
Here you can review and modify the common properties of the problem
such as problem type, class, accuracy, and geometry or material data file
names. Changing certain problem parameters will invalidate the existing
solution. In this case you will be given a warning.

To link a problem in the “Coupled problems” section, select the imported

physical property type and choose or enter the name of the source
problem. The new link will be checked and if the problem meets the
coupling criteria, the new link will be added to the list. To remove an
 Editing Problems 35

existing link, simply clear the source problem filename from the
corresponding property.
36 Chapter 3 Problem Description
 37

C H A P T E R 4

Model Geometry Definition

This chapter describes the process of building the geometric model—a

type of QuickField document describing the problem geometry.
The information given here describes the two-dimensional modelling. The
chapter 9 contains detailed information concerned three-dimensional
analysis. Nethertheless, to understand how to create and modify the 3D
geometry model you likely need to know the basics of 2D modelling.

Terminology
Geometric Model, or simply Model, is the name we use for the collection
containing all geometric shapes of a problem. Besides being an object
container the model helps to link the contained objects with related
material properties, field sources, and boundary conditions.
Vertex, edge and block are three basic types of geometric objects
contained by QuickField models.
Each Vertex represents a point. Point coordinates could be either explicitly
specified by user or automatically calculated by QuickField at the
intersection of two edges. For each vertex you can define its mesh spacing
value and its label. The mesh spacing value defines the approximate
distance between mesh nodes in the neighborhood of the vertex. Define
vertex label to link a vertex with, for example, a line source or load.
Each Edge represents a linear segment or a circular arc connecting two
vertices. Model edges do not intersect each other. Creating new model
edge QuickField splits it as many times as needed at intersection points
with existing model edges and at the points represented by existing model
vertices. QuickField also automatically creates new model vertices
representing intersection points of the new edge and splits the old model
edges at these points. Define edge label to link an edge with, for example,
related boundary conditions.
Each Block represents a continuous subregion of the model plane.
External block boundary is a sequence of edges. Blocks might contain
38 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

holes. Each of internal boundaries separating a block from its holes is

either a sequence of edges or a single isolated vertex.
All blocks included in field calculation must be meshed and labeled.
QuickField can mesh any subset of model blocks. The mesh density
depends on mesh spacing values defined for model vertices. These values
are either calculated automatically by QuickField or specified for
particular vertices by the user. Define block label to link the block with,
for example, related material properties or distributed field sources.
Each Label is a string of up to 16-character length. Labels establish the
correspondence between model objects - blocks, edges, and vertices - and
numerical data describing such real world entities as material properties,
loads and boundary conditions. Any printable characters including letters,
digits, punctuation marks and space characters are permitted. Labels
cannot begin with space; trailing spaces are ignored. Labels are case
sensitive.
The Mesh Spacing value defines an approximate distance between mesh
nodes in the neighborhood of a model vertex. Mesh spacing property is
associated with vertices and measured in the current units of length.
Setting mesh spacing values for some vertices you can control the
accuracy of the solution.

Geometry Description
Model development consists of three stages:
 Geometry description and manipulation;
 Definition of properties, field sources and boundary conditions;
 Mesh generation.

Creating Model Objects

To describe model geometry create vertices and edges that form
boundaries of all subregions having different physical properties. Use
Move and Duplicate operations to adjust shapes and coordinates of
created objects to your needs. To perform editing actions upon several
objects at once use the selection mechanism. Assign labels to blocks,
edges, and vertices to link them with such real world objects as material
properties, boundary conditions and loads. Build mesh in all blocks
participating in field calculation.
There are two options available for creating the finite element mesh for
your model:
 Geometry Description 39

 Fully automated method that generates a smooth mesh with a density

based on region's dimensions and sizes of geometrical details. This
option does not require any information from the user.
 The second method allows you to choose the mesh density. In this
case you need to define the spacing values at few vertices of your
choice. Spacing values for other vertices are calculated automatically
to make the mesh distribution smooth.
Creating Edges
To create new edges:
 Choose Insert Mode in the Edit menu, or click the Insert
Vertices/Edges toolbar button or context menu item, or press INS, to
switch model view into insert mode.
 Specify the angle of the new edge in the New Edge Angle box on the
toolbar. Use one of the predefined angles provided in the list, or type
another value in the edit box. To create a linear segment specify zero
angle.
 Left-drag the mouse from the starting point of the edge to its end, or
use SHIFT+DIRECTION keys. The ends of the created edge can coincide
with the existing model vertices, otherwise QuickField automatically
creates the new vertex (vertices) as needed, so that QuickField,
adding the new edge to the model, always connects two existing
model vertices together. Switch on the snap to grid option (default),
to force the new vertices on the current grid. Navigating with the
keyboard, use the CTRL key to fine tune the points.
Creating Vertices
To create new vertices:
 Choose Insert Mode in the Edit menu, or click the Insert
Vertices/Edges toolbar button or context menu item, or press INS, to
switch model view into insert mode.
 Make sure that current coordinate grid settings fit coordinates of the
vertices you want to create.
 Use mouse or DIRECTION keys to move the cursor to the vertex
insertion point and double-click the left mouse button or press ENTER.
Or:
 Choose Add Vertices from the Edit menu.
 Enter new vertex coordinates and click Add. Repeat if you need more
vertices.
 Click Close.
Attraction Distance
To avoid small unrecognizable inaccuracies in geometry definition, new
vertices or edges cannot be created very close to the existing objects.
40 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

Creation of new geometric objects is controlled by the value we denote by

 and call the attraction distance.
The following rules apply to creation of new vertices and edges.
 New vertices cannot be created within 2-neighborhood of the
existing vertex.
 New edge cannot connect the ends of the existing edge and lie inside
its -neighborhood.
The value of  is proportional to the size of the visible region, so to create
very small details you would have to zoom in the model window.

Basic Objects Manipulation

Objects Selection
To select geometric objects:
1. If the Insert Mode is on, press INS to switch it off.
2. Keep CTRL pressed if you want to add objects to the selection set
instead of replacing it.
3. Click any model object to select it alone, or press any mouse button
outside of selected objects and drag diagonally to select all objects that
entirely fit inside the displayed rubberband rectangle.

Note. Keep in mind that when you click inside a block QuickField select
neither boundary edges nor vertices. Similarly, when you click in the
middle of an edge QuickField does not select either of its ending vertices.
This might be important for correct understanding of such model
operations as Delete, Duplicate, and Move.

If you want to select a block and its boundary edges or an edge and its
ending vertices, drag the mouse to select the required objects with a
rubberband rectangle.
You can also use Select All and Unselect All commands in the Edit or
context menu. Note that you can select objects of different types - blocks,
edges or vertices - at once.
The set of selected model objects is shared between the windows
displaying the model. If several windows display the same model, selected
objects are highlighted in all of them.
Keyboard shortcuts:
Select All CTRL+A
Unselect All CTRL+D

To select all model objects having the same label, click this label in the
Problem Tree View.
 Geometry Description 41

Geometric Objects: Duplicating and Moving

The Duplicate feature allows easily create geometric objects at regularly
defined coordinates. To duplicate:
1. Select the set of model objects (vertices, edges and blocks) you want
to duplicate.
2. Choose Duplicate Selection from the Edit or context menu.
QuickField will display the Duplicate Selection dialog asking for
parameters.
3. Choose the required transformation, enter its parameters in the dialog
fields, and click OK. QuickField will add the duplicated objects to the
model automatically selecting all of them. The rest of the objects will
be unselected
QuickField copies labels and spacing values associated with duplicated
objects wherever possible. New model blocks are always unmeshed.

The first copy of a model object is always the result of the specified
transformation applied to the object itself. When the transformation allows
to create several copies of every involved object simultaneously, the
second and the following copies of any object are the results of the
transformation applied to the preceding copies
You can also move the selected objects to another location. The only
limitation is that QuickField will not perform moves that change the
model topology. You cannot move vertices or edges into any block or out
of the containing block. To move selected objects, choose Move Selection
in the Edit or context menu. The displayed Move Selection dialog is
similar to the Duplicate Selection dialog described above.
Successful Move preserves all labels and spacing values. Mesh is
preserved in the blocks that are not reshaped.
QuickField always removes the mesh from the reshaped blocks before
checking that the topology remains unchanged. So, if you try a move that
changes the model topology QuickField will block it displaying the
42 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

corresponding message, and in result of the operation you might find that
some of the blocks are no longer meshed.
If you do not like the results of your operation, use Undo to restore the
previous state of the model
Geometric transformations available with move and copy operations are:
 Displacement — parallel displacement is applied to selected objects
for specified displacement vector. With copy operation, several
copies can be asked for, it means that copying operation will be
performed several times, each time being applied to the previous
result. Parameters needed are displacement vector components.
 Rotation — selected objects are rotated around the specified point for
the specified angle. With copy operation, several copies can be asked
for, it means that copying operation will be performed several times,
each time being applied to the previous result. Parameters needed are
center of rotation coordinates and angle measured in degrees.
 Symmetry — selected objects are mirrored; symmetry line is
specified by coordinates of any point on it and the angle between the
horizontal axis and the symmetry line. Positive value of an angle
means counter-clockwise direction. This transformation is available
for copy operation only.
 Scaling — selected objects are dilated (constricted) by means of
homothetic transformation. Parameters needed are center of
homothety and scaling factor. This transformation is available for
move operation only.
There is also a more simple method of copying and moving of the
geometric objects – mouse dragging (see Drag and Drop and Clipboard
Editing). Drag-and drop is possible within the same or different model
editor windows.
Deleting Objects
To delete geometric objects:
1. Select the objects you want to delete.
2. In the Edit or context menu, click Delete Selection.
If the selection contains the vertex (vertices) adjacent to exactly two
remaining edges that could be merged together, QuickField, having
deleted the separating vertex, automatically performs the merge.
Otherwise, when one of vertices being deleted is adjacent to one or several
of remaining edges, QuickField adds the adjacent edges to the list of
objects to be deleted and requests the user to confirm the action.
This feature is frequently used for "clipping" of the obsolete parts of
model edges.
Example:
 Geometry Description 43

Consider the model shown in Pic.1 below with the semicircles having the
radiuses of 2 and 3 and the common center at (0, 0). Suppose that you
need to create several horizontal edges inside the block with the distance
between consecutive edges equal to 0.5.
The fastest way to create them would be the following:
 Set focus to the model window clicking inside it.
 Choose Grid Settings from View menu and set Spacing to 0.5.
 Press INS to enter the Insert Mode.
 Drag mouse from (0, 3) to (4, 3) to create the new edge connecting
these points.
 Press INS to leave the Insert Mode. You will get the model shown in
Pic.2.

Pic.1 Pic.2
 Select the new edge dragging the left mouse button from (-0.25, 3.25)
to (4.25, 2.75).
 Choose Duplicate Selection from the Edit menu, set displacement
ordinate to -0.5, set Copies to 12, and click OK. You will get the
model shown in Pic.3.
 Select the right ends of horizontal edges dragging the left mouse
button from (3.75, 3.25) to (4.25, -3.25).
 Choose Delete Selection from the Edit menu and click Yes to
confirm deletion.
 Select the left ends of the edges dragging the left mouse button from
(-0.25, 1.75) to (0.25, -1.75) and delete them similarly. You will get
the required model (see Pic.4).
44 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

Pic.3 Pic.4

Keyboard shortcuts:
Delete DEL

Drag and Drop and Clipboard Editing

What Can Be Done with Drag and Drop?
You can move or copy any group of model objects - vertices, edges, and
blocks - to another place on the model plane, or to another model opened
by this or another session of QuickField.
How to Start Dragging?
First of all, find out which objects you want to drag and select them. To
find out how to select model objects in QuickField, see Objects Selection.
Place the mouse pointer over one of selected objects and press any mouse
button. The shape of the cursor and the color of the selected objects will
change.

Note. Placing the pointer over selection might be difficult when the
selected set of objects does not contain blocks and snap-to-grid option is
on. In such case we suggest you to place the pointer over one of the
vertices you are going to drag.

Keep in mind that if you press a mouse button with the pointer outside of
selection, QuickField, instead of dragging, initiates a rubberband
selection. In such case the shape of the cursor and the color of selected
objects do not change when you press the mouse button down.
The difference between dragging with left and right mouse buttons is
described in Actions Performed on Drop.
 Geometry Description 45

Defining the Exact Drop Position

When you press a mouse button with pointer over the selection
QuickField displays the bright red dot close to the current pointer position.
This dot indicates the so-called anchor point that helps to set the exact
position of the copied or moved objects after drop.
In the beginning the exact position of the dot depends on:
 the distance between the pointer and the nearest model vertex; and
 the distance between the pointer and the nearest background grid
node, unless the snap-to-grid option is off
In particular, when you press the mouse button with the mouse pointer
over a model vertex QuickField always positions the anchor at the same
point.
When you drag the objects the anchor point is also dragged. QuickField
keeps displaying it as a bright red dot. The dragged anchor always
coincides with one of the model vertices or, unless the snap to grid option
is off, with one of the background grid nodes. You can see the coordinates
of the dragged anchor point in the status bar.
After the drop QuickField calculates the difference between initial and
final anchor positions and shifts all dragged objects exactly for the length
of that vector.
Example: Suppose that you want to move a group of model objects
containing the point with coordinates (a, b). After the move the new
coordinates of the point should be (c, d). Here is the sequence of required
actions:
 If there is no vertex at (a, b), add it choosing Add Nodes from the
Edit menu and entering the coordinates in the dialog.
 If there is no vertex at (c, d), add it in the same way.
 Select the objects to move including the vertex at (a, b).
 Place mouse pointer over this vertex and press the left button. You
will see the anchor at (a, b).
 Drag the objects until the anchor coincides with the vertex at (c, d)
and release the mouse. The first vertex will be moved exactly to
(c, d).
 Delete one or both of the created vertices (in most cases, the first
vertex will not exist after move) if you no longer need them.
Visual Drag Effects
To help you drag and drop objects correctly QuickField provides visual
feedback consisting of:
 the dragged anchor position indicated by the bright red dot and its
coordinates in the status bar;
 the shape of the cursor;
 the rubberband representation of the dragged edges;
46 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

 the status message telling how to change the drag mode.

Using of the anchor is described in Defining the Exact Drop Position
A shape of the cursor reflects your choice between moving and copying of
the objects. The Copy cursor displayed by QuickField shows the plus sign
('+') while the Move cursor does not. As usual, the cursor displayed over
the places where drop is not allowed looks like the "No Parking" sign.
The rubberband always contains all the edges those will be moved or
copied to another position upon Drop. When you move connected objects
the rubberband also contains the connecting edges.

Note: the rubberband does not contain any of selected isolated vertices.
This does not mean that these vertices will not be moved or copied. When
isolated vertices constitute the whole selection, the only things that move
during drag are the cursor and the anchor.

When you change the drag mode the rubberband feedback and the shape
of the cursor are changed appropriately.
Drag Modes and Drop Effects
Dragging of model objects can be performed in different modes. The drag
mode used immediately before the drop defines the actions performed by
QuickField.
Drag mode is defined by:
 the mouse button you keep pressed while dragging; and
 the state of CTRL and ALT keyboard keys before the drop.
There is no way to change the mouse button in the middle of the drag -
you press it at the beginning and release to perform the drop. On the other
hand, you can change the state of CTRL and ALT keyboard keys at any
moment.

Note. If you drag with right mouse button make sure that the ALT key is
released before the drop. If you release the right mouse button with the
ALT key pressed QuickField will do nothing.

To get the specific drop effect choose the drag mode according to the
following rules:
 To choose the required action from the displayed context menu drag
with right mouse button and keep control keys released before the
drop.
 To move the objects inside the same model preserving connections
between the moved and the stationary parts drag with left mouse
button and keep control keys released before the drop.
 Geometry Description 47

 To move the objects inside the same model breaking connections

between the moved and the stationary parts drag with left mouse
button and press ALT before the drop.
 To copy the objects inside the same model drag with left mouse
button and press CTRL before the drop.
 To copy the objects to another model drag with left mouse button and
keep CTRL key released before the drop.
 To move the objects to another model drag with left mouse button
and press ALT keeping CTRL released before the drop. QuickField
cannot preserve connections between different models.
Canceling Drop
To cancel drop either press the ESC key on the keyboard or click the
alternate mouse button before drop. Besides that, drag will not be started
if you release the pressed button without moving the mouse. In the latter
case QuickField proceeds as if you performed the corresponding mouse
click.
Actions Performed on Drop
Depending on the drag mode used at the drop moment QuickField
chooses the action from the following list:
 Moving the dragged objects preserving their connections with the rest
of the model;
Or,
 Moving the dragged objects breaking their connections with the rest
of the model;
Or,
 Copying the dragged objects.
If you drag with the right mouse button, QuickField displays the context
menu with available drop actions and waits for your choice. Besides the
actions listed above this menu contains the Cancel option. If you close the
menu without choosing any item, QuickField does nothing.
If you dragged with the left mouse button, QuickField defines the required
action depending on the last drag mode used before the drop. The
correspondence between the drag modes and the actions performed after
drop is described in Drag Modes and Drop Effects.
The effects of drag-copying are the same as if you invoked the Duplicate
command for the selected objects shifting the copies together with the
anchor point.
The effects of drag-moving are sometimes different from the similar
Move operation. Here are the main differences:
48 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

 The Move operation never moves objects from one model to another.
Drag-moving can move objects to another model breaking the
connections with the stationary part of the source model.
 The Move operation does not allow changing the model topology - it
does not allow moving vertices to other blocks, or creation of
intersections. Drag-moving inside the same model does not have any
limitations.
 The Move operation always preserves the labels of the related
objects. Drag-moving might cause labels to change.
See also Dragging to another Model.
Undo after Drag and Drop
QuickField Model Editor performs Undo/Redo operations on per-model
basis. It maintains separate stack of model states for every model and,
when you request Undo or Redo, restores the state of the model before or
after the corresponding operation.
If several model windows are opened simultaneously, Model Editor
performs Undo/Redo for the model displayed in the active window. To
make another window active, click anywhere inside it. Click scrollbar if
you do not want to change the current selection set of the model.
Unlike other Model Editor operations, Drag and Drop might affect two
different models at once. When you drag a group of items moving them
from one model to another, QuickField changes both the source and the
target models. In case you want to Undo the effects of the whole operation
you need to do it for each of these models separately. If you decide to
Undo the effects only on one of the models, you should be careful and
prior to performing Undo make sure that proper model window is active at
the moment.
Dragging to another View
In some cases moving model objects could be quite inconvenient. For
example, this would be the case when you need to move or copy relatively
small objects across relatively large spaces. Inconveniency would be
caused by the fact that it is impossible simultaneously select the small
source objects and fit the target place inside the window.
This inconveniency could be easily eliminated with Drag and Drop
between different views of the same model. Try the following:
 Open the second window for the same model choosing New Window
from Window menu.
 Arrange the windows so that both are visible.
 Zoom in the first window on the source objects. Select those objects
you want to move or copy.
 Zoom in the second window on the target place.
 Drag the selected objects from the first to the second window.
 Geometry Description 49

Dragging to another Model

There are several things that make dragging to another model slightly
different from that where the source and the target models are one. Here is
the short list of the differences:
 You cannot move objects to another model preserving connections
between the moved and the stationary parts of the source model.
 Move is the default operation (the operation performed on drop with
released control keys) when you drag inside the same model; Copy is
the default when you drag to another model.
 To undo the effects of Move to another model you would have to
perform Undo twice - once for each of the involved models.
 Both Move and Copy to another model might cause the target
problem to become incompletely defined. This is caused by the fact
that Model Editor automatically adds all missing labels associated
with the moved/copied objects to the target model, but fails to copy
the corresponding label definitions from the source to the target data
file.
 Both Move and Copy to another model might make the target
coordinates of an object different from its source coordinates. This is
the case when the source and the target models use different length
units. Copying/moving objects to another model Model Editor
preserves the real-world sizes, for example, the source length of 1 m
becomes 100 cm when the source model uses meters and the target
model uses centimeters as their length units.
Using Clipboard
You can copy selected model objects to the Clipboard and then Paste them
to another place of the same model, or transfer to another model. Doing
this you can either preserve the original objects, or Cut them from the
source model.
To invoke Copy, Cut, or Paste choose the corresponding command from
the Edit or context menu, or click the corresponding toolbar button, or
press one of the keyboard shortcuts listed below.
The Copy/Cut commands are disabled when none of the model objects
are selected. The Paste command is disabled when the Clipboard does not
contain geometric objects copied with the copy/cut operations.
When you paste one or several objects into a model, positioning of the
pasted objects relative to each other remains the same as in the source
model. If the target model is empty QuickField preserves the original
coordinates of the pasted objects. Otherwise, to separate the pasted objects
from the rest of the target model QuickField places them behind the right
bound of the target model. This makes possible dragging of the objects to
another position and preserves original object properties - labels and mesh
spacing values.
50 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

The pasted objects remain selected after the operation. All other objects in
the target model become unselected.
Keyboard shortcuts:
Copy CTRL+C
Cut CTRL+X
Paste CTRL+V

Undo/Redo Operations
To undo the latest operation, make sure that the active window shows the
geometric model you are editing and choose Undo <your last operation>
from the Edit menu. To redo the last operation undone, make sure that the
active window shows the geometric model you are editing and choose
Redo <last operation undone> from the Edit menu. QuickField modifies
the corresponding menu items to show you which operations would be
undone and redone.
By default QuickField allows you to undo 25 latest operations for every
model. You cannot increase the number of undoable operations above 100
but you can make it any number between 0 and 100 at any time. You can
find the detailed description of this feature in Undo Settings.
The operations that could be undone are listed in Undoable Operations.
Keyboard shortcuts:
Undo CTRL+Z
Redo CTRL+Y

Undo Settings
To be able to undo and redo your editing operations QuickField maintains
internal stack of increments to geometrical model database associated with
these operations. The topmost increment on stack corresponds to the latest
editing operation performed. QuickField also keeps track of its current
stack position that steps in top-to-bottom direction with every Undo action
and steps in the opposite direction with every Redo action.
The depth of this internal stack defines maximum number of operations
you can undo. When the total number of editing operations on the model
exceeds the stack depth, the database increments corresponding to the
eldest operations are destroyed to free stack positions for new increments.
When you start QuickField the stack depth has its default value of 25 that
allows to undo last 25 editing operations done on the model.
Maintaining geometrical model database increments impacts QuickField
memory requirements. To make you able to influence this impact
QuickField provides the possibility to reduce the depth of internal undo
stack. You can do it at any time setting the depth value to any integer
between 0 and 100 (both limits included). Ultimately, setting the stack
 Geometry Description 51

depth to 0 switches off storage of database increments and effectively

disables Undo/Redo feature until you make stack depth positive.
To change undo stack depth for a model do the following:
 Make sure that active window shows the model that you want to
change depth for;
 Choose Undo Settings... from the Edit menu
 After Undo Settings dialog appears on screen, change undo stack
depth to desired value and click OK.
If the new depth value exceeds the old one, only the depth of the stack is
affected. Stack contents remains unchanged allowing you to undo and
redo the operations performed before this change. The same is true if the
new depth value is less than the old one but still exceeds the number of
accumulated stack positions.
Suppose, for example, that you started QuickField, performed 10 editing
operations and invoked Undo 5 times. At this moment the stack
accumulates 10 stack positions. If you decide to reduce stack depth to 10
no database increments will be lost. If, however, you decide to perform
one more editing operation before reducing the depth, you lose the
possibility to redo anything and the number of accumulated positions
becomes equal to 6. After that you can set the depth to 6 and lose nothing.
The only case you lose some of accumulated data changing undo stack
depth is when you reduce the depth to the value that is less than the
number of accumulated stack positions. In such case, QuickField performs
the following actions:
 if the new depth value exceeds the number of positions below current
stack position, QuickField discards several topmost database
increments to make the number of remaining increments equal to new
stack depth;
 if the new depth value is less than the number of positions below
current stack position, QuickField retains only the database
increments at the current stack position and immediately below it
making the number of retained database increments equal to new
stack depth.
Suppose once again that you started QuickField, performed 10 editing
operations and invoked Undo 5 times. If at this moment you set depth to
7, only 3 topmost positions will be discarded. You will still be allowed
both to undo 5 operations with database increments below current stack
position and to redo 2 operations with increments retained above current
stack position. On the other hand, if you decide to set depth to 2 you will
only be able to undo 2 operations with database increments retained
immediately below current position.
52 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

Undoable Operations
You can undo the following types of geometric operations (we use menu
item labels whenever appropriate):
 Add Edge
 Add Vertices
 Build Mesh
 Cut
 Delete Edges
 Delete Vertices
 Delete Selection
 Drag
 Drop
 Duplicate
 Import DXF
 Move Selection
 Paste
 Properties
 Refine Mesh
 Remove Mesh
 Select
 Select All
 Unselect All

Definition of Properties, Field Sources and

Boundary Conditions
Labels establish the correspondence between geometrical objects and their
physical properties, such as material properties, boundary conditions, or
field sources.
Assigning Labels to Objects
To assign labels to objects:
 Select the required objects
 Choose Properties from the Edit or context menu.
 Type the label and click OK.
 Geometry Description 53

You can simultaneously set different labels to different kinds of objects -

blocks, edges, or vertices - defining these labels on different pages of the
Selection Properties dialog.

Meshing Technology
Having described a reasonable part of the model geometry you can start
building the finite element mesh. It is important to remember that the
mesh you build even for a highly complex geometry can be rather non-
uniform. Namely, you can set the size of mesh elements in some of the
model blocks to be much less than in the other blocks. In such cases the
meshing technology we call geometric decomposition will automatically
produce smooth transition from large to small elements of the mesh. As a
rule, the places where the mesh has to be the finest are those with the
highest field gradient and those where you need higher precision.
In case of simple model geometry we suggest to leave calculation of
element sizes to QuickField. The same applies to the case of preliminary
design analysis when draft precision should perfectly suit your needs.
Click the Build Mesh toolbar button and QuickField will automatically
generate suitable mesh.
It might happen, however, that the quality of the automatically generated
mesh would not satisfy you. For such cases, QuickField provides you with
the way to set the mesh density manually. You control the mesh density
defining mesh spacing values for particular model vertices. The mesh
spacing value defined for a vertex specifies the approximate distance
between adjacent mesh nodes in the neighborhood of the vertex.
You never need to define the spacing for all model vertices. To obtain a
uniform mesh it would be enough to set the spacing for a single vertex. If
you need non-uniform mesh start with defining the spacing values only
for the vertices where you need the finest and the roughest mesh. The
spacing values will be automatically interpolated to other model vertices
smoothing the mesh density distribution across the meshed blocks. Use
54 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

selection mechanism to simplify assigning the same mesh spacing value to

several vertices at once.
With spacing values in place you are ready to build the mesh and
eventually solve your problem.
In some cases the obtained solution results might show that you need
more precise results in some places of the model. This is the good reason
to change the density of your mesh. Doing that, do not forget the
following:
 When you change the spacing value for a vertex, QuickField
automatically removes the mesh from all blocks adjacent to this
vertex.
 The spacing values defined along the boundaries of the blocks
retaining their mesh will be frozen as if they were defined manually.
To set mesh spacing:
 Select vertices, edges or blocks, in neighborhood of which you need
to specify the same spacing value.
 Choose Properties from the Edit or context menu.
 Type the spacing value and click OK.
If you specify mesh spacing for selected blocks or edges the spacing value
is assigned to the vertices on the ends of the edges and/or on block
boundaries.
If the spacing visibility switch is on (Spacing in View menu), the
explicitly set spacing values are shown as small circles around the vertices
To build mesh do one of the following:
 Choose the appropriate option of Build Mesh submenu in the Edit or
context menu. QuickField will build mesh in the blocks specified by
the chosen option.
 Click Build Mesh toolbar button. QuickField will build mesh in:
 Selected blocks, if any exist
 Otherwise, in labeled blocks, if any exist
 Otherwise, in all model blocks.
QuickField can mesh any subset of model blocks at a time. However,
when you start to solve the problem all blocks included in field calculation
must be covered with mesh.
You can watch the mesh building process in real time if Mesh or
Domains toggle in View menu is on.
To remove the mesh do one of the following:
 Tuning the View of the Model 55

 Choose the appropriate option from the Remove Mesh submenu of

the Edit or context menu. The blocks described by the chosen option
will be unmeshed.
 Click the Remove Mesh toolbar button. All selected blocks will be
unmeshed. If none of the blocks are selected, mesh will be removed
from all model blocks.

Geometry Model Properties Window

The Properties window can be opened using the Properties command in
the View menu. This window is docked to the task windows (as shown in
the figure) by default or can switched to floating.
The Properties window dynamically displays the current model's
properties.

The figure shows the statistics related to the geometry model as well as
the properties of the selected geometric objects (blocks, edges, and nodes).
Some properties like the object label or the discretization step may be
changed by typing it in or selecting the new value from the drop-down
list.
The label value is set separately for every type of geometric object.
To set the step of discretization, switch the mode to Manual and enter the
new Spacing value or select one from the list.

Tuning the View of the Model

QuickField provides the following ways to control the contents of the
model window:
56 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

 Zooming the Model - gives you the ability to see more or less of
your model to deal with small or large objects.
 Setting Model Discretization Visibility - makes the picture more
suitable to specific tasks of model creation process.
 Changing Background Grid Settings - simplifies creation of model
vertices and edges.
Consider also opening several windows for the same model and tuning
them differently. To do so, choose New Window from the Window
menu.

Zooming
To match window size with the size of the model:
 Click Zoom to Fit toolbar button.
To magnify the picture:
 Click Zoom In toolbar button.
 With left button pressed drag the mouse diagonally drawing a
rubberband rectangle around that part of the model you want to fill
the window, and release the button.
Or
 Click inside the window. QuickField will use magnification factor 2
relative to the clicked point.
Shortcut: CTRL + emulates click at the central point of the
window.
To see more of the model:
 Click Zoom Out toolbar button.
Shortcut: CTRL -

Model Discretization Visibility

There are four switches in the View menu that control the discretization
visibility level: Mesh, Domains, Breaking, and Spacing. These are
accessible in the View menu. When all these switches are off, QuickField
displays blocks without discretization. This mode is the most convenient
when you describe the geometry and assign labels to objects. When the
Spacing switch is on, QuickField draws the circles with corresponding
radiuses around the vertices where the spacing values have been set
manually.
When the Breaking switch is on, the ends of the elements are indicated
with tic marks along the edges. It is convenient to switch both Spacing
and Breaking on while setting the mesh spacing values. Turn the Mesh
switch on to view the mesh building process. In the end you will see the
 Tuning the View of the Model 57

complete triangular mesh. If the Domains switch is on and the Mesh

switch is off, QuickField displays the subdomains prepared for
triangulation by the geometric decomposition process.

Background Grid
Grid makes creation of model vertices and edges easier and helps to check
correctness of the model. To change the grid, choose Grid Settings in the
Edit or context menu and change the dialog fields described below
according to your needs.

The Show Grid option allows to switch grid visibility on and off.
The Snap to Grid option allows to switch grid attraction on and off.
When attraction is on new vertices can appear either at intersection points
of model edges or at grid nodes. This makes model description faster and
results in more consistent models.
The Grid Spacing field defines the sizes of the grid cell. To define
different horizontal and vertical sizes, first check the Anisotropic box.
The Anisotropic option allows to define the grid cell with different
horizontal and vertical sizes.
The Scale with Zoom option allows to switch between different policies
related to changing grid cell sizes with zoom.
When the option is on (default) the grid cell sizes retain approximately the
same values in screen coordinates.
When the option is off the grid cell sizes retain the same values in length
units defined for the model.
The Grid Origin field defines the coordinates of one of grid nodes. This
allows to create vertices at even distances from the point with such
coordinates.
58 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

Exchanging Model Fragments with Other

Programs
Importing Model Fragments from DXF Files
You can import model geometry or its fragments from a DXF file
produced by any of major CAD systems. To do so, click Import DXF in
the File menu and enter the required file name in the dialog. If needed, the
window will be automatically zoomed after the import to fit the entire
model.
When importing the 2D geometry from CAD systems it is often required
to fix the imported model errors. In particular, some nodes closely
positioned to other nodes or edges in fact should be merged into the single
node. This algorithm is controlled by the relative accuracy parameter (as a
fraction of the model size), which may be adjusted in the model property
window. Dimensionless parameter Settings/DXF import/ Tolerance
defines the geometry tolerance as a ratio from the maximal model size.

Ignore extents? is a flag for ignoring the size of the model fragment
recorded in the DXF file. In some cases this information is incorrect and
may prevent the successful model import.
We provide the special add-in to QuickField that allows you to import
sketches from running SolidWorks® application to QuickField models.
Choose Import from SolidWorks... command from the Edit menu to
invoke this add-in.
For more details refer to online help library.

Exporting Model Fragments to DXF Files

You can export model geometry or its fragments to files in DXF format
which is readable by QuickField and by all major CAD system. To do so,
choose Export DXF from the File menu and specify the name of the
output file in the dialog. If some of the model objects are selected, choose
whether to export the selected objects or the entire model.
 Exchanging Model Fragments with Other Programs 59

It is also possible to export the model mesh to an ASCII text file. This
feature allows to interact with other finite element analysis programs. In
particular, you can use QuickField as a mesh generator for your own FEM
solver.
The detailed description of the resulting file format can be found in the
QuickField Help. In brief – the file contains the data defining the model
geometry, the finite element mesh and the labels assigned to model
objects. We provide the utility allowing to import files in this format to
MATLAB® in the form compatible with Partial Differential Equations
Toolbox (PDE Toolbox).

Copying Model Picture to Windows Clipboard

You can copy the model picture, as you see it in the window, to clipboard
for subsequent including it to your paper or report in any word-processing
or desktop publishing utility.
 To copy the picture, click Copy Visible Picture in the Edit or
context menu.
The picture is copied to the clipboard in both vector (WMF and EMF) and
raster (device independent bitmap) representation.

Exporting Model Picture

The model picture may be saved to a file in either vector or raster
representation. Vector formats include Windows Metafile format (WMF)
or Extended Windows Metafile (EMF).
The list of supported raster formats includes BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG and
PNG. Select BMP for maximum picture quality, (without compression),
GIF if you prefer the minimum size, JPEG or PNG as a compromise
between size and quality, and TIFF for best compatibility with prepress or
publishing software.
For raster formats QuickField allows to define the height and width of the
resulting picture in pixels. Their default value is agreed with the actual
size of the copied window. Increasing of the raster picture size requires
more disk space, but provides higher quality pictures for publishing.
To save the picture into the file:
 Select “Export Picture” in the File menu of the window with the
picture displayed. File name and format selection dialogue will be
shown.
 Select needed File Type from the list, and set the name and location of
the file in the File Name field.
 Click on OK button.
60 Chapter 4 Model Geometry Definition

 The Picture Properties dialog box will be displayed if one of the

raster formats is chosen. Here you may accept the default picture size,
or redefine it by setting other height and width.

Printing the Model

You can directly print the model picture to your local or network printer,
just as you see the model in the window, with the same zooming and
discretization visibility.
 To print the picture, choose Print from the File menu. You will be
able to choose the printer and set up such picture settings as paper
size and orientation, before the printing process begins.
 To preview the output before printing, choose Print Preview from
the File menu.
 To see how the picture looks on the printer of your choice, choose
Print Setup.
 61

C H A P T E R 5

Problem Parameters Description

Before solving the problem you have to describe properties of materials

and define field sources and boundary conditions. QuickField associates
groups of related parameters with labels storing these labeled groups in
property description files. When you edit the geometric model you label
some of its elements thereby linking these elements with properties
associated with the labels. Labeling blocks, edges and vertices is
described in Chapter 4 "Model Geometry Definition".
Property description labels can be divided into groups:
With 2D-analysis:
 block labels describing material properties and loads for subregions
of the model;
 edge labels assigning specific boundary conditions to model
boundaries;
 vertex labels describing singular sources or constraints applied to
points of the model.
With 3D-analysis:
 body labels describing material properties and loads for three-
dimensional solids of the model;
 face labels assigning specific boundary conditions to model boundary
faces;
 edge labels assigning specific boundary conditions to model boundary
edges;
 vertex labels describing singular sources or constraints applied to
points of the model.
Property descriptions differ between different problem types. QuickField
opens property descriptions for different problem types in different
windows and stores them in a different files with different file extensions:
Problem type File extension
DC and Transient magnetics .dms
AC (time-harmonic) magnetics .dhe
Electrostatics .des
62 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

DC conduction .dcf
AC conduction .dec
Transient electric analysis .dtv
Steady state and Transient heat transfer .dht
Stress analysis .dsa

 To create empty property description, open File menu, click New,

and select appropriate document type from the list.
 To load property descriptions from the existing file, open File menu
and click Open, or drag the file from Windows Explorer into
QuickField window, or open the corresponding QuickField problem
and double-click the name of the file in problem description window.

Editing properties of materials and boundary

conditions
Having opened the property description file, you will see a new window
displaying property labels as a tree. The tree contains three branches
representing, top to bottom, labels assigned to blocks, edges and vertices.
To provide visual assistance to users, QuickField accompanies all labels
with meaningful icons.
Icons displayed by the labels mean:
2D Analysis 3D Analysis
Block label specifying Body label specifying
material properties material properties
Edge label specifying Face label specifying
boundary condition boundary condition
Vertex label specifying Edge label specifying
boundary condition or boundary condition
source
Vertex label specifying
None boundary condition or
source

Label without associated properties that is referenced in

a model

Empty block label. The blocks assigned this label will be

excluded from calculations.

Label associated with default boundary condition and

zero source
 Creating a New Label 63

Creating a New Label

To create a new label:
1. Open Insert menu and click Block Label, Edge Label or Vertex
Label (Body Label, Face Label, Edge Label or Vertex Label in a
case of 3D analysis), or click New Label in the context (right mouse
button) menu of the corresponding branch of labels in the tree.
2. A new label appears in the list prompting you to specify the label’s
name.
3. Type the name and press enter.
4. After you define the data, new label appears in the list of existing
labels. If data editing was canceled, new label is not created.

Editing Label Data

To edit the data associated with a label:
 double-click the label in the list, or
 select the label and click Properties in Edit menu, or
 right-click the label and choose Properties from context menu.
You will see a dialog box dependent on the types of the problem and the
geometric object linked to the label.
To close the dialog accepting all changes, click OK. To close the dialog
discarding changes, click Cancel.

Editing Data in DC and Transient Magnetics

Block labels in magnetostatic problems can be associated with data
containing two components of magnetic permeability tensor, the total
current or the current density, and the magnitude and the direction of
permanent magnet’s coercive force.
64 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

To specify linear or circular magnetization, select Cartesian or Polar

coordinates respectively. In case of Cartesian coordinates the angle is
measured from the horizontal axis. In case of Polar coordinates the angle
is measured from the radius vector.

Cartesian Polar

For nonlinear materials, magnetic permeability is replaced with

magnetization curve. To define a new curve, check Nonlinear. It will get
you into B-H curve editor. If B-H curve is already defined, the dialog box
contains the B-H Curve button allowing you to open the curve editor.
Editing the magnetization curve is discussed in "Editing Curves" section
later in this chapter.
 Editing Label Data 65

When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for magnetic
permeability components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values mean blocks with the label will be excluded from
calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including the
blocks into calculation), type in the required value of magnetic
permeability.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the
components of magnetic permeability tensor synchronously. To specify
different components, check Anisotropic before entering the required
values. The dialog labels besides tensor components reflect the coordinate
system (Cartesian or Polar) selected for the property.
For transient problems, QuickField allows specifying non-zero electric
conductivity in any block. In such case, it calculates the distribution of
eddy currents in this block. The electrical conductivity of the material may
depend on temperature. Dependency is given in tabular form and
automatically be approximated by a spline. To specify the electrical
conductivity, which depends on temperature, check the
Function of Temperature check box to get into the curve editor.
Enter a number or a formula into the Temperature field. The formula
describes the temperature dependency on time and coordinates. Please
note that all coordinates in a formula are given in meters no regards to
length units you have choose for the problem

Note. The temperature value could be given either in Celsius or Kelvin

degrees, but you have to use the same units in the Temperature field and
in the curve.

The ways you define field sources for transient and non-transient
problems are slightly different. Also transient problems allow using two
types of conductors, stranded and solid. QuickField distinguishes between
these types by the specified electric conductivity. Zero electric
conductivity value implies stranded conductor and no eddy currents in the
block. Non-zero value implies solid conductor and forces QuickField to
calculate eddy current distribution for the block.
For non-transient problems, as well as for zero electric conductivity
blocks in transient problems, you can define the field source either by
current density value or by the total number of ampere-turns (total
current). For total current, QuickField will, depending on your choice,
either consider the blocks labeled with the label as single conductor or as
several conductors connected in series. Serially connected conductors
always carry the same current with calculated current densities inversely
proportional to their squares.
Providing total number of ampere-turns for axisymmetric problems, you
can additionally specify that current density in your coil varies inversely
66 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

to radius rather than being distributed uniformly. It might be closer to

reality if your block represents massive spiral coil with considerably
different internal and external diameters.
The specified current density can depend on coordinates. Besides that, for
transient problems, both the current density and the total current can be
time-dependent. To specify time- or coordinate-dependent physical
property, type the required formula in place of numerical value. Formulas
are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For transient problems, QuickField allows specifying non-zero electric
conductivity in any block. In such case, it calculates the distribution of
eddy currents in this block. For non-zero electric conductivity blocks in
transient problems, you define the field source as applied voltage or total
current. QuickField considers the voltage as applied to whole conductor.
The voltage, therefore, cannot depend on coordinates but can be time-
dependent.
If the field analysis is performed with the electric circuit connected, then
applied voltage or the full current for the solid conductor (with non-zero
conductivity) cannot be defined in the label properties window. Instead of
it, include all the conductive blocks into electric circuit with voltage or
current sources attached to them. Only the parallel or serial connection of
the separate conductors with the same label assigned should be defined in
the label properties window.

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known magnetic potential) and Neumann (a density of surface
current) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates. For transient
problems, they can also be time-dependent. To specify time- or
coordinate-dependent boundary condition, enter the required formula in
place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using
Formulas" section later in this chapter.
 Editing Label Data 67

Vertex labels in magnetostatic problem can be associated with known

magnetic potential or concentrated current values. Check one of the
options and enter appropriate value.
In transient magnetic problem magnetic potential or linear current can be
time dependent. To specify time dependent boundary condition enter the
required formula in place of numerical value. Formula syntax and other
details are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later in this
chapter.
Magnetic potential and concentrated current can depend on coordinates. In
such case, QuickField calculates individual boundary condition values for
all vertices linked to the label.

Editing Data in AC Magnetics

Block labels in problems of ac magnetics can be associated with data

containing the values of two components of magnetic permeability tensor,
the value of electric conductivity and one of three values defining the field
source: source current density, voltage, or total current.
68 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for magnetic
permeability components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values mean that blocks with this label will be excluded
from calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including
the blocks into calculation), type in the required value of magnetic
permeability.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the
components of magnetic permeability tensor synchronously. To specify
different components, check Anisotropic before entering the required
values. The dialog labels besides tensor components reflect the coordinate
system (Cartesian or Polar) selected for the property.
When dealing with nonlinear materials, instead of magnetic permeability
you need to define the magnetization curve. To do so, check the
Nonlinear box and QuickField will display the Edit B-H Curve dialog
that allows to define the curve. To reopen the Edit Curve dialog later,
click the Edit B-H Curve button.

Note. In AC Harmonic Magnetics the magnetic flux density value at every

field point depends on time. So, the magnetic permeability values do the
same. To calculate the field values QuickField defines such equivalent
time-independent magnetic permeability that the average magnetic field
energy, (B·H)/2, for the period remains unchanged.

Defining a magnetization curve with the Curve Editor you specify the DC-
based B(H) dependency and QuickField automatically recalculates the
curve for the problem-defined frequency. The graph shows the original
DC-based curve in green color while the curve recalculated for the
problem-defined frequency is dashed red.
Enter the value of electrical conductivity to the Conductivity field or
leave zero for non-conductive material. The electrical conductivity of the
material may depend on temperature. Dependency is given in tabular form
and automatically be approximated by a spline. To specify the electrical
conductivity, which depends on temperature, check the
Function of Temperature check box, to get into the curve editor.
Enter a number or a formula into the Temperature field. The formula
describes the temperature dependency on coordinates. Please note that all
coordinates in a formula are given in meters no regards to length units you
have choose for the problem.
You can import the temperature field from a coupled heat transfer
problem. To do that create and solve a heat transfer problem based on the
same geometry model, and link it to the problem. When the imported
temperature field and temperature given by a constant or a formula are
both available, the imported temperature will be used.
 Editing Label Data 69

Note. The temperature value could be given either in Celsius or Kelvin

degrees, but you have to use the same units in the Temperature field and
in the curve.

If the field analysis is performed with the electric circuit connected, then
applied voltage or the full current for the solid conductor (with non-zero
conductivity) cannot be defined in the label properties window. Instead of
it, include all the conductive blocks into electric circuit with voltage or
current sources attached to them. Only the parallel or serial connection of
the separate conductors with the same label assigned should be defined in
the label properties window.
The ways you define field sources are different for conductors and
non-conductive blocks. For solid conductors, you specify either applied
voltage or total current. For non-conductive blocks and stranded
conductors you always specify zero conductivity value and the field
source can only be specified by total current or current density values.
You can specify coordinate-dependent current density phase and
magnitude. To do it, enter the required formula in place of numerical
value. Formula syntax and other details are discussed in detail in "Using
Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For total current and applied voltage, QuickField will, depending on your
choice, either consider the blocks labeled with the label as single
conductor or as several conductors connected in series. Serially connected
conductors always carry the same current, whereas current densities will
be calculated when QuickField finishes solution of the problem.

Note. Unless the conductors are connected in series, the value of total
current associated with a block label specifies the gross current in all
blocks labeled with that label.

With time-harmonic problems, you always specify amplitude (peak)

values for all alternating quantities.
The tab “Core loss” allows entering properties for the soft magnetic
material, which are required to calculate the core losses in it. These
parameters are optional. If no data entered, then with default zero values
the core losses will not be calculated in the corresponding blocks. Entered
parameters are considered to be in W/m3 units.
70 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

There are two main causes for the magnetic material losses: ohmic losses
generated by eddy currents, and losses caused by the cyclic reversal of the
magnetization and proportional to the area of the hysteresis loop. If the
non-zero conductivity is specified, then for this material eddy current
losses are calculated automatically and there is no need to specify the loss
coefficients separately.
Situation is different for the laminated cores, which are made of thin
isolated sheets. In the laminated cores the electrical conductivity should be
set as 0, otherwise the eddy currents simulated with QuickField will be
too large. However, even the small eddy currents generate the losses.
They are usually taken into account using some empirical formula.
QuickField uses the empirical Bertotti formula for core loss calculation:
p = kh·f·B2 + kc·f 2· B2 + ke· (f·B)1.5
Here B – magnitude of the module of the flux density vector per period, f
– problem frequency, kh, kc, ke – volume power loss coefficients for
specific magnetic material. Default zero values of the loss coefficient will
exclude the corresponding loss component from the calculations.
First term of the formula above corresponds to the hysteresis losses,
second- to the Eddy current losses, and third approximates the additional
magnetic losses, not covered by first two loss types.
Specific loss coefficients for the given material are calculated outside
QuickField by data fitting using the known or measured tables of the
volume losses per flux density and frequency pст = f(B, f) . More details
about the loss coefficient calculations may be found at
www.quickfield.com/glossary/core_loss_coefficients.htm
 Editing Label Data 71

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known magnetic potential) and Neumann (a density of surface
current) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates. To specify
coordinate-dependent boundary condition, enter the required formula in
place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using
Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For details about the periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.

A vertex label in ac magnetics can be associated with known potential or

concentrated current values. Check one of the options and enter
appropriate value.
Magnetic potential and concentrated current can depend on coordinates. In
such case, QuickField calculates individual boundary condition values for
all vertices linked to the label.
72 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

Editing Data in Electrostatics

Block labels in electrostatics problem can be associated with data

containing two components of electric permittivity tensor and electric
charge density.
When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for electric
permittivity components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values means blocks with the label will be excluded from
calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including the
blocks into calculation), type in the required value of electric permittivity.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the
components of electric permittivity tensor synchronously. To specify
different components, check Anisotropic before entering the required
values. The dialog labels besides tensor components reflect the coordinate
system (Cartesian or Polar) selected for the property.
You can specify coordinate-dependent electric charge density. To do it,
enter the required formula in place of numerical value. Formula syntax
and other details are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later
in this chapter.
When working with 3D electrostatic analysis, the permittivity and a given
charge density are given in a body label. You edit the body label almost in
the same way as a 2D block label, except that anisotropy is not supported
here so far.
 Editing Label Data 73

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known voltage) and Neumann (known normal component of
electric induction) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates. To
specify coordinate-dependent boundary condition, enter the required
formula in place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in
"Using Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For details about the periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.

A vertex label in electrostatics can be associated with known potential or

concentrated charge values. Check one of the options and enter
appropriate value.
The values of known potential and concentrated charge can depend on
coordinates. In such case, QuickField calculates individual boundary
condition values for all vertices linked to the label.
74 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

Editing Data in DC Conduction Problems

Block labels in dc conduction problem can be associated with data

containing two components of electric conductivity tensor.
When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for electric
conductivity components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values means blocks with the label will be excluded from
calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including the
blocks into calculation), type in the required value of electric conductivity.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the
components of electric conductivity tensor synchronously. To specify
different components, check Anisotropic before entering the required
values. The dialog labels besides tensor components reflect the coordinate
system (Cartesian or Polar) selected for the property.
The electrical conductivity of the material may depend on temperature.
Dependency is given in tabular form and automatically be approximated
by a spline. To specify the electrical conductivity, which depends on
temperature, check the Function of Temperature check box to get into
the curve editor.
Enter a number or a formula into the Temperature field. The formula
describes the temperature dependency on coordinates. Please note that all
coordinates in a formula are given in meters no regards to length units you
have choose for the problem.
 Editing Label Data 75

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known voltage) and Neumann (known normal dc conduction
density) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates. To specify
coordinate-dependent boundary condition, enter the required formula in
place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using
Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For details about the periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.

A vertex label in dc conduction problem can be associated with known

potential or external current values. Check one of the options and enter
appropriate value.
The values of known potential and external current can depend on
coordinates. In such case, QuickField calculates individual boundary
condition values for all vertices linked to the label.
76 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

Editing Data in AC Conduction Problems

Block labels in ac conduction problems can be associated with data

containing the values of two components of electric permittivity tensor
and two components of electric conductivity.
When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for electric
permittivity components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values means blocks with the label will be excluded from
calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including the
blocks into calculation), type in the required value of electric permittivity.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the tensor
components synchronously. To specify different component values, check
Anisotropic before entering the required values. The dialog labels besides
tensor components reflect the coordinate system (Cartesian or Polar)
selected for the property.
With time-harmonic problems, you always specify amplitude, or peak,
values for all alternating quantities.
 Editing Label Data 77

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known voltage) and Neumann (normal component of the
current density) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates. To
specify coordinate-dependent boundary condition, enter the required
formula in place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in
"Using Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For discussion on periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.

A vertex label in ac conduction problem can be associated with known

potential or external current values. Check one of the options and enter
appropriate value.
The values of known potential and external current can depend on
coordinates. In such case, QuickField calculates individual boundary
condition values for all vertices linked to the label.

Editing Data in Transient Electric Analysis

78 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

Block labels in transient electric problem are similar to AC Conduction,

except both permittivity and conductivity can be nonlinear.
When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for electric
permittivity components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values means that the blocks with this label will be
excluded from calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby
including the block into calculation), type in the required value of electric
permittivity.
To define the field dependent permittivity or conductivity, check the
corresponding Nonlinear box, the curve editor will appear allowing to
enter or edit the dependency curve.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the tensor
components synchronously. To specify different component values, check
Anisotropic before entering the required values. The dialog labels besides
tensor components reflect the coordinate system (Cartesian or Polar)
selected for the property.

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Select condition

type and enter appropriate values.
Dirichlet (known voltage) and Neumann (normal component of the
current density) boundary conditions can depend on coordinates and on
time. To specify coordinate and time dependent boundary condition, enter
the required formula in place of numerical value. Formulas are discussed
in detail in "Using Formulas" section later in this chapter.
For details about the periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.
 Editing Label Data 79

A vertex label can be associated with known potential or external current.

Check one of the options and enter appropriate value.
These values can be time or coordinate dependent. In this case QuickField
calculates individual boundary condition values for all vertices linked to
the label.

Editing Data in Heat Transfer Problems

Block labels in heat transfer problem can be associated with data

containing two components of thermal conductivity tensor and heat source
volume power. For transient problems the data should also contain
specific heat and volume density values.
When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for thermal
conductivity components contain None. The word None in these boxes or
absence of the values means that blocks with the label will be excluded
from calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including
the blocks into calculation), type in the required value of thermal
conductivity.
80 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, QuickField changes the

components of thermal conductivity tensor synchronously. To specify
different components, check Anisotropic before entering the required
values. The dialog labels besides tensor components reflect the coordinate
system (Cartesian or Polar) selected for the property.
To define thermal conductivity as a function of temperature, check
Nonlinear in Thermal Conductivity field group. It will get you into
temperature curve editor for defining  = (T). Curve editing is discussed
in detail in "Editing Curves" section later in this chapter.
To define heat source volume power as a function of temperature, check
Function of Temperature. It will get you into temperature curve editor
for defining q = q(T). Curve editing is described in detail in "Editing
Curves".
Heat source volume power can be dependent on coordinates or, in
transient problems, on time. To define coordinate- or time-dependent heat
source volume power, enter the required formula in place of numerical
value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later
in this chapter.
To define specific heat as a function of temperature, check Nonlinear in
For Time-Domain Only field group. It will get you into temperature curve
editor for defining C = C(T). Curve editing is described in detail in
"Editing Curves".
 Editing Label Data 81

Edge labels can be associated with boundary conditions. Heat flux,

convection, and radiation can be combined together implying that the heat
flow through the surface will consist of several components. Check
appropriate condition types and enter the required values.
Dirichlet (known temperature), Neumann (heat flux), convection and
radiation boundary conditions can be coordinate- and, in transient
problems, time-dependent. To specify coordinate- or time-dependent
boundary condition, enter the required formula in place of numerical
value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later
in this chapter.
For details about the periodic boundary condition, please see section
"Periodic Boundary Conditions" later in this chapter.

A vertex label in heat transfer problem can be associated with known

temperature or linear heat source. Check one of the options and enter
appropriate value.
The values of known temperature and heat source capacity can be
coordinate- and, in transient problems, time-dependent. QuickField
calculate individual coordinate-dependent boundary condition values for
all vertices linked to the label. To specify coordinate- or time-dependent
boundary condition, enter the required formula in place of numerical
value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas" section later
in this chapter.

Editing Data in Stress Analysis

Block labels in stress analysis problem can be associated with three
groups of data values, Elasticity, Loads, and Allowable Stresses. You
specify the data contained in these groups on related dialog pages. All text
box labels on these pages always reflect the coordinate system (Cartesian
or Polar) selected for the property.
82 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

1. Elasticity

When you associate data with a new label, the text boxes for Young's
moduli contain None. The word None in these boxes or absence of the
values means that blocks with the label will be excluded from
calculations. To define the material’s properties (thereby including the
blocks into calculation), type in the required values of Young's moduli.
As long as Anisotropic is unchecked, only two of the values entered on
this dialog page remain independent. As you type in a new value,
QuickField automatically updates the rest of them. To describe orthotropic
materials with seven independent values, check Anisotropic before
entering the required values.
2. Loads

Body Force vector components can depend on coordinates. To specify

coordinate-dependent loads, enter the required formula in place of
numerical value. Formulas are discussed in detail in "Using Formulas"
section later in this chapter.
The ways you define data for thermal loading are different for coupled
thermo-structural problems and non-coupled problems:
 Editing Label Data 83

 For uncoupled problems, you specify the difference in temperature

between strained and strainless states. This difference is assumed to
be the same for all blocks labeled with this label.
 For coupled thermo-structural problems, you specify the strainless
state temperature of the blocks subjected to thermal loading. This
temperature is assumed to be the same for all blocks labeled with this
label. Solving the problem, QuickField defines individual strained
state temperature for each of these blocks.
3. Allowable Stresses

The values of allowable stresses do not affect problem solution. They are
used only in postprocessing to calculate the Mohr-Coulomb,
Drucker-Prager, and Hill criteria. You don't need to define allowable
stresses, if these criteria are of no interest to you.

Edge labels can be associated with prescribed displacement along one or

both of coordinate axes combined with prescribed surface forces. You
either define the latter as normal pressure or specify required Cartesian or
polar coordinate values. To apply fixed displacement along an axis, check
the appropriate box and enter the required displacement value.
84 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

A vertex label in stress analysis can be associated with rigid or elastic

support along one or both of coordinate axes, or with concentrated
external force. To describe rigid constraint along an axis, check the
appropriate box and enter the required displacement value.

Periodic Boundary Conditions

A special type of boundary conditions is implemented in QuickField to
reduce the model size when simulating periodic structures, like poles in
electric machines, – periodic boundary conditions. These conditions apply
to two opposite sides of a model and force the fields on both boundaries to
be either the same (even periodicity) or opposite (odd periodicity). The
periodic condition is more generic than Dirichlet or Neumann condition,
since it does not imply that the field is symmetric (no normal component)
or antisymmetric (no tangential field) on the given boundary. Both
components may exist, but they are forced to be the same or opposite.
 Editing Label Data 85

Unlike other finite element packages, QuickField does not require that the
mesh be equal on both boundaries, and is capable of merging potential
values on edges with mismatching edge mesh.
To apply this type of condition, simply check the correspondent box
(Even or Odd Periodical) for the label assigned to edges on the two
boundaries – QuickField will analyze the geometry and detect the
periodicity automatically.

Note. If you expect symmetric or antisymmetric field behavior, even

though the structure is periodic, it is still more efficient to apply Dirichlet
or Neumann boundary condition.

Editing Curves
Curves in QuickField represent dependencies between two physical
properties, e.g., magnetic field intensity and flux density or temperature
and thermal conductivity. To define a curve in QuickField, you open this
curve’s editor and enter coordinates of several points on its graph.
QuickField accumulates the points in a table and provides you with
graphical representation of the curve interpolating between the table
points with cubic splines. QuickField solver always uses the interpolated
values displayed on screen during the edit session.

To add a new point to the curve, do the following:

1. Either click the leftmost cell of the last row that is marked New, or
press on the toolbar.
2. Enter the argument value and press ENTER. The cursor will move to
the next cell
3. Enter the function value and press ENTER again.
86 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

To correct a table value, simply type the new value in the table cell.
To copy table rows to the Clipboard, either select these rows in the table
or select the corresponding points on the graph and press ( CTRL+C). The
copied rows could be later pasted into the table.
To remove the point, select it in the table or on the graph and click Delete
button or press the DEL key.
You may control the scaling of the graph with use of zoom buttons. To
make the whole graph visible, click Zoom to fit button.
Dragging a dialog window boundary allows to resize the window.
QuickField remembers the resulting window size and position for future
use.
The graph image could be copied to the Clipboard and/or saved to a file.
To do that, invoke the corresponding commands in the context (right-
click) menu of the graph.
To finish editing, click Close or press ESC. Note that subsequent canceling
of label data editing with ESC or Cancel will discard all changes including
those made during curve editing.

Using Formulas
Solving a problem you might need to specify a boundary condition or a
field source as a function of time or coordinates. To do that, QuickField
allows entering formula-defined field values instead of constant numerical
values. The fields accepting formula-defined values are specified above in
this chapter. Besides that, the fields accepting formula-defined values can
be distinguished by adjacent button and by the appropriate tooltip text.
Formula in QuickField is a mathematical expression constructed of
numbers, arithmetical operators, parentheses, built-in constants and
functions and predefined variables. Formula syntax is typical for most
algorithmic languages and standard mathematical notation.
When you specify a formula-defined value QuickField checks the formula
syntax and reports syntax errors to you. If the syntax is correct, calculator
tries to calculate the result using current values of predefined variables.
This calculation might also result in error if, for example, the value of a
function argument does not belong to the function’s domain of definition.
As with syntax errors, QuickField reports such errors to you.
Physical properties allowing definitions with formulas
The following properties can be defines with formulas (f(x,y) denotes
function of coordinates, f(t) denotes function of time).
Magnetostatics
 Editing Label Data 87

Block labels f(x,y) f(t)

Current density +
Total current
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
Magnetic potential +
Surface current density +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current +
Magnetic potential +

Transient magnetics
Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Current density in stranded conductors + +
Total current +
Voltage applied to solid conductors +
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
Magnetic potential + +
Surface current density + +
Vertex labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current + +
Magnetic potential + +

AC magnetics (phase and magnitude)

Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Current density in stranded conductors +
Total current in solid conductors
Voltage applied to solid conductors
Edge Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Magnetic potential +
Surface current density +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current +
Magnetic potential +

Electrostatics
Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Electric charge density +
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
88 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

Voltage +
Normal component of electric induction +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated (linear) charge +
Voltage +

DC Conduction
Block Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Not applicable
Edge Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Voltage +
Normal current density +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current +
Voltage +

AC Conduction (phase and magnitude)

Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Not applicable
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
Voltage +
Normal current density +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current +
Voltage +

Transient Electric
Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Not applicable
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
Voltage + +
Normal current density + +
Vertex Labels f(x,y) f(t)
Concentrated current + +
Voltage + +
 Editing Label Data 89

Heat Transfer
Block labels f(x,y) f(t)*
Heat source volume power + +
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)*
Temperature + +
Heat flux + +
Film coefficient and temperature of contacting fluid
+ +
medium
Emissivity coefficient and ambient radiation
+ +
temperature
Vertex labels f(x,y) f(t)*
Concentrated (linear) heat source + +
Temperature + +

* Time-dependent values are used only in transient heat transfer problems

Stress Analysis
Block labels f(x,y) f(t)
Components of body force density +
Temperature difference between strained and
+
strainless states
Edge labels f(x,y) f(t)
Prescribed displacement allows only linear
+
dependency on coordinates
Normal pressure +
Components of surface force density +
Vertex labels f(x,y) f(t)
External force +
Elastic support

Syntax
QuickField formula is an expression composed of the following elements:
 Numerical constants
Integral (Example: 123)
Fixed-point (Examples: 123.45 123. 0.123 .123)
Floating-point (Examples: 1e12 5.39e+8 0.1E-12 .2E+2)
 Arithmetic operators
+ addition (Ex: 2+2)
- subtraction (Ex: 3-5)
* multiplication (Ex: 1.23*0.12)
/ division (Ex: 1E5/0.01)
90 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

^ raising to a power (Ex: 3.14^2)

 Unary operators
+ sign retaining (Ex: +180)
- sign change (Ex: -180)
 Embedded functions
abs - absolute value
sign - sign
max - maximum
min - minimum
step - step-function by 1
impulse - impulse segment
sin - sine
cos - cosine
tan - tangent
asin - arc sine
acos - arc cosine
atan - arc tangent
atan2 - angle of the vector defined by two arguments
exp - exponent
log - natural logarithm
sqrt - square root
pow - raising to a power
saw - saw-tooth periodic function
 Embedded constants
pi - pi
e -e
 Predefined variables
t - current time
x - Cartesian coordinate x
y - Cartesian coordinate y
r - polar coordinate r
phi - polar coordinate φ (in degrees).
 Parentheses (change the order of operations)
 Space and tabulation characters
 Editing Label Data 91

Notes:
1. Numerical values should not contain group separators. Use dots ('.') as
decimal separators regardless of regional settings.
2. QuickField allows using both e and E to separate mantissa and
magnitude in floating point values.
3. The names of embedded functions, constants and predefined variables
are case insensitive.
4. QuickField allows enclosing of names in double quotes. For example,
sin (t) is equivalent to "sin"(t).
5. Operation precedence (highest to lowest): ^, then * and /, then + and -.
Use parentheses, if you need to change this order.
6. QuickField allows to insert any number of spaces inside a formula
without impact, provided the inserted spaces are not inside names.
7. Place function arguments inside parentheses after the name of the
function and separate them with commas (',').

Constants and Predefined Variables

pi 3.141592653589793238462643 The constant equal to the ratio
of the length of any circle to its
diameter.

e 2.718281828459045235360287 The constant equal to the base

of natural logarithms.

t Predefined variable denoting

the current time value. Used
with transient problems.

x 0 Predefined variable denoting

the x-coordinate.

y 0 Predefined variable denoting

the y-coordinate.

Functions
Name Formula Comments
abs 𝑣, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 ≥ 0 The function value is equal
𝑎𝑏𝑠(𝑣) = |𝑣| = {
−𝑣, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 0 to absolute value of the
argument.

sign 1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 > 0 The function value is equal

𝑣
𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛(𝑣) = = { 0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 = 0 to the sign of the
|𝑣|
−1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 0 argument.
92 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

max max(1, …) The function value is equal

to the maximum of all
arguments. You must
specify 2 or more
arguments.

min min(1, …) The function value is equal

to the minimum of all
arguments. You must
specify 2 or more
arguments.

step 1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 ≥ 0 The function value is equal

𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝(𝑣) = {
0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 0 to 0 for negative
arguments and to 1 for
non-negative arguments.
The function has a step
discontinuity when its
argument value is 0.

impulse 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒(𝑣, 𝑙, 𝑟) =
0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 𝑙
= {1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑙 ≤ 𝑣 ≤ 𝑟
0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 > 𝑟

The function represents

impulse restricted to [l, r]
segment. If l > r, an error
occurs. The function value
is equal to 1 when v is
between l and r, both ends
included; otherwise, its
value is 0.

sin sin() The function value is equal

to sine of the argument.
The argument is defined in
degrees.

cos cos() The function value is equal

to cosine of the argument.
The argument is defined in
degrees.
 Editing Label Data 93

tan tan() The function value is equal

  90º + k180º, where k is integer to tangent of the argument.
The argument is defined in
degrees. If argument value
is an odd multiple of 90º
an error occurs.

asin asin() = arcsin() The function value is equal

-1    1 to arc sine of the argument
in degrees. The argument
value v must conform to
inequality -1    1,
otherwise an error occurs.

acos acos() = arccos() The function value is equal

-1    1 to arc cosine of the
argument in degrees. The
argument value v must
conform to inequality -1 
  1, otherwise an error
occurs.

atan atan() = arctan() The function value is equal

to arc tangent of the
argument. The value is
given in degrees.

atan2 atan(1, 2) = arctan(1/2) The function value is equal

to the angle between the x-
axis and the direction from
coordinate origin to the
point with ordinate 1 and
abscissa 2. The value is
given in degrees and is
always between 0 and 360.
If both arguments are zero,
the value is also zero.
Otherwise, if 2 is zero,
the value is 90, for positive
1, or 270, for negative
1.

exp exp() = e The function value is equal

to exponent of the
argument. Calculation
might cause the overflow
error.
94 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

log log() = ln() The function value is equal

to natural logarithm of the
argument. The argument
value must be positive,
otherwise an error occurs

sqrt sqrt() =  The function value is equal

to square root of the
argument. The argument
value must be non-
negative, otherwise an
error occurs.

pow pow(, p) = p The function value is equal

to the first argument value
raised to the power defined
by second argument value.
An error occurs unless the
arguments conform to the
following conditions: the
first argument is non-
negative; if the first
argument value is 0, the
second argument is
positive. Calculation might
cause the overflow error.

saw saw(,p) =
𝑣/𝑝, 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑣 < 𝑝
{𝑠𝑎𝑤(𝑣 + 𝑝), 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 0
𝑠𝑎𝑤(𝑣 − 𝑝), 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 ≥ 𝑝

saw(,p,p0) =
𝑣
, 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑣 < 𝑝
𝑝
0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑝 ≤ 𝑣 < 𝑝 + 𝑝0
𝑠𝑎𝑤(𝑣 + (𝑝 + 𝑝0)), 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 < 0
{𝑠𝑎𝑤(𝑣 − (𝑝 + 𝑝0)), 𝑖𝑓 𝑣 ≥ 𝑝 + 𝑝0
 Editing Label Data 95

Relative to its first argument this function is periodic. In case of

two arguments the period is equal to the second argument
value. In case of three arguments the period is the sum of the
last two argument values. The function value is always 0 for 
= 0, always 1 for  = p and in between the function is linear
relative to . In case of three arguments the function value is
always 0 for other values of .
The last two argument values must be non-negative. The period
must be positive. Otherwise an error occurs.

Note. To expand the function f(t) defined on the interval (0, p)

use the expression f(t)  (saw (t, p)).

Examples
The table below contains examples you can use to learn writing your own
QuickField formulas. The left column contains mathematical formulas
with the corresponding QuickField expressions contained in its right
counterpart.
Mathematical notation Formula syntax
t (1-t)  (2-t) t*(1-t)*(2-t)

2t2 - t – 3 2*t^2 - t - 3

e-t²/2 exp(-t^2 / 2)

log2t log(t) / log(2)

sin t + cos t sin(t) + cos(t)

200sin(18000t + 240) 200*sin(18000*t+240)

2t 2^t

arcsin 2 asin(sqrt(2))
𝑡
tan tan(t / 2.4e-8)
2.4 ∙ 10−8
|2t| abs(2*pi*t)
𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡 < 0.5
{ t*step(0.5-t) + (1-t)*step(t-0.5)
1 − 𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡 ≥ 0.5
𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑡 < 0.5
t*impulse(t,0,0.5) + (1-
{1 − 𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 0.5 ≤ 𝑡 < 1 t)*impulse(t,0.5,1)
0, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
96 Chapter 5 Problem Parameters Description

sin 𝑡 , 𝑖𝑓 sin 𝑡 > cos 𝑡

{ max(sin(t), cos(t))
cos 𝑡 , 𝑖𝑓 sin 𝑡 ≤ cos 𝑡
𝑡
, 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑡 < 2
{ 2 saw(t, 2)
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 2
10 ∙ 𝑒 5𝑡 , 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑡 < 2
{ 10, 𝑖𝑓 2 ≤ 𝑡 < 3 10 * exp(5 * saw(t,2,1))
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 3
10 ∙ 𝑒 5𝑡 , 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑡 < 2
10 * exp(5 * saw(t,3)) *
{ 0, 𝑖𝑓 2 ≤ 𝑡 < 3 impulse(saw(t,3), 0, 2/3)
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 3
𝑒 𝑡−1 , 𝑖𝑓 0 ≤ 𝑡 < 1
exp(saw(t,1,1)-1) + exp(saw(2-t,1,1)-
{ 𝑒 1−𝑡 , 𝑖𝑓 1 ≤ 𝑡 < 2 1) - exp(-1)
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 2

Copying, Renaming and Deleting Labels

Labels can be copied within single property description document or
between documents of the same type.
To copy a label:
1. In the list of labels, choose Copy from the label’s context menu.
2. Switch to destination window and click Paste in the Edit menu or
context menu.
Or,
1. Drag the label to destination position with left mouse button.
To delete a label:
 In the list of labels, choose Delete from the label’s context menu, or
 Select the label and click Delete in the Edit menu.
To move (cut and paste) a label:
1. In the list of labels, choose Cut from the label’s context menu.
2. Switch to destination window and click Paste in the Edit menu or
context menu.
Or,
1. Holding SHIFT pressed, drag the label to destination position with left
mouse button.
 97

C H A P T E R 6

Electric Circuit Definition

This chapter describes the electric circuit schema description with

QuickField Circuit Editor.
QuickField supports simultaneous finite element analysis of the time
harmonic magnetic and transient magnetic problems with simulation of
the currents and voltages in the connected electric circuit.
Electric circuit schemas in QuickField are stored in files with extensions
.qcr. You may include corresponding circuit schema file into the problem
database along with other files comprising QuickField problem (geometry
model file *.mod, data and library files, results file *.res) by editing
problem properties.

What is a Circuit?
Electric circuit consists of circuit components connected with wires.
Circuit components in QuickField can be of two kinds:
1. First group includes usual electric circuitry components, such as:
 resistors,
 capacitors,
 inductors,
 voltage sources,
 current sources.
2. Second group is specific for QuickField and represents blocks of the
geometric model. These elements are used to provide interaction
between circuit and other parts of QuickField problem.

Note. If the problem supports the external electric circuit co-simulation

then every solid conductor block (i.e. a block with non-zero conductivity)
from the geometric model should be included into the circuit only once.
98 Chapter 6 Electric Circuit Definition

How to Create a Circuit

To describe an electric circuit, you typically should do the following:
 Insert electric circuit components (resistors, capacitors, inductors,
sources);
 Specify their properties;
 Add conductive blocks from the geometric model;
 Connect circuit elements with wires.
Circuit may be then edited by changing element properties and their
connection topology. You can edit, move, rotate and delete circuit
elements. You can select several elements and perform operations with all
selected elements at once.

Adding Electric Components to the Circuit

To add new components to the circuit:
1. In the Insert menu, click Resistor, Capacitor, Inductor, Voltage
Source or Current Source, depending on component you want to
add. Alternatively you can press corresponding toolbar button.
2. Place cursor to the point where you want new component to appear
and click left mouse button.

Notes:
 The point where you click the mouse button will be the left pin of
the new device.
 Circuit components are always aligned to a nearest grid point. It
means that component will be placed so that its pins are at grid points.
 To insert component in the middle of some wire you can just
click on this wire. Wire segment will be split in two and component will
be inserted between them.

Specifying Properties for Circuit Components

To set properties for circuit component:
 double click the component in the schema, or
 select the component and click Properties in the Edit menu, or
 right click the component and choose Properties from context menu.
 How to Create a Circuit 99

Specifying Properties for Electric Components

For electric components, you can set the following properties:

Label. You can change the label for the component. It is not necessary to
change this property, because you can use the default label names. But
meaningful label names improve the model clarity and therefore
recommended. Label names should be unique within the circuit.
Value. Depending on component type, you should specify its numeric
value: resistance R, capacity C, inductance L, current I or voltage V.
For current and voltage sources you can specify formula as a value. For
transient problems, you can specify formula containing t (time).
φ (phase). For AC problems, for voltage sources and current sources, you
should specify phase value here.
Properties for components representing model blocks
For components representing model blocks, you can set the following
property:
Block. You may change the name of the QuickField block in this field.
Combo box provides the list of all blocks that should be added to the
circuit, that is, the list of all solid conductors of the model. Each block can
be specified only once.

Adding Components Representing Model

Blocks to the Circuit
To add component representing model block to the circuit:
1. Click the button Insert Block from Model or choose
Block from Model in the Insert menu.
2. Place cursor to the point where you want new component to appear
and click left mouse button.
Or, you may use drag and drop from the problem tree:
100 Chapter 6 Electric Circuit Definition

1. Click label of some block in the Problem Editor tree.

2. Drag it to the circuit editor window keeping the mouse button pressed.
3. Place cursor to the point where you want new block to appear and
release the mouse button then.

Connecting Circuit Components with Wires

To add a wire to the circuit:
1. Click the toolbar button Insert Wire or choose Wire in the Insert
menu.
2. Click on the start point of the wire and drag cursor to the end point of
the wire. Then release the mouse button. The wire connecting start
point and end point will be added.

Notes:
 This way you may add either the vertical wire segment, or
horizontal wire segment, or two wire segments, vertical and horizontal,
making the right angle. To create wire of more complex shape you should
repeat this operation several times.
 Wires are always aligned to a nearest grid node. It means that the
wire will be placed so that its end points are at grid nodes.

Adding Junction Points

To add a junction point, you should just place a wire so that one of end
points belongs to some existing wire. Junction point will be added in this
point automatically.
Placing a wire so that it intersects another wire in a middle point for both
wires is different. In this case the junction point will not be added, and the
wires will be considered as not connected.

Editing Circuit
Moving, Copying and Resizing Circuit Elements
To move circuit element to another place:
1. Place cursor over element you want to move. Cursor should have the
shape of four-pointed arrow.
2. Click left mouse button and drag the selected element keeping the
button pressed.
To resize a wire:
 Editing Circuit 101

1. Place cursor over the wire end point. Cursor should have the shape of
two-pointed arrow.
2. Click mouse button and drag the end point to a new location.
You can not only resize the wire, but also move it sideway during this
operation.
To move several elements at once:
1. Select circuit elements you want to move.
2. Place cursor over one of selected elements.
3. Click mouse button and drag the selected elements.
Dragging with Attached Elements
When you drag the circuit elements, another element attached to them
could be dragged or resized to preserve connections between elements and
wires. For example, when you drag some electric component the wires
attached to it could be also moved or resized.
Dragging without Attached Elements
Sometimes it is more convenient to drag circuit elements so that attached
wires and elements are not dragged. For example, you may want to
change the circuit topology by placing the electric component to another
position. For this, press alt and keep it pressed until you release the mouse
button.
Copying Elements
Instead of moving elements, you can make a copy of selected elements.
For this, press ctrl and keep it pressed until you release the mouse button.

Rotating Circuit Components

To rotate circuit components for 90°, 180° or 270° counterclockwise:
1. Select the components you want to rotate.
2. In the Edit menu click Rotate, and then choose the angle value: For
90°, For 180° or For 270°.
You can also use toolbar button Rotate for 90°. Press this button several
times to rotate components for desired angle.

Deleting Circuit Elements

To delete circuit elements:
1. Select the elements you want to delete.
2. In the Edit menu or context menu, click Delete.
102 Chapter 6 Electric Circuit Definition
 103

C H A P T E R 7

Solving the Problem

This chapter describes how to solve the prepared problem, and methods
QuickField uses to solve.
Several conditions have to be met to solve a problem. The problem type,
plane, required precision and other parameters have to be specified in the
problem description file. The model geometry file must contain complete
model with mesh and labels. Each label referred by the model file is to be
defined in the problem's private or library data file.
To obtain the problem solution, click Solve Problem in the Problem
menu or context (right mouse button) menu of the Problem editor. You
may skip this action and directly proceed to the analysis results by
clicking Analyze Results in the Problem or context menu. If the problem
has not been solved yet, or its results are out of date, the solver will be
invoked automatically.
Each solver runs in its separate thread, so you can solve several problems
at once or edit or analyze other problems while the problem is being
solved. There is of course no since in editing any document related to the
problem being solved.
Special bar indicator lets you see the progress of the solution process. To
interrupt it, click Cancel on the indicator's panel. When solving a transient
problem, you have an option to keep the results for already stored time
steps.
Linear problems are solved by using a powerful preconditioned conjugate
gradient method. The preconditioning based on the geometric
decomposition technique guaranties a very high speed and close to linear
dependence between number of nodes and the resulting solution time.
Nonlinear problems are solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The
Jacobian matrix arising at each step of the Newton-Raphson method is
inverted the same way as it is done for linear problems.
We use the Euler’s method (constant time step size) for solving transient
problems, with initial value set to zero or taken from another field
calculation. This method is extremely fast and stable, however we
104 Chapter 7 Solving the Problem

recommend having at least 15-20 time steps for the whole transitional
process to achieve accurate and smooth results.

Achieving Maximum Performance

The algorithm used in QuickField solver does not require the whole data
of the problem to fit into memory of your computer. The solver can
effectively handle linear algebraic systems with matrices several times
bigger than the amount of available physical memory. Data that don’t fit
into memory are stored on the hard disk. The size of the problem you can
solve on your computer is only limited by the amount of free disk space.
Memory consumption is very low compared to other FEA packages, only
about 2.7 MB per 10'000 degrees of freedom.
Although size of the problem is not limited by the amount of available
memory, having additional memory may improve performance. It is
obvious that the performance is the best when all the data can be stored in
memory and relatively slow disk access is not used during solution.

Adaptive Mesh Refinement

QuickField is capable of adaptive refinement the mesh basing on results of
previously solved problem (process also known as H-refinement). This
capability practically eliminates the need for manual mesh control,
allowing automatic mesh density adjustment in regions of highly
inhomogeneous field.
Adjusted mesh spacing is calculated in every mesh node basing on the
variation of the energy density in the node's vicinity, which is proven to be
the most reliable estimation of error distribution. Although it is not
possible to guarantee the precision, the refined mesh reaches its optimum
providing the best precision for overall given number of mesh nodes.
Smooth mesh is generated with adjusted spacing distribution, but
manually set mesh controls are also honored as top limits, guaranteeing
that the mesh spacing will never exceed the user-specified values.
Even with fully automatic initial mesh, one h-refinement iteration is
sufficient for most of the problems. The adaptive mesh refinement is
available for all simulation types supported by QuickField, including non-
linear and transient problems.
 105

C H A P T E R 8

Analyzing Solution

This chapter explains the procedures for detailed examination of the

results using the QuickField postprocessor. Here we describe working
with the solution of a two-dimensional problem. Analyzing of a three-
dimensional solution is described in the Chapter 9.
To analyze the problem solution, choose View Results in the Edit or
context menu of the problem window, or click the Analyze Results
toolbar button. QuickField will open the Field Picture window displaying
the solution results in the most appropriate way for the problem type. You
can change the presentation mode and adjust other window settings
choosing the View->Field Picture menu item.
There are several ways in QuickField to picture a field: as field lines
(isolines), as a vector map, and as a color map with colors corresponding
to intensities of the selected physical quantity. For stress analysis
problems QuickField can also display the strain and stress tensor map, and
picture the deformed boundary and shape.
For time-harmonic and transient problems QuickField allows one to
animate the field picture viewing its changes in time.
QuickField also provides the following ways to analyze the solution
results:
 Examining local field values — values of physical quantities at the
specified points.
 Integrating over the line or surface defined by the specified contour, or
over the volume or surface bounded by the contour.
 Building plots and tables that show the distribution of local field
values along the selected contour.
 Building tables and plots showing local and integral values in transient
problems versus time.
 Calculating conductor and coil parameters such as inductance,
capacitance, and impedance with specialized wizards.
106 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

 Exporting various tables or pictures or the whole finite-element

solution to other software programs.
 Building tables and plots showing voltages and currents at various
elements of the associated electric circuit.
 Displaying the trajectories of a charged particle beam in the electrical
field.
Any picture or numerical value displayed by the postprocessor can be
copied to Windows clipboard for use with any word-processing or desktop
publishing utility or subsequent use with spreadsheets or user-written
programs.

Building the Field Picture on the Screen

Interpreted Quantities
The set of the physical quantities, which can be displayed by the
Postprocessor, depends on the problem type.
For the DC and transient magnetic problems:
 Vector magnetic potential A in plane-parallel problem or flux function
 = 2rA in axisymmetric case;
 Vector of magnetic flux density B = curl A;
 Vector of magnetic field intensity H = B / ;
 Magnetic permeability  (its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Magnetic field energy density:
w = (BH)/2 —in linear media,
w = HdB —in ferromagnetic media.

With transient magnetic problem following additional field quantities are

available:
 Total electric current density j = j0 + jeddy,
 Source current density j0,
 Eddy current density
𝜕𝐴
𝑗𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 = −𝜎 .
𝜕𝑡
 Joule heat density

1 2
𝑄= 𝑗
𝜎
 Building the Field Picture on the Screen 107

For the AC magnetic problem:

 Complex amplitude of vector magnetic potential A (flux function rA in
axisymmetric case);
 Complex amplitude of voltage U applied to the conductor;
 Complex amplitude of total current density j = j0 + jeddy, source current
density j0 and eddy current density jeddy = i  σA.

All these complex quantities may be shown in form of momentary,

root mean square (RMS) or peak value in time dimension.
E.g., complex quantity z = z0ei(t+z) can be shown as:
 momentary value at a given phase 0 = –t0
 z0 = Re[z0ei(z – 0)] = z0 cos(z – 0);

 peak value z0;

 RMS value zRMS = z0 / 2.

Note. To display the momentary values, the phase is specified in degrees.

This value of the phase is applied to all the displayed quantities. When
you need the momentary values at a given moment of time t, e.g., for
comparison with the transient solution, you can obtain the corresponding
phase value using the formula
0 = –t0 = –360°f t0
where f is the magnetic field frequency in Hz, time t is in seconds. The
minus sign in this formula may appear odd and non-intuitive; nonetheless
it is necessary to provide the commonality in the definition of the term
“phase” when defining the sources and boundary conditions on one hand,
and when post processing the momentary values on the other. Let us
assume that the voltage is specified in the Data Editor to have a phase of
30°. According to the complex presentation U=U0 cos(t +), this means
that the momentary value reaches its maximum at the moment of time t
= –30°. This implies that the momentary value in the postprocessor must
also be at the maximum when t = –30°, or at phase equal to +30°, QED.

 Complex vector of the magnetic flux density B = curl A;

 Complex vector of magnetic field intensity

1
𝐇 = 𝐁,
𝜇
where  is the magnetic permeability tensor.
Complex vectors may be shown in form of momentary, RMS or peak
magnitude.
 Time average and peak Joule heat density
108 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

1 2 3
𝑄= 𝑗 + 𝑘ℎ ∙ 𝑓 ∙ 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑐 ∙ 𝑓 2 ∙ 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑒 ∙ (𝑓 ∙ 𝐵)2
𝜎
 Time average and peak magnetic field energy density w = (BH)/2;
 Time average Poynting vector (local power flow) S = [ExH];
 Time average Lorentz force density vector F = [jxB];
 Magnetic permeability  (its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Electric conductivity σ.
Besides that, if the solved problem were coupled with the connected
electric circuit, then the following parameters would be displayed in the
circuit window:
 Effective I, amplitude Iabs, momentary (for the chosen phase) and
complex (Ire, Iim) values of the current in the circuit branches;

 Effective U, amplitude Uabs, momentary (for the chosen phase) and

complex (Ure, Uim) values of the voltage drop across the circuit
component;
 Defined parameter value (resistance R, inductance L, capacitance C)
for the passive circuit components.

For the electrostatic problem:

 Scalar electric potential (voltage) U;
 Vector of electric field intensity E  grad U;
 Tensor of gradient of electric field G  grad E;
 Vector of electrostatic induction D  E;
 Electric permittivity  (or its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Electric field energy density w = (ED)/2.
For the DC conduction problem:
 Scalar electric potential U;
 Vector of electric field intensity E  gradU;
 Vector of current density j = σ E ;
 Electric conductivity σ (its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Ohmic losses per volume unit w = (jE)/2.
For the AC conduction problem:
 Complex amplitude of electric potential U;
 Complex vector of electric field intensity E = grad U
 Building the Field Picture on the Screen 109

 Complex vector of electrostatic induction D  E;

 Complex vector of active ja = σE, reactive jre = iE, and apparent
japp = ja + jre current density;

All these complex quantities may be shown in form of momentary,

root mean square (RMS) or peak value in time dimension.
E.g., complex quantity z = z0ei(t+z) may be shown as:
 momentary value at a given phase 0 = –t0
 z0 = Re[z0ei(z – 0)] = z0 cos(z – 0);

 peak value z0;

 RMS value zRMS = z0 / 2.

Note. To display the momentary values, the phase is specified in degrees.

This value of the phase is applied to all the displayed quantities. When
you need the momentary values at a given moment of time t, e.g., for
comparison with the transient solution, you can obtain the corresponding
phase value using the formula
0 = –t0 = –360°f t0
where f is the magnetic field frequency in Hz, time t is in seconds.

 Time average and peak active Qa = ja · E, reactive Qre = jre · E, and

apparent Qapp = japp · E power density;
 Electric permittivity  (or its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Electric conductivity σ (or its largest component in anisotropic media).

For transient electric field:

 Electric potential U;
 Electric field intensity E = gradU;
𝜕
 Vector of active jactive  σE, reactive jreactive  𝜀𝐄 and apparent
𝜕𝑡

japparent  jactive + jreactive current density;

 Active power (losses) density Qactive = jactive · E, reactive Qreactive
= jreactive · E, and apparent Qapparent = japparent · E power density;
 Tensor of gradient of electric field G  grad E;
 Vector of electrostatic induction (displacement) D  E;
 Electric permittivity (E);
 Electric conductivity σ(E).
110 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

For heat transfer problem:

 Temperature T;
 Vector of heat flow F = grad(T);
 Thermal conductivity  (its largest component in anisotropic media).
For stress analysis problem:
 Displacement vector ;
 Strain tensor  and its principal values;
 Stress tensor  and its principal values;
 Von Mises stress (stored energy of deformation criterion):

1
σ𝑒 = √ [(𝜎1 − 𝜎2 )2 + (𝜎2 − 𝜎3 )2 + (𝜎3 − 𝜎1 )2 ]
2

where 1, 2 and 3 denote the principal stresses in descending order.

 Tresca criterion (maximum shear): e = 1 - 3;
 Mohr-Coulomb criterion: e = 1 - 3,

where  = [+]/[-], and [+] and [-] denote tensile and compressive
allowable stress.
 Drucker-Prager criterion:
2
√𝜒 − 𝜒 1 1 − √𝜒
𝜎𝑒 = (1 + √𝜒)𝜎𝑖 − 𝜎̅ + ( ∙ 𝜎̅)
1 + √𝜒 [𝜎− ] 1 + √𝜒
where

1 𝜎1 + 𝜎2 + 𝜎3
σ𝑖 = √ [(𝜎1 − 𝜎2 )2 + (𝜎2 − 𝜎3 )2 + (𝜎3 − 𝜎1 )2 ]; 𝜎̅ =
2 3

 Tsai-Hill failure index for orthotropic materials:

𝜎12 𝜎1 𝜎2 𝜎22 𝜏12

2
𝐶𝑡ℎ = 2− 2 + 2+ 2
𝑋1 𝑋1 𝑋2 𝑆12
where 1, 2 and 12 are computed stresses in the material directions
and,
X1 = X1T if 1>0; X1 = X1C if 1<0
X2 = X2T if 2>0; X2 = X2C if 2<0
S12 = S12+ if 12>0; S12 = S12- if 12<0,
where X1T, X2T, X1C, X2C, S12+ and S12- are tensile, compressive and
shear allowable stresses.
 Building the Field Picture on the Screen 111

The Tsai-Hill failure index is calculated only for those materials,

where allowable stresses were defined (while editing the block data,
see “Problem Parameters Description”). If any pair of allowable
stresses is not given, the corresponding term is dropped while
calculating the Tsai-Hill Index.

Field Presentation Methods

Several methods are available for displaying the field picture:

Color map for distribution of a chosen

scalar quantity. The color map is
accompanied by the legend showing
the correspondence between colors and
numerical values.
You can adjust the color scale by
changing the range limits for the
chosen quantity.
Color map may be shown in gray scale
mode if you want to optimize it for
monochrome printing.

Field lines. Those are isotherms for

temperature fields, lines of equal
potential in electrostatics and flux lines
for magnetostatic problems.
You can manipulate the picture by
changing the distance between
neighboring lines. This distance is
measured in units of chosen quantity.

Vectors—family of line segments

showing magnitude and direction of the
vector quantity. Vectors are drawn in
the nodes of the regular rectangular
grid.
You can change the grid cell size and
the scaling factor for a desired vector
quantity.

The following methods are specifically for stress analysis problems:

Deformed boundary and shape

indicated by means of deformed and
original rectangular grid.
112 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Stress tensor display as a pair of

eigenvectors reflecting the direction of
principal axes, magnitudes and signs of
principal stresses (blue color denotes
tension, red color—compression);

With these methods, you can change the grid cell size and the scaling
factors in order to manipulate the appearance.
It is possible to combine several visualization methods in the same picture
to obtain the most expressive result.
QuickField can display several different field pictures for the same
problem. To open a new window, click New Window in the Window
menu.

Field Picture Constructing

When entering the Postprocessor, the default form of the field picture
appears on the screen. You may use Field Picture in the View menu or
context menu to select other display methods or quantities.

Shown dialog box corresponds to the problem of magnetostatic.

To choose desired visualization method, select corresponding check box.
You can select any combination of methods at once. If none of the
methods is selected, only the model's geometry is shown.
This dialog box also allows changing scaling parameters for selected
methods of presentation and the number of color grades used with the
color map. When you select some edit box, you can choose Suggest
button to obtain suggested value of corresponding parameter. Note that
suggested values for Minimum and Maximum fields are calculated for
the currently visible part of the model.
 Building the Field Picture on the Screen 113

In case of AC magnetic problem, equilines and vectors are drawn at

specified phase. The Field View dialog box allows setting phase value.
For more expressive field picture, you can order the second family of
equilines or vectors, shifted with regard to the first by 90°.

The Field View dialog box for the stress analysis problem additionally
allows to select tensor quantity visualization.

Sizes of the vector symbols for all vector quantities except the
displacement vector are determined by the corresponding physical value
multiplied by the scaling factor and by the cell size. Similar method is
used for stress tensor components. Unlike other vector quantities, the size
of the displacement vector on the screen does not depend on the cell size.
It is determined by the dimensionless scaling factor, the unit value of
which means that the displacement is shown in its natural scale.
114 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Color map of temperature difference in stress analysis problem visualizes

temperature distribution as it is defined by user or imported from linked
heat transfer problem. In the last case, temperature is shown only in those
blocks, where it is really taken into account.
The Failure Index option is available when the model contains at least
one block with correctly defined allowable stresses.
Choosing the OK button causes redrawing the field picture on the screen.
Cancel closes the dialog box without redrawing the picture and preserves
preceding values of all the parameters.
To save the field window settings and the associated contour for future,
use File / Save Status. To restore the saved settings, use
File / Restore Status.

Zooming
Zooming in postprocessor view is very similar to Model Editor.
To magnify the picture:
1. Click Zoom In on the toolbar

2. Select (click and drag diagonally) the rectangular part of the picture to
fill the whole window with.

To see more of the model:

 Click Zoom Out on the toolbar; or
 Click Zoom to Fit to see the whole model.

Selecting a Time Layer

For transient problems the displayed field picture always corresponds to
the selected time moment displayed in the Time combobox on the
postprocessor toolbar. Initially, QuickField displays the last time moment.
To change it, specify another value in the combobox. QuickField will
automatically display the field view corresponding to the specified time
moment.

When you change the time value QuickField adjusts both the field
pictures, XY-Plots and tables. The scaling factors will remain unchanged.
 For time-harmonic problems the displayed field picture corresponds to
the selected phase. QuickField uses the same combobox to display the
selected phase value in degrees. To change it, specify another value in
 Calculator Window 115

the combobox. QuickField will automatically display the field view

corresponding to the specified phase.

Animation
When the analysis results depend on time (transient and time-harmonic
problems), QuickField can present animated field pictures. To start
animation, choose View / Animation or click the corresponding toolbar
button .
During the animation, two speed control buttons appear on the toolbar
allowing you to change the animation speed. The moment of time or the
phase on the toolbar changes synchronously with the picture.
During the first loop, QuickField accumulates the animation frames in
memory. Depending on the size of the problem, this can take considerable
time, and the speed control has no effect.
Animation stops automatically upon any user action that changes the
contents or the scaling of the field picture.

Note. Even though the problem results can be stored with varying time
steps, the animation shows the frames in equal time intervals.

Calculator Window
Calculator Window is a window normally docked to the left side of the
field view.
To open the calculator window, choose Calculator Window command in
the View menu or corresponded button on the postprocessor toolbar. The
calculator window also opens when choosing Local Values,
Integral Values or one of the Wizard commands in View menu.
The calculator window is organized in several trees, which root items
correspond to several kinds of numerical data. These are:
 Local Values shows several field quantities at a point of interest;
 Integral calculator lists available quantities calculated by integration
over given line, surface or volume;
 Inductance Wizard opens wizard, which helps you calculate self or
mutual inductance of the coils and conductors;
 Capacitance Wizard opens wizard guiding you through steps needed
to calculate self or mutual capacitance of your conductors in
electrostatics problems;
116 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

 Impedance Wizard opens wizard, which helps you calculate the

impedance of the conductors in AC magnetic problems.
To open the set of values, double-click the corresponding item, or select it
and press ENTER.
The calculator window is initially docked to the left side of the field view.
To change its width, point to the gray splitter strip between windows and
drag it to the left or to the right. You can dock the window to the right side
of the field view or make it floating as ordinary popup window. Point at
the window caption and drag it to the desired position.
You can select one or several items in the tree and copy them to the
clipboard or drag to any application that supports drag-and-drop
copy/paste operation (almost any word processor or spreadsheet). To
select more than one item, click on it holding the SHIFT key (block
selection) or the CTRL key (random selection). Context (right mouse
button) menu also works in the calculator window. It provides you with
the subset of commands for manipulating the field picture in the active
view.
With a transient problem all the values in the calculator window
correspond to the chosen time layer. See “Selecting a Time Layer” section
above for more details.

Examining Local Field Data

To obtain local field data, click Local Values in the View menu or
context (right mouse button) menu in field picture window. Otherwise if
the calculator window is already open, double-click the Local Values
item in the tree. The message appears prompting you to click the point.
Then you can click points where you need to know the values of the field
quantities.
To enter coordinates of the point of interest from keyboard, select any of
coordinates with mouse and then click it again (after a period, to avoid the
double-click effect) or choose Edit Point command from context menu.
You can edit either Cartesian or polar coordinates.
To leave this mode, close local values window, or choose Local Values in
the menu again or click corresponding button on the toolbar.
The local values of physical quantities obtained in the Local Values mode
can be copied to clipboard for printing numerical results, or to pass them
to other application program, e.g., a spreadsheet program to produce a
report. Click the Copy button in the Local Values window. To see or
copy exactly those field quantities you need, you can expand or collapse
branches in the tree.
 Analysis of Connected Electric Circuit 117

Analysis of Connected Electric Circuit

If the field problem with the connected electric circuit is solved, the data
about the currents and voltages in all branches is available for viewing and
analysis.
To open the electric circuit calculation results window use the
Coupled Circuit command in the View menu, or correspondent button in
the toolbar.
As a result the split window will be displayed. Right pane shows the
electric circuit schema, left pane lists the circuit components. Components
list pane may be hidden or shown by the Circuit Components command
of the View menu.

Effective value of the current in the circuit component and voltage drop
along it is shown in the tool tip window displayed with small delay after
the mouse cursor points to the circuit component. More details about the
circuit component are available in the component list pane.
Every list item is presented by its definition (shown in semi-bold font) and
two or three groups of data. Electric current and voltage drop are
displayed for every item; the nominal value is also shown for passive
components and sources.
Components selection in the list and schema is synchronized
automatically.
Every circuit component corresponds to several lines in the list. By default
all lines but the first one are hidden. To expand them you should click on
the small + (plus) sign to the left from the component.
In the time-harmonic problems for the current and voltage drop in every
circuit branch component effective value, instantaneous value for the
selected phase, and complex value components in the algebraic and
trigonometric forms are shown.
It is possible to select any number of lines in the circuit components list
and put them into the clipboard (Copy command in the Edit menu).
118 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Selected lines may also be dragged into other application, for example text
editor or spreadsheet.

Current and Voltage Time Plots for the Circuit

Elements
When the transient problem with connected electric circuit is analyzed, the
window displaying the results for a transient magnetic problem with
attached circuit might contain up to 4 kinds of different panes:
 Electric circuit itself;
 The time dependency graphs for the currents in the selected circuit
elements;
 The time dependency graphs for the voltages in the selected circuit
elements;
 The table of currents and voltages in all circuit elements.

You can resize the panes. You can also hide panes if there is not enough
of window space for all of them. Twin boundary frames indicate the
existence of hidden panes in between.
 Parameter Calculation Wizards 119

The plots are displayed curves are plotted for each selected circuit
component. The correspondence between the curves and circuit elements
is shown by using the same color of a curve and related line in the circuit
element list. Curves are redrawn when the circuit elements are selected or
deselected in the list or in the electric schema drawing.
The scale of XY-plot could be adjusted by corresponding toolbar buttons:
. Pressing the zoom-in button (with plus sign) changes the cursor
shape to a cross, after that you can drag over the rectangle of interest.
The graph image could be printed, copied to the Clipboard, and/or saved
to a file in any of the supported raster or vector formats. To do that,
invoke the corresponding commands in the context (right-click) menu of
the graph.
The table of circuit currents and voltages could be printed, copied to the
Clipboard, and/or saved to a text file. To do that, invoke the corresponding
commands in the context (right-click) menu of the table.

Parameter Calculation Wizards

The most common design parameters in QuickField are calculated through
wizards. These calculations still could be done by using the ordinary
integral quantities available in the postprocessor, but wizards allow you to
get the results quicker and in most cases you can avoid manual building of
the contour of integration and manipulating with complex values.
These three wizards are available in QuickField:
 Inductance Wizard calculates self or mutual inductance of the coil or
conductor in AC or DC magnetic problems;
 Capacitance Wizard calculates self or mutual capacitance of the
conductors in electrostatics problems;
 Impedance Wizard calculates impedance of the conductor in AC
magnetic problems.
To start the wizard, choose Wizard in View menu, or double-click the
corresponding item in the calculator window. If the calculator window is
open while you start the wizard, all the parameters calculated by the
wizard are shown in that view. You can start wizard again from not only
its start page but also from any other page by double-clicking the
corresponding value in the Values tree.
Some of the wizards provide several alternative ways to calculate the
desired quantity. Each way is represented in the calculator window as a
separate tree.
120 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Inductance Wizard
Inductance wizard helps you to calculate self and mutual inductance of
your coils in the problem of DC or AC magnetics.
When your model contains several coils that carry different currents, the
flux linkage with one of them can be calculated as
𝜙𝑘 = 𝐿𝑘𝑘 ∙ 𝑖𝑘 + ∑ 𝑀𝑛𝑘 ∙ 𝑖𝑛
𝑛
where Lkk is the self inductance of the coil k, Mnk is the mutual inductance
between the coils n and k, ik is the current in the coil k.
On the other hand, stored magnetic energy also derives from current and
inductance:
1
𝑊 = (∑ 𝐿𝑘𝑘 ∙ 𝑖𝑘2 + ∑ 𝑀𝑛𝑘 ∙ 𝑖𝑛 ∙ 𝑖𝑘 )
2
Before using the inductance𝑘 wizard, you𝑛≠𝑘
have to formulate your problem
in such a way that all the currents (space, surface or linearly distributed)
but one are set to zero. There must be no permanent magnets in your
model. In that case equation above becomes extremely simple and you can
get inductance value as:
L = /i,
where  is the flux linkage with the coil excited by current i, or
L =2W/i2,
where W is stored magnetic energy and i is the only current.
The first approach gives the self-inductance, if you get the flux linkage
and the current in the same coil and mutual inductance if the coils are
different. The second approach gives only the self-inductance.
Initial page of the inductance wizards invites you to choose between two
approaches described above. After choosing one of them click the Next
button.
The second page of inductance wizard allows you to define, which blocks
represent the cross section of your coil. In general, two blocks represent
each coil in the model plane: forward and return wires. If there is only one
side of the coil in your model, the second one is assumed as being
symmetrical to the first one or as being infinitely distant of the model and
not affecting the field distribution.
 Parameter Calculation Wizards 121

To define each side of your coil, simply point the corresponding item in
the Block Labels list and drag it to one of the side list. You can also use
the Add buttons. No matter, which side of your coil you call Right Side
and which Left Side. If only one side of the coil is represented in the
model, drag item Symmetry to the opposite list if return wire of the coil is
symmetrical to the direct one, or leave the list empty if return wire does
not affect the electromagnetic state of your model.
You can select and drag more than one item at once if the cross section of
your coil is split to several blocks.
Enter the Number of Turns for your coil if it is more than one.
As result of any action on the lists or number of turns the Flux Linkage
value will change automatically being calculated as

∫𝐿 𝐴 𝑑𝑠 ∫𝑅 𝐴 𝑑𝑠
𝜙 =𝑁∙( − )  for planar case;
∫𝐿 𝑑𝑠 ∫𝑅 𝑑𝑠

∫𝑅 𝑟𝐴 𝑑𝑠 ∫𝐿 𝑟𝐴 𝑑𝑠
𝜙 = 2π𝑁 ∙ ( − )  for axisymmetric case;
∫𝑅 𝑑𝑠 ∫𝐿 𝑑𝑠

where A is the vector magnetic potential; R and L denote the right and the
left side of the coil accordingly, r is the radius of the point.
For planar problems flux linkage and the inductance are calculated per one
meter of axial depth no matter what length unit you have chosen.
When you finish with flux linkage calculation, click on the Next button.
In the Current page you can select the current exciting the field and
provide a number of turns in your coil.
122 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Capacitance Wizard
Capacitance wizard helps you to calculate self and mutual capacitance of
your conductors.
When your model contains several conductors, the charge of one of them
can be calculated as:
𝑞𝑘 = 𝐶𝑘𝑘 ∙ 𝑈𝑘 + ∑ 𝐶𝑛𝑘 ∙ 𝑈𝑛
where Ckk is the self capacitance of the𝑛 conductor k, Cnk is the mutual
capacitance between the conductors n and k, Uk is the voltage drop on the
conductor k.
On the other hand stored energy also derives from charge and capacitance
as:
1 𝑞𝑘2 𝑞𝑛 ∙ 𝑞𝑘
𝑊 = (∑ +∑ )
2 𝐶𝑘𝑘 𝐶𝑛𝑘
𝑘 𝑛≠𝑘
and from the voltage and capacitance as:
1
𝑊 = (∑ 𝐶𝑘𝑘 ∙ 𝑈𝑘2 + ∑ 𝐶𝑛𝑘 ∙ 𝑈𝑛 ∙ 𝑈𝑘 )
2
𝑘
Before using the capacitance wizard, you𝑛≠𝑘have to formulate your problem
in such a way that all field sources (space, surface or linear distributed
charge or voltage) but one are set to zero. In that case equation above
becomes extremely simple and you can get capacitance value if you know
any two of these three quantities: charge, voltage, stored energy.
When formulating your problem, you can apply known voltage to the
conductor and measure the charge it produce or vice versa. Measuring the
charge is a bit more complex than the voltage. It requires you to build the
closed contour surrounding your conductor (but not coinciding with its
surface) before you start the capacitance wizard. The easiest way to
formulate the problem for capacitance calculating is to put constant
 Parameter Calculation Wizards 123

potential boundary condition on the conductor’s surface and specify an

arbitrary non zero electric charge in one of the vertices on the surface of
the conductor.
This page of capacitance wizard allows you to specify electrodes which
capacitance you want to calculate. Electrodes listed on the right side of the
page are organized in two subtrees: surface conductors and linear
conductors (if any).
In case you are calculating the capacitance of the condenser consisting of
two electrodes, select both of them. When choosing more than one
electrode their voltage will be sum up (with their sign).

In the right side of the page electrodes are listed which charge you have
specified. If you have put voltage boundary condition rather then charge
124 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

on your electrodes, the only way to calculate the charge is to build the
contour surrounding it but not coincident with it boundary. If so, you have
to do that before you start the capacitance wizard.
When selecting one or more items in the list, you get the resulting charge
in the Charge box.

Impedance Wizard
Impedance wizard helps you to calculate the impedance of your
conductors. It is simple and contains only one page. To get the impedance
value and its real and imaginary parts (resistance and reactance
accordingly) the impedance wizard simply divides complex values of
voltage by current:
Z = U/I, R = Re[Z], XL = Im[Z], L = XL / 2f,
where Z is absolute value of the impedance and f is the frequency.

If you select more than one conductor at once, the impedance wizard
considers it as being connected in parallel if the voltage applied to each of
them is equal and as being connected in series otherwise.

Editing Contours
The contour is a directed curved line consisting of line segments and arcs
(including the edges of the model). Some rules are applied to the contours:
 The contour may not intersect itself.
 Open and closed contours are discerned.
 Multiply connected contours have sense only for calculating integral
quantities.
 Editing Contours 125

Contour is shown in the field picture window as a set of directed lines or

color-filled interior (closed counter-clockwise-directed contours).
QuickField allows editing contours in field picture windows. The
following operations change the current contour state:
 Adding lines  attaches a line segment or an arc to the contour.
The arc is specified by its degree measure (zero means line segment)
and two end points. Any arbitrary line may initiate the contour, but
only adjacent lines are accepted later. The line cannot be added to the
closed contour. There are two ways to add lines to contour: choose
Pick Elements from Contour menu or context menu and then drag
mouse with left button pressed. Or, choose Add Lines from Contour
menu or context menu and enter end points coordinates from
keyboard.
 Adding edges  appends the contour with an edge of the model. The
contour may be initiated by any arbitrary edge, but only adjacent edges
are accepted later. The edge cannot be added to the closed contour, or
if the ending point of the contour does not currently coincide with
model’s vertex. To add edges, choose Pick Elements from Contour
menu or context menu and then pick series of adjacent edges with
mouse.
 Adding blocks  considers the current closed contour as a border of
the plane region and updates that region by adding (or subtracting) a
block of the model in the sense of set theory. To add blocks, choose
Pick Elements from Contour menu or context menu and then pick
blocks with mouse.
 Close contour  closes an open contour by connecting its open ends
with a straight line or an arc, depending on current degree measure in
the postprocessing toolbar.
 Change direction  alters the contour direction.
 Clear  deletes the entire contour.
 Delete last  deletes the last element (line or edge) in the contour.
Not applicable to multiply connected contours.
Depending on current state of the contour, some editing operations may be
prohibited.
The direction of the contour is significant in the following cases:
126 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

 For volume integrals, the domain of integration lies to the left of the
contour.
 For surface integrals, the positive normal vector points to the right
relative to the contour direction.
 The starting point of the contour corresponds to zero point at the x-axis
of the X-Y plot.
 If the plotted or the integrated function has different values to the left
and to the right of the contour, the right-hand value is used.

X-Y Plots
QuickField postprocessor can display field distribution along contours. To
open new X-Y plot window, choose X-Y plot in View menu or context
(right mouse button) menu in field picture window, in which the contour
is already defined.
In X-Y plot view, you can:
 Select the set of shown quantities. Click X-Y Plot Curves in the View
or context menu.
 Zoom the plot in or out.
 View the correspondence between quantities and curves (legend).
 Copy the picture to clipboard.
 Open new X-Y plot window for the same contour.
 Calculating Integrals 127

X-Y Plot Control

Few quantities having the same unit of measurement can be shown at the
same X-Y plot. According to this, all quantities are combined into groups.
Full list of quantities includes all those available for the color map
representation (see “Interpreted Quantities”), and also normal and
tangential components of vector and scalar quantities.
When you select the appropriate group of quantities, the Curves to Show
list contains the quantities selected for display, and the Available
Quantities list contains available but not selected quantities. You can use
buttons located between the lists, or simply double-click in the lists, to
move some quantity from one list to another.
In the dialog box, you can also modify the range of y coordinate. By
default, it fits all the currently selected curves. You can get the suggested
value of lower or upper limit by selecting the corresponding text box
(Minimum or Maximum) and choosing Suggest button.
In time-harmonic analysis, you can also switch between momentary (at
given phase), time average and peak values of time dependent quantities.
You can turn on or off the switches for displaying coordinate grid and
markers on the curves. The last mode allows you to distinguish between
the coinciding curves.

Calculating Integrals
QuickField calculates line, surface and volume integrals. In plane-parallel
problem, a contour defines cylindrical (in generalized sense) surface of
infinite depth, or volume of that cylinder for volume integral. Therefore,
in plane-parallel formulation surface and volume integrals are calculated
128 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

per unit depth. In axisymmetric problem, a contour defines toroidal

surface, or toroid for volume integral.
Positive direction of a contour is counter-clockwise. The direction of the
contour is accounted as follows:
 For volume integrals the domain of integration lies to the left of the
contour.
 For surface integrals the positive normal vector points to the right
relative to the contour direction.
 If the plotted or the integrated function has different values to the left
and to the right of the contour, the right-hand value is used.
Force, torque and electric charge integrals represent real physical
quantities only when the contour is closed. However, these integrals are
calculated for the unclosed contours too.
To calculate integrals, click Integral Values in the View menu or context
(right mouse button) menu. Or, if calculator window is already open,
double-click on the Integral Calculator item in the tree. If the contour is
already defined, a list of available integral quantities appears. The list
varies depends on whether your contour is open or closed. If you have no
contour defined in the active field view, a message appears prompting you
to build the contour. You can get a value of an integral parameter by click
on the small gray button left on its name or by double click on the name.
Once opened the integral value will be recalculated automatically each
time you change the contour.
Some integrals require closed counter-clockwise oriented contour,
otherwise they have no physical sense. Once you created the contour, you
can select an integral quantity from the list and choose Calculate button
to get the value. Copy button allows you to copy the calculated result to
clipboard.
When the electric or magnetic force, torque, electric charge, electric
current or heat flux are to be calculated, the domain of integration may be
chosen by many different ways. The only requirement for the surface of
integration is to contain all the necessary bodies, but to avoid any extra
bodies or field sources. It is important to understand that the accuracy will
be the best if you choose the integration surface as far as possible from the
places with strong inhomogeneity of field, e.g. field sources or boundaries
of conducting or ferromagnetic bodies.
When calculating the flux linkage the domain of integration must exactly
fit the cross section of the coil.
The next sections describe the integral values QuickField can evaluate for
different problem types. Besides the corresponding formulation, each
description specifies the value enumeration constant for the appropriate
invocation of QuickField.Result.GetIntegral (the detailed description of
 Calculating Integrals 129

the ActiveField technology that provides the programmatic interface to

QuickField can be found in QuickField Help).
The formulations share the following geometric notations:
 n the vector of the outward unit normal;
 t the unit tangent vector;
 r the position vector of the point.
The notations for the domain of integration vary in the following way:
 L for integration along the contour;
 S for integration across the surface swept by the movement of the
contour;
 SC for integration across the planar surface defined by the interior of
the closed contour;
 V for integration across the interior of the closed surface swept by
the movement of the closed contour.

Note. In plane-parallel formulations the contour sweeps the surface

moving along the z-axis for the axial length of the problem (1m, by
default).
In axisymmetric formulations the contour does so rotating around the x
axis for 360 degrees.

For DC and transient magnetic problems:

Generally the integral quantities of interest in magnetic analysis are:
mechanical force and torque, magnetic flux and flux linkage,
magnetomotive force (MMF), magnetic field energy.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 B – magnetic flux density vector;
 H – vector of magnetic field strength;
 A – z-component of magnetic vector potential;
 B(H) magnetization curve of a ferromagnetic, that assumed to be
isotropic.

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Mechanical force
1
qfInt_MaxwellForce 𝐅= ∮ (𝐇(𝐧𝐁) + 𝐁(𝐧𝐇)– 𝐧(𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

Total magnetic force acting on bodies

contained in a particular volume, where
130 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

integral is evaluated over the boundary of

the volume.

Mechanical torque 1 [𝐫 × 𝐇](𝐧𝐁) + [𝐫 × 𝐁](𝐧𝐇) −

𝐓= ∮( ) 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_MaxwellTorque 2 – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐇𝐁)
𝑆

Total torque of magnetic forces acting on

bodies contained in a particular volume.
where r is a radius vector of the point of
integration.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
planar case, and is identically equal to zero
in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to
any other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
point.

Flux linkage per one turn ∮ 𝐴𝑑𝑠

Ψ =  for planar case;
qfInt_FluxLinkage 𝑆𝐶

2𝜋 ∮(𝑟𝐴)𝑑𝑠  for
Ψ =
𝑆𝐶 axisymmetric
case.

The integral has to be evaluated over a

cross section of the coil, and SC is the area
of the cross section.

Magnetomotive force
𝐹 = ∫ (𝐇 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl 𝐿

Magnetomotive force is a line integral

around the contour of magnetic field
strength.
According Ampere’s law the
magnetomotive force around a closed line
is equal to total current through the contour.

Magnetic flux
𝛷 = ∫ (𝐁 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Grad_n_ds 𝑆

Magnetic flux over the surface defined by

the contour.

Magnetic field energy

1  linear
qfInt_MagneticEnergy 𝑊= ∫ (𝐇 · 𝐁)𝑑𝑣
2 case;
𝑉
 Calculating Integrals 131

𝑊
𝐵
 nonlinear
= ∫ (∫ 𝐻(𝐵′)𝑑𝐵′) 𝑑𝑣 case.
0

Magnetic field co-energy 𝑊𝑐𝑜

𝐻 
qfInt_MagneticCoenergy
= ∫ (∫ 𝐵(𝐻′)𝑑𝐻′) 𝑑𝑣 nonlinear
𝑉 case.
0

For linear problem the co-energy is equal to

the magnetic energy.

Linearized field energy

1
qfInt_ElectrostaticEnergy 𝑊𝑙𝑖𝑛 = ∫(𝐁 · 𝐇)𝑑𝑣
2
𝑉

For linear case the linearized energy is

equal to the ordinary magnetic energy.

Surface energy
1
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑊𝑠 = ∫ (𝐁 · 𝐇)𝑑𝑠
2
𝑆

The (BH) product is integrated is over a

surface defined by the contour.

Average surface potential 1

𝐴𝑆 = ∫ 𝐴𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Potential_ds 𝑆 𝑆

Average volume 1
potential 𝐴𝑉 = ∫ 𝐴𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv

Average volume flux 1

density 𝐁𝑎 = ∫ 𝐁𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad_dv

Average volume strength 1

𝐇𝑎 = ∫ 𝐇𝑑𝑣
qfInt_KGrad_dv 𝑉 𝑉

Mean square flux 1

𝐵𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐵2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉

Mean square strength 1

𝐻𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐻2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_KGrad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉
132 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Line integral of flux

density 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐁 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_Grad_t_dl Line integral over the contour of magnetic
flux density.

Surface integral of
strength 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐇 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds

With transient problems only:

Total current
𝐼 = ∫ 𝑗𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jtotal 𝑆𝑐

Electric current through a particular

surface. The integral is evaluated over a
cross section of the coil, and SC is the area
of the cross section
j –is a total current density in z-direction.

External current
𝐼𝑒𝑥𝑡 = ∫ 𝑗𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jextern 𝑆𝑐

External current through a particular

surface.
jext – density of external current.

Eddy current
𝐼𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 = ∫ 𝑗𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jeddies 𝑆𝑐

Eddy current through a particular surface.

jeddy – density of eddy current.

Joule heat 1
𝑃 = ∫ 𝑗 2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Power 𝜎
Joule heat power in a volume.
σ – electric conductivity,
j – total current density.

For AC magnetic problems:

For the AC magnetic field analysis, the most interesting integral values
are: the total, eddy and external current, the mechanical force and torque,
the magnetic flux and flux linkage, the magnetomotive force, the field
energy.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 Calculating Integrals 133

 B – complex vector magnetic flux density;

 H – complex vector magnetic field intensity (field strength);
 jtotal, jeddy, jext – complex values of total, eddy and external current
density;
 A – z-component of complex magnetic vector potential.
Since AC magnetic problems' formulations use complex values that
represent the real world quantities sinusoidally changing with time, the
integral values might appear in the following different ways:
 As a Complex value, with amplitude and phase (e.g. current, flux
linkage, magnetomotive force).
 As a Complex vector, with the endpoint sweeping an ellipse in any
complete time period (e.g. induction, magnetic field strength). The
characteristics of complex vectors are: the amplitude (per coordinate),
the phase, and the polarization coefficient.
 As a Quadratic value (e.g. ohmic loss power, field energy, etc.)
pulsing around its mean value with double frequency. The
characteristics of quadratic values are: the mean value, the phase, and
the pulsation amplitude.
 As a Quadratic vector (e.g. mechanical forces) with magnitude and
direction varying around its mean value with double frequency. The
characteristics of quadratic vectors are: the mean value (length, slant
and coordinates), and the variation amplitude (used, for example, to
estimate the mechanical force limit for a period).

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Total current
𝐼𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = ∫ 𝑗𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jtotal 𝑆𝑐

Complex value.
Electric current through a particular surface.

External current
𝐼𝑒𝑥𝑡 = ∫ 𝑗𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jextern 𝑆𝑐

Complex value.
External current through a particular surface.

Eddy current
𝐼𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 = ∫ 𝑗𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Jeddies 𝑆𝑐

Complex value
134 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Eddy current through a particular surface.

Joule heat 1 2
𝑃 = ∫ ∙𝑗 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Power 𝑉 𝜎 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
Quadratic value.
Joule heat power in a particular volume.
σ – electric conductivity of the media.

Core loss 𝑘ℎ ∙ 𝑓 ∙ 𝐵 2 + 𝑘𝑐 ∙ 𝑓 2 ∙ 𝐵 2 +
𝑃= ∫ [ 3 ] 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Steinmetz 𝑉 +𝑘𝑒 ∙ (𝑓 ∙ 𝐵)2
where B is the magnetic flux density peak
value, and kh, kc, ke are user defined
coefficients.

Power flow
𝑃𝑆 = ∫ (𝐒 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_EnergyFlow 𝑆

Quadratic value.
Power flow through the given surface
(Poynting vector flow)
Here S – is a Pointing vector S = [EH].

Maxwell force
1
qfInt_MaxwellForce 𝐅= ∮(𝐇(𝐧𝐁) + 𝐁(𝐧𝐇)– 𝐧(𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

Quadratic vector.
Maxwell force acting on bodies contained in
a particular volume.
The integral is evaluated over the boundary of
the volume, and n denotes the vector of the
outward unit normal.

Maxwell torque 1 [𝐫 × 𝐇](𝐧𝐁) + [𝐫 × 𝐁](𝐧𝐇) −

𝐓= ∮( ) 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_MaxwellTorque 2 – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐇𝐁)
𝑆

Quadratic value.
Maxwell force torque acting on bodies
contained in a particular volume, where r is a
radius vector of the point of integration.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
planar case, and is identically equal to zero in
the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to any
other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
 Calculating Integrals 135

point.

Lorentz force
qfInt_LorentzForce 𝐅 = ∫ [𝐣 × 𝐁]𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

Quadratic vector.
The Lorentz force acting on conductors
contained in a particular volume.

Lorentz torque
qfInt_LorentzTorque 𝐓 = ∫ [𝐫 × [𝐣 × 𝐁]]𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

Quadratic value.
The Lorentz force torque acting on bodies
contained in a particular volume. The torque
is considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system.

Magnetic field energy

1
qfInt_MagneticEnergy 𝑊= ∫(𝐇 · 𝐁)𝑑𝑣
2
𝑉

Quadratic value.
This formula is used for both linear and
nonlinear cases.

Flux linkage per one ∮ 𝐴𝑑𝑠

turn Ψ =  for planar case;
𝑆𝐶
qfInt_FluxLinkage
2𝜋 ∮(𝑟𝐴)𝑑𝑠  for axisymmetric
Ψ =
𝑆𝐶 case.

Complex value.
The integral has to be evaluated over a cross
section of the coil, and SC is the area of the
cross section.

Magnetomotive force
𝐹 = ∫ (𝐇 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl 𝐿

Complex value.
Magnetomotive force.

Magnetic flux
𝛷 = ∫ (𝐁 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Grad_n_ds 𝑆

Complex value.
Magnetic flux through a particular surface.
136 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Surface energy
1
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑊𝑠 = ∫ (𝐁 · 𝐇)𝑑𝑠
2
𝑆

Quadratic value.
The integral is evaluated over the surface
swept by the movement of the contour.

Average surface 1
potential 𝐴𝑆 = ∫ 𝐴𝑑𝑠
𝑆 𝑆
qfInt_Potential_ds Complex value.
Integrated over a particular volume

Average volume 1
potential 𝐴𝑉 = ∫ 𝐴𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv Complex value.

Average volume flux 1

density 𝐁𝑎 = ∫ 𝐁𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad_dv Complex vector.

Average volume 1
strength 𝐇𝑎 = ∫ 𝐇𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv Complex vector.

Mean square flux 1

density 𝐵𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐵2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad2_dv Quadratic value.

Mean square strength 1

𝐻𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐻2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_KGrad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉
Quadratic value.

Line integral of flux

density 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐁 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_Grad_t_dl Complex value.
The line integral over the contour of a
magnetic flux density.

Surface integral of
strength 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐇 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds Complex value.
 Calculating Integrals 137

Note. The Maxwell force incorporates both the force acting on

ferromagnetic bodies and Lorentz force, which acts only on conductors. If
the first component is negligible or is not considered, we recommend
calculating the electromagnetic force as Lorentz force. Its precision is less
sensitive to the contour path, and you can simply select conductors via
block selection to calculate the force. With Maxwell force, this method
leads to very rough results, and you are recommended to avoid coinciding
of your contour parts and material boundaries, as described earlier in this
chapter.

For electrostatic problems:

Generally the integral quantities of interest in electrostatic analysis are:
electric charge, potential difference, mechanical force and torque, field
energy.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 E – electric field strength;
 D – vector of electric flux density (electric displacement);
 U – electric potential.

Name, ActiveFied
Formula and Description
constant

Electrical charge
𝑞 = ∮ 𝐃 ∙ 𝐧 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds 𝑆

According to the Gauss theorem, total

electric charge in a particular volume can
be calculated as a flux of electric
displacement over its closed boundary.

Mechanical force
1
qfInt_MaxwellForce 𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠
2
𝑆

Total electric force acting on bodies

contained in a particular volume. The
integral is evaluated over the volume’s
boundary.

Mechanical torque 𝐓=
qfInt_MaxwellTorque 1 [𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) +
= ∮( ) 𝑑𝑠
2 +[𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄)– [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃)
𝑆

Total torque of electric forces acting on

bodies contained in a particular volume.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
138 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

planar case, and is identically equal to zero

in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to
any other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
point.

Stored energy
1
qfInt_ElectrostaticEnergy 𝑊= ∫ (𝐄 · 𝐃)𝑑𝑣
2
𝑉

Electric field energy in a particular volume.

Surface energy
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑊𝑆 = ∫ (𝐄 · 𝐃)𝑑𝑠
𝑆

Potential difference
qfInt_Grad_t_dl ∆𝑈 = ∫(𝐄 · 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿

The potential difference between the ending

and started points of a contour can be
calculated as a line integral over the contour
of electric field strength.

Average surface potential 1

𝑈𝑆 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Potential_ds 𝑆 𝑆

Average volume 1
potential 𝑈𝑉 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv

Average volume strength 1

𝐄𝑎 = ∫ 𝐄𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad_dv 𝑉 𝑉
Average electric filed strength in a
particular volume.

Average volume 1
displacement 𝐃𝑎 = ∫ 𝐃𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv Average electric displacement vector in a
particular volume.

Mean square strength 1

𝐸𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐸 2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉
 Calculating Integrals 139

Mean square 1
displacement 𝐷𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐷2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv

Line integral of
displacement 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐃 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl

Surface integral of
strength 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Grad_n_ds

For DC conduction problems:

Generally the integral quantities of interest in DC conduction analysis are:
electric current, Joule heat.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 E — electric field strength;
 j — vector of current density;
 D — vector of electric flux density (electric displacement);
 σ — electric conductivity;
 U — scalar electric potential.

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Current through a
surface 𝐼 = ∫ (𝐣 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds Electric current through a particular surface.

Joule heat in a volume

𝑊 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣)𝑑𝑣
qfInt_GradKGrad_dv 𝑉

Power losses in a particular volume.

Potential difference
∆𝑈 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_Grad_t_dl 𝐿

The potential difference between the ending

and started points of a contour can be
calculated as a line integral over the contour
of electric field strength.

Surface Joule heat

𝑊𝑆 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑆
140 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Average surface 1
potential 𝑈𝑆 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑠
𝑆 𝑆
qfInt_Potential_ds

Average volume 1
potential 𝑈𝑉 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv

Average volume 1
strength 𝐄𝑎 = ∫ 𝐄𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad_dv

Average volume 1
current density 𝐣𝑎 = ∫ 𝐣𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv

Mean square strength 1

𝐸𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐸 2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉

Mean square current 1

density 𝑗𝑎2 = ∫ 𝑗 2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad2_dv

Surface integral of
strength 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Grad_n_ds

Line integral of current

density 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐣 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl

For AC conduction problems:

For the AC conduction analysis, the most interesting integral values are:
active, reactive and apparent current through particular surface, Joule heat,
mechanical force and torque, field energy.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 E – complex vector of electric field strength;
 D – complex vector of electric displacement;
 jA – complex vector of active current density;
 jRE – complex vector of reactive current density;
 jAPP – complex vector of apparent current density;
 U – complex value of electric potential;
 Calculating Integrals 141

Since AC conduction problems' formulations use complex values that

represent the real world quantities sinusoidally changing with time, the
integral values might appear in the following different ways:
 As a Complex value, with amplitude and phase (e.g. current,
potential).
 As a Complex vector, with the endpoint sweeping an ellipse in any
complete time period (e.g. current density, field strength). The
characteristics of complex vectors are: the amplitude (per coordinate),
the phase, and the polarization coefficient.
 As a Quadratic value (e.g. ohmic loss power, field energy, etc.)
pulsing around its mean value with double frequency. The
characteristics of quadratic values are: the mean value, the phase, and
the pulsation amplitude.
 As a Quadratic vector (e.g. mechanical forces) with magnitude and
direction varying around its mean value with double frequency. The
characteristics of quadratic vectors are: the mean value (length, slant
and coordinates), and the variation amplitude (used, for example, to
estimate the mechanical force limit for a period).

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Active current through a

given surface 𝐼𝐴 = ∫ (𝐣𝑨 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Jactive Complex value.
Active electric current through a particular
surface.

Reactive current through

a given surface 𝐼𝑅𝐸 = ∫ (𝐣𝑹𝑬 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Jreactive Complex value.
Reactive electric current through a
particular surface.

Apparent current through

a given surface 𝐼𝐴𝑃𝑃 = ∫ (𝐣𝑨𝑷𝑷 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Japparent Complex value.
Apparent electric current through a
particular surface.

Active power produced

in a volume 𝑃𝐴 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣𝑨 )𝑑𝑣
𝑉
qfInt_PowerActive Quadratic value
Joule heat power produced in a particular
volume.
142 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Reactive power produced

in a volume 𝑃𝑅𝐸 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣𝑨𝑬 )𝑑𝑣
𝑉
qfInt_PowerReactive Quadratic value
Reactive power produced in a particular
volume.

Apparent power
produced in a volume 𝑃𝐴𝑃𝑃 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣𝑨𝑷𝑷 )𝑑𝑣
𝑉
qfInt_PowerApparent Quadratic value
Apparent power produced in a particular
volume.

Mechanical force
1
qfInt_MaxwellForce 𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠
2
𝑆

Quadratic vector
Electric force acting on bodies contained in
a particular volume. Evaluated by
calculating of Maxwell stress tensor over
volume’s bounding surface.

Mechanical torque 1 [𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) + [𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄)–

𝐓= ∮( ) 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_MaxwellTorque 2 − [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃)
𝑆

Quadratic value.
Electric force torque acting on bodies
contained in a particular volume, where r is
a radius vector of the point of integration.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
planar case, and is identically equal to zero
in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to
any other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
point.

Electric field energy 1

𝑊= ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐃)𝑑𝑣
qfInt_ElectrostaticEnergy 2 𝑉
Quadratic value.
Electric field energy in a particular volume.

Surface energy
𝑊𝑆 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐃)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑆

Quadratic value.
 Calculating Integrals 143

Potential difference
∆𝑈 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_Grad_t_dl 𝐿

Complex value.
The potential difference between the ending
and started points of a contour can be
calculated as a line integral over the contour
of electric field strength.

Average surface potential 1

𝑈𝑆 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Potential_ds 𝑆 𝑆
Complex value.

Average volume 1
potential 𝑈𝑉 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv Complex value.

Average volume strength 1

𝐄𝑎 = ∫ 𝐄𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad_dv 𝑉 𝑉
Complex vector.
Average electric field strength vector in a
particular volume.

Average volume 1
displacement 𝐃𝑎 = ∫ 𝐃𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv Complex vector.
Average electric displacement vector in a
particular volume.

Mean square strength 1

𝐸𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐸 2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉
Quadratic value.

Mean square 1
displacement 𝐷𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐷2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad2_dv Quadratic value.

Electric charge
𝑄𝑆 = ∫ (𝐃 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds 𝑆

Complex value.
The total electric charge in a particular
volume can be calculated as a flux of
electric displacement over the volume’s
closed boundary.
144 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Line integral of
displacement 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐃 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl Complex value.

Transient electric field:

The integral quantities in transient electric analysis are: electric charge,
potential difference, active and reactive current, Joule heat, mechanical
force and torque, field energy.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 E – electric field strength;
 D – vector of electric flux density (electric displacement);
 jA – active current density;
 jRE – reactive current density;
 U – electric potential.

Name, ActiveFied
Formula and Description
constant

Electrical charge
𝑞 = ∮ 𝐃 ∙ 𝐧 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds
According to the Gauss theorem, total
electric charge in a particular volume can
be calculated as a flux of electric
displacement over its closed boundary.

Active current through a

given surface 𝐼𝐴 = ∫ (𝐣𝑨 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Jactive Active electric current through a particular
surface.

Reactive current through

a given surface 𝐼𝑅𝐸 = ∫ (𝐣𝑹𝑬 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Jreactive Reactive electric current through a
particular surface.

Active power produced

in a volume 𝑃𝐴 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣𝑨 )𝑑𝑣
𝑉
qfInt_PowerActive Joule heat power produced in a particular
volume.

Mechanical force
1
qfInt_MaxwellForce 𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠
2
𝑆

Total electric force acting on bodies

 Calculating Integrals 145

contained in a particular volume. The

integral is evaluated over the volume’s
boundary.

Mechanical torque 1 [𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) + [𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄)–

𝐓= ∮( ) 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_MaxwellTorque 2 − [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃)
𝑆

Total torque of electric forces acting on

bodies contained in a particular volume.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
planar case, and is identically equal to zero
in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to
any other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
point.

Stored energy 1
𝑊= ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐃)𝑑𝑣
qfInt_ElectrostaticEnergy 2 𝑉
Electric field energy in a particular volume.

Surface energy
𝑊𝑆 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐃)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_GradKGrad_n_ds 𝑆

Potential difference
∆𝑈 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_Grad_t_dl 𝐿

The potential difference between the ending

and started points of a contour can be
calculated as a line integral over the contour
of electric field strength.

Average surface potential 1

𝑈𝑆 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Potential_ds 𝑆 𝑆

Average volume 1
potential 𝑈𝑉 = ∫ 𝑈𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv

Average volume strength 1

𝐄𝑎 = ∫ 𝐄𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad_dv 𝑉 𝑉
Average electric filed strength in a
particular volume.

Average volume 1
displacement 𝐃𝑎 = ∫ 𝐃𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
146 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

qfInt_KGrad_dv Average electric displacement vector in a

particular volume.

Mean square strength 1

𝐸𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐸 2 𝑑𝑣
qfInt_Grad2_dv 𝑉 𝑉

Mean square 1
displacement 𝐷𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐷2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv

Line integral of
displacement 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐃 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl

Surface integral of
strength 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Grad_n_ds

For heat transfer problems:

For the heat transfer analysis, the most interesting integral values are: the
heat flux, mean volume temperature.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 G – vector of temperature gradient;
 F – vector of heat flux density;
 T – temperature.

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Heat flux
𝛷 = ∫ (𝐅 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
qfInt_KGrad_n_ds 𝑆

Heat flux through a particular surface.

Temperature difference
Δ𝑇 = ∫ (𝐆 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_Grad_t_dl 𝐿

The temperature difference between starting

and ending points of a contour can be
calculated as an integral over the contour of
the temperature gradient.

Average surface 1
temperature 𝑇𝑆 = ∫ 𝑇𝑑𝑠
𝑆 𝑆
qfInt_Potential_ds
 Calculating Integrals 147

Average volume 1
temperature 𝑇𝑉 = ∫ 𝑇𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Potential_dv

Average volume 1
temperature gradient 𝐆𝑎 = ∫ 𝐆𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad_dv Mean vector of temperature gradient in a
volume.

Average volume heat 1

flux density 𝐅𝑎 = ∫ 𝐅𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv Mean vector of heat flux density in a
volume.

Average volume 1
temperature gradient 𝐺𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐺 2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_Grad2_dv

Mean square heat flux 1

density 𝐹𝑎2 = ∫ 𝐹 2 𝑑𝑣
𝑉 𝑉
qfInt_KGrad_dv

Line integral of heat

flux density 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐅 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
𝐿
qfInt_KGrad_t_dl

Surface integral of
grad(T) 𝑥 = ∫ (𝐆 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆
qfInt_Grad_n_ds

For problems of stress analysis:

For the stress analysis problems, the most interesting integral values are:
force, torque and lengthen.
The following notations are used in formulas:
 σ – the stress tensor.

Name,
Formula and Description
ActiveFied constant

Force
𝐅 = ∮ (𝜎 ∙ 𝐧) 𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Force 𝑆

Total force acting on a particular volume.

The integral is evaluated over the boundary
of the volume, and n denotes the vector of
148 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

the outward unit normal.

Torque 1
𝐓= ∮ [𝐫 × (𝜎 ∙ 𝐧)]𝑑𝑠
qfInt_Torque 2 𝑆
Total torque of the forces acting on a
particular volume, where r is a radius vector
of the point of integration.
The torque vector is parallel to z axis in the
planar case, and is identically equal to zero
in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the
coordinate system. The torque relative to
any other arbitrary point can be obtained by
adding extra term of [F×r0], where F is the
total force and r0 is the radius vector of the
point.

Lengthen
Δ𝐿 = ∫ (𝜎 ∙ 𝐭)𝑑𝑙
qfInt_lengthen 𝐿

Relative lengthen of the contour.

Data Tables
QuickField can display the field data at discrete points, distributed along
the currently selected contour, in table view. To open new table window,
choose Table in the View menu or context (right mouse button) menu in
field picture window, in which the contour is already defined.
In table view, you can:
 Select the list of shown quantities (table columns). Choose Columns
in View or context menu.
 Select how the points are distributed along the contour (table rows).
Choose Rows in View or context menu.
 Insert additional rows at specified distance from the beginning of the
contour. Choose Insert in Edit or context menu.
 Copy the set of rows or the whole table to Windows clipboard. In
latter case (when all of the rows are selected), column headers are
also copied. To copy the header only, click the right mouse button
within the header and choose Copy Header from the context menu.
 Data Tables 149

Table Columns
To change the set of visible table columns or the contents of their headers,
choose Columns from the View menu or from context (right mouse
button) menu in the Table window. The Table Columns dialog appears
on the screen:

The left part of the dialog

window contains the list of
all known columns. You
choose the set of visible
columns marking or clearing
the check boxes in the list.
Clicking on Select All or
Clear All button
respectively marks and
clears all check boxes in the
list.
The state of the check boxes
in Header Contains defines
which column identification
details should be included in
its header.

The Adjust Columns Width radio button state specifies whether the
width of a column should be based on the width of its data or on the
width of its header.
The state of the check boxes in Header Contains defines which column
identification details should be included in its header. The
Adjust Columns Width radio button state specifies whether the width of
a column should be based on the width of its data or on the width of
its header.
QuickField applies these settings to all columns at once. To change the
width of a single column drag the right border of the column in the table
header.

Table Rows
To fill the table with rows of values calculated at points on a contour,
choose Rows from the View menu or from context (right mouse button)
menu in the Table window. The Table Rows dialog appears on the screen:
150 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

The dialog provides two alternative ways to

tabulate the contour. You either use a fixed
step between contour points or fill the
required number of rows.
To use fixed step enter the step length in
Tabulating Step.
If you mark
Always Include Segment Ends,
QuickField adds ends of all contour
segments to the table starting a new step at
every segment end. When you enter a value
in Tabulating Step, QuickField shows the
total number of steps in Rows to Fill.

When you enter the number of rows in Rows to Fill, QuickField interprets
this value as either the required number of rows in the whole table or the
required number of rows for every contour segment depending on the state
of the radio button (Total / Per Segment) below this field.
When QuickField tabulates the contour, it uses the data in the dialog items
you fill last.
You can combine automatic contour tabulation with manual addition and
removal of rows via the window’s context menu.

Plots and Tables versus Time

QuickField provides several ways to analyze time-dependent data. You
can:
 Plot the field picture for any selected time moment.
 Plot various field quantities vs. time on the time plot.
 For any given point, display the table with its field quantities versus
time.
 Display the table with any quantity integrated over the current contour
versus time.
 Animate the field picture reflecting its changes vs. time according to a
suitable time scale.

Time Plot
For transient problems QuickField provides the means to plot time-
dependent field quantities versus time. You can display both the plots of
local field values at the given points and the plots of the values integrated
over the current contour.
 Plots and Tables versus Time 151

Plots of local field values can simultaneously show the curves for several
field points. At the same time, such plots can show the curves for several
physical quantities with the same measurement units. In cases when the
measurement units differ (as with temperature, its gradient, and the heat
flux), QuickField separates physical quantities into groups with same
measurement units and displays one group of quantities at a time.
The plots of integrated values, on the other hand, always display only one
physical quantity, with graphs of vector quantities represented as several
curves displaying the quantity's coordinate values and its absolute value.
To create a new time plot, choose Time Plot in the View or context menu.
The field value QuickField plots corresponds to the last point you clicked.
The clicks that count are those inside the field picture window and those
inside the Calculator Window.
If the last click is in the Integral Calculator the time plot displays the
clicked integrated quantity. Such plots display only one quantity at a time.
In other cases, the plot displays the local value at the clicked point against
time. If you did not click any point, or if the last point you clicked cannot
be associated with a field value, QuickField displays an empty time plot
window.
To display the curves related to different points on the same time plot,
click the points one by one invoking the Time Plot command after every
click. Or, to specify the exact point coordinates, invoke the
View / Time Plot Curves command available from the Time Plot
window, enter the coordinates, and click Add.
Alternately, you can invoke the Time Plot command via the context menu
of the Field Picture window and the Time Plot Curves command via the
context menu of the Time Plot window. The context menu also provides
the way to easily switch the displayed time plot between different groups
of local values or move from local to integrated values and back.
With time plot view, you can:
 Define the set of curves displayed for various groups of physical
values. To do it, choose Time Plot Curves from the View or context
menu.
 Zoom the plot in or out with toolbar buttons .
 View the legend showing the correspondence between quantities and
curves.
 Copy the picture to the clipboard with Edit / Copy Picture or save it
to a file with File / Save As.
152 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Time Plot Curves

A time plot window can display curves for several points. In turn, for each
point can have several curves for different field quantities, combined into
three families: temperature, temperature gradient, and heat flux.
To add a new point, click the very first row in the list, type coordinates in
the boxes above and click the Add button. When choosing a point in the
list you can change its coordinates and switch on and off associated
curves.

The Choose Quantity Family drop-down list at the bottom allows you to
switch the displayed curve family. Alternatively you can change the
family via the context menu of the time plot or the legend window.
The time plot window immediately reflects all changes in the dialog.
To add a new point, click the very first row in the table, enter the
coordinates in the boxes above, and click Add. To change the coordinates
of the existing point select it in the list and enter the new values. This way
you can also switch the curves associated with points on and off.

Time Dependencies Table

For transient problems QuickField provides the means to display time-
dependent field quantities in a table where the rows correspond to
different moments of time, and the columns, depending on the current
mode, either to local field values at the given points or to the values
integrated over the current contour of the field window.
To open the time table window, choose Time Table in the View or
context menu of the field window.
 Controlling the Legend Display 153

The drop-down listbox in the upper left corner of the table window allows
one to toggle between local and integrated quantities. The default mode of
the window depends on whether its contour is defined or not. If no
contour exists, the window displays local quantities (Local values mode).
Otherwise it displays the quantities integrated over the current contour
(Integrals mode).
In Local values you can change the coordinates of the point. By default,
both coordinates are 0. Having changed the coordinates click OK to apply
the changes.
In Time Table window you can:
 Copy the entire table or the selected rows to Windows Clipboard. To
do that, select the desired rows and choose Copy (CTRL+C) in the Edit
or context menu.
 Drag the selected rows to another application, like Microsoft Excel.
 When all rows in a table are selected, the table header is also included
into copying and drag-n-drop operations. To select all rows in the table
choose Select All (CTRL+A) in the Edit or context menu.
 Save the entire table in a text file. Choose File / Save As.

Controlling the Legend Display

The legend for the color map shows the correspondence between colors
and numbers; for X-Y plot — between curves and quantities.
To switch the legend display on or off, click Legend in the View or
context menu of the field picture or X-Y plot window.
154 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Trajectories of Charged Particles

Theoretical Background
Working on electrostatic problems you can calculate and view trajectories
of charged particles in electric field. To do it, choose Particle Trajectory
from View menu.
Trajectory calculation uses the following data:
 Calculated electrostatic field;
 Particle attributes: charge, mass, initial velocity or energy; Initial
velocity might point outside of the calculation plane;
 Emitter attributes: coordinates (starting point of all beam trajectories),
limits for the angle between initial velocity and horizontal axes, and
the total number of trajectories in the beam
Viewing calculation results, you see:
 Projections of beam trajectories on the calculation plane;
 Kinematical parameters in every trajectory point;
 Velocity;
 Acceleration;
 The path length and the time spent on the way to any trajectory point.
Calculating trajectories QuickField uses following assumptions:
 There are no relativistic effects;
 Electrostatic field inside any finite element is linear relative to
coordinates.
 The beam space charge field can be ignored in the equations of motion
(“infinitely small current” approximation).
 Distinctive emitter physical features can be ignored, so that all beam
particles have the same starting point and kinetic energy.

According to these assumptions, we can describe the trajectory

(x(t),y(t),z(t)) of a charged particle in two-dimensional electrostatic field
𝐸̅ (𝑥, 𝑦) with Newton’s system of differential equations:
𝜕2𝑥 𝑞
= ∙ 𝐸 (𝑥, 𝑦)
𝜕𝑡 2 𝑚 𝑥
2
𝜕 𝑦 𝑞
= ∙ 𝐸 (𝑥, 𝑦)
𝜕𝑡 2 𝑚 𝑦
𝜕2𝑧
{ 𝜕𝑡 2 = 0
 Trajectories of Charged Particles 155

We reorganize this system of three second degree equations into six first-
degree equations and append the following additional equation:

𝑑𝑙 𝑑𝑥 2 𝑑𝑦 2 𝑑𝑧 2
= √( ) + ( ) + ( ) ,
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
defining the length l(t) of the trajectory covered by the particle in time t.
We integrate the resulting system using the Runge-Kutta-Merson method
with automatically defined integration step. Numerical integration stops
immediately before the finite element’s boundary, the step leading outside
of the element being excluded. At the last point in the element, we
extrapolate the trajectory with cubical segment of its Taylor series relative
to time and solve the resulting equation using Tartaglia-Cardano formula
and taking into account possible decrease of the equation’s degree in
homogeneous or zero fields.

Using Trajectories
Choosing Particle Trajectory from View menu opens the modeless
dialog window that allows changing beam properties and viewing the
calculation results on screen.

The property values entered into the dialog fields come into effect when
you click Apply button.
The Particle dialog page allows to choose particle type from the list or
define its charge and mass manually. It also provides you with the
possibility to define the initial absolute value of the particle’s velocity or
its initial kinetic energy.
Next tab Emitter to specify parameters of monochromatic point emitter.
156 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

The Number of Trajectories: field defines the total number of

trajectories in the beam. The more trajectories you ask for, the longer will
QuickField take to perform the calculation.
The Source position fields define the coordinates of the point emitter.
You can either enter the coordinates manually or click the required point
inside the window showing the field.
The Angle range fields define the limits for the angle between initial
velocity vector and the horizontal axis. QuickField assumes that the angle
between initial velocity vector and the plane of the model is the same for
all particles in the beam.
Stop iteration when NNNN elements passed: the value entered into this
field limits the number of finite elements the particle enters during its
flight. This limitation helps to avoid infinite loops for closed trajectories.
Whenever you click the Apply button or click anywhere in the window
showing the field, QuickField recalculates the trajectories and updates the
picture.
The Kinematic Values tab shows calculated kinematic properties of
moving particles. It shows the values related to the trajectory highlighted
on screen, the one closest to the current cursor position. You can freeze
highlighting of a trajectory if you move the mouse cursor holding the
SHIFT key pressed.

The page shows the trajectory length and the total flight time along with
the particle’s velocity and acceleration at the current trajectory point
(marked with cross on screen). The current point follows cursor position.
 Export of Field Calculation Results 157

Export of Field Calculation Results

In addition to many possibilities of interactive analysis of the field
calculation results within QuickField package it is also possible to
perform their output for further analysis with other programs.
For results output you can:
 Print field pictures, plots, tables, circuit schema and plot legend;
 Copy to clipboard any window content;
 Drag by mouse selected lines from the table, field calculator and
electric circuit component list into other application, e.g. word
processor or spreadsheet;
 Save the table of the field distribution along the arbitrary contour to
the text file, or print it (see the Tables of the physical parameter
distribution along the contour);
 Export the field distribution in the whole model area into the binary
or text file.

Printing the Postprocessor Pictures

You can directly print the field picture or X-Y plot to your local or
network printer, just as you see the model in the window, with the same
zooming and discretization visibility.
158 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

 To print the picture, click Print in the File menu. You will have an
option to choose the printer and set up the picture, such as paper size
and orientation, before printing will occur.
 To preview the output before printing, click Print Preview in the File
menu. To see how the picture will appear on a printer of your choice,
click Print Setup before.

Copying the Postprocessor Pictures

You can copy the field picture or X-Y plot, as you see it in the window, to
clipboard, for subsequent including it to your paper or report in any
word-processing or desktop publishing utility.
 To copy the picture, click Copy Picture in the Edit menu.
 Switch to the application where you want to paste the picture and
click Paste in the Edit menu, or press SHIFT+INS.
Most of QuickField graphical windows may be saved into file as a vector
or raster picture. Scale and content of the image will be the same, as it is
shown on screen. Both raster and vector formats of picture presentation
have their advantages and drawbacks. Final choice between them depends
on the application, which will be used for processing the pictures exported
from QuickField.
Vector images may be saved to Windows Metafile format (WMF) or
Extended Windows Metafile (EMF), which is newer and better
compatible with the modern Windows applications.
The list of supported raster formats includes BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG and
PNG. Select BMP for maximum picture quality (without compression),
GIF if you prefer the minimum size, JPEG or PNG as a compromise
between size and quality, and TIFF for best compatibility with prepress or
publishing software.
For raster formats QuickField allows to define the height and width of the
resulting picture in pixels. Their default value is agreed with the actual
size of the copied window. Increasing of the raster picture size requires
more disk space, but provides higher quality pictures for publishing.
To save the picture into the file:
1. Select Export Picture in the File menu of the window with the picture
displayed. File name and format selection dialogue will be shown.

2. Select needed File Type from the list, and set the name and location of
the file in the File Name field.

1. Click OK.
 Export of Field Calculation Results 159

2. The Picture Properties dialogue will be displayed if one of the raster

formats is chosen. Here you may accept the default picture size, or
redefine it by setting other height and width.

Field Export into File

In rare cases when QuickField does not provide necessary means for the
problem results analysis, or the calculation results should be used as entry
data for other application you may export results into the file of text or
binary format. This option is controlled by the Field Export command of
the File menu.
Field Export Wizard window will display two output methods to select
one of them:
 Field parameters export in the nodes of the rectangular mesh covering
the entire calculation area or a part of it;
 Finite element mesh export along with the field values in each node
of triangular finite elements.
Export in rectangular grid nodes
This method allows you to control format and size of the output file. The
second page of the field export wizard sets the grid sizes and steps on both
abscises and ordinate axes, and composes a list of physical parameters to
be output in every node of this grid. Optional file header string defines the
sizes of file parts. This simplifies reading this file from other applications.
Separate control affects the export procedure behavior inside the holes in
the calculation area.
Third page of the Export Wizard sets the output file options, name and
location.
Export in finite element mesh nodes
If the programs that interact with QuickField are able to take into account
finite-element specifics then it is most effective to put field parameters
into output file along with the finite element mesh. The output format is
fixed.
Output file includes information about model geometry, finite element
mesh and calculated results. Full description of the output file format
generated by this method is available in the Help.
An example of utility for importing QuickField output files into
MATLAB® is available from www.quickfield.com.
160 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Additional Analysis Opportunities

Some useful tools for calculation and results analysis are included in form
of optional add-ins. More details about add-ins connection and usage you
may find in Add-ins

Field Distribution along the Contour Harmonic

Analysis
Distribution of the physical parameters along the contour may be explored
by use of Fourier series analysis. This assumes that the contour drawn in
the results window corresponds to the full or half period of the space
distribution.
Calculation results are amplitudes and phases of the space distribution
harmonics for any of physical parameters available for specific
QuickField problem type. Results may be displayed as a table, spectral
diagram or plot showing initial curve and its approximation by selected
number of first harmonics.
Harmonic analysis add-in should be called by Harmonic Analysis
command from the View menu after the contour is build in the field view
window.
Further information about the harmonic analysis add-in is available in the
add-in help (activated by Help button).

Partial Capacitance Matrix Calculation for the

System of Conductors
In case the system consists of more than two conductors then its mutual
affect and behavior is described by the matrix of the partial self- and
mutual capacitances.
Charge of each conductor may be expressed through its own potential and
potentials of other conductors by the following equations:
q1 = b11U1 + b12U2 + ... + b1nUn
q2 = b21U1 + b22U2 + ... + b2nUn (1)
......
qn = bn1U1 + bn2U2 + ... + bnnUn,
where
q1, q2, … qn – conductor charges,
U1, U2, … Un – conductor potentials,
bij – electrostatic induction coefficients, or partial capacitances relative to
ground. They have dimension of capacitance.
 Additional Analysis Opportunities 161

It is often required in practice to replace the conductors system by their

equivalent circuit, where each pair of conductors is presented by the
capacitors with specially fitted capacitances. This form corresponds to the
system of equations (2) where the conductor charges are expressed
through the potential differences between the conductor and other
conductors, including earth:
q1 = c11(U1 - 0) + c12(U1 - U2) + ... + c1n(U1 - Un)
q2 = c21(U2 - U1) + c22(U2 - 0) + ... + c2n(U2 - Un) (2)
......
qn = cn1(Un - U1) + cn2(Un - U2) + ... + cnn(Un - 0)
This form (2) is convenient because cij coefficients are always positive
and allow natural interpretation as capacitances of the equivalent circuit.
cii coefficient corresponds to the contribution to the conductor charge
caused by its own potential, that is self-capacitance. Coefficients cij where
i and j are different correspond to the part of the i-conductor charge
caused by the potential difference between this and j-conductor, which is
equivalent to the capacitance of the capacitor formed by electrodes i and j.
They are called partial capacitances.
Both matrices are symmetrical, i.e. cij = cji.
The method for calculation of the self- and mutual partial capacitances of
the conductor system is based on the electrostatic field energy.
W = 1/2  (q1U1 + q2U2 + .... + qnUn) (3)
Use equations (1) for exclusion of the conductor charges from (3) by
expressing them via potentials:
W = 1/2  (
U1  (b11U1 + b12U2 + ... + b1nUn) +
U2  (b21U1 + b22U2 + ... + b2nUn) +
........
Un  (bn1U1 + bn2U2 + ... + bnnUn) );
Coefficients bji may be found by following method. First of all let us solve
the series of n problems, where the test potential (100 V) is applied to only
one of conductors and the rest of them are grounded (zero potential
applied). Electric field energy for these cases looks like:
Wi = ½  biiUi2.
Thereby own coefficients of the electrostatic induction could be found.
Then for each pair of conductors (i, j) we should solve the problem where
the test potential is applied between them, and all other conductors are
grounded. Energy equation is below:
Wij = bij  UiUj
There will be n(n - 1)/2 such problems total.
162 Chapter 8 Analyzing Solution

Thus, to find the matrix of electrostatic induction coefficients bij in the

system of n conductors it is sufficient to solve n(n + 1)/2 problems. Each
solution needs total electric field energy calculation. Computation of
partial capacitances cij from induction coefficients bij is a simple task.
Capacitance matrix calculation add-in could be started by the command
Capacitance Matrix from the Tools menu. If the electrostatic problem
were open in QuickField at the moment then capacitance calculator
window would be displayed. Upper part of this window is shown here:

In the problem list on the left hand side choose the problem of interest.
The conductor list (right) shows labels of edges and vertices that can be
considered as electrodes. Icons close to each label show the geometrical
nature of the electrode (an edge or a vertex).
You could set or remove grounding from any of the conductors by a
mouse click in the Info column. Partial capacitances are not calculated for
grounded conductors with zero potential.
Conductor may be excluded from the calculations by a mouse click over
the symbol to the left from the corresponding label. Excluded conductors
are not involved in the capacitance matrix calculation, but unlike
grounded conductors, zero potential is not assigned to them.
When the conductor list is ready, click the Calculate button and wait for
results.
List of conductors shows the conductors with the numbers assigned in the
results window.
The energy calculation results for particular problems are then displayed,
first in single column, and then in the upper-diagonal matrix form.
The matrix of electrostatic induction coefficient is shown next, and then
the matrix of Self and mutual partial capacitances. Use the list of
conductors (above) to find the correspondence between the conductor
number and its label.
Any text from the results window can be copied to the clipboard ( CTRL+C
or the Copy command from the context menu).
 163

C H A P T E R 9

Working with 3D Problem

Introduction
This section includes detailed information about three-dimensional
analysis with QuickField. The workflow and technique of working with
3D problems mostly relies on knowledge of 2D analysis. If you feel
yourself not quite familiar with such things as material properties,
boundary conditions, field sources, geometric labels and spacing and so
on, we recommend first browse through chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this
manual as well as videos, samples, papers and other teaching material
available online at www.quickfield.com.
For more than 20 years QuickField is known as an efficient tool for 2D
simulation of electromagnetic, heat transfer and stress analysis problems.
Engineers and researchers use 2D analysis for fast evaluation and finding
the critical points in the model. It is actual now and will be used in the
foreseen future. However, sometimes 3D analysis is essential even for
very rough approximation of the field distribution and model parameters.
QuickField 6.0 is a first milestone on the way to 3D FEA simulation,
adding 3D extrusion to familiar process of 2D model creation, and
featuring full-scale 3D field analysis. In QuickField 6.1 working with 3D
geometry extended with importing geometry from most CAD program via
STEP format. For the present these 3D features are available for
electrostatic, DC conduction and steady state heat transfer analyses only.
Workflow for 3D model definition and analysis in general follows the
same steps as in 2D. You should:
 Create the new QuickField problem, and assign the model type
3D Extrusion or 3D Import.
 For the problem with model class 3D Extrusion describe the geometry
in familiar Model Editor – first in XY plane, and when add the
heights to all planar objects,
Or:
164 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

 For the problem with model class 3D Import import the geometry
information from the STEP file (ISO 10303), exported from almost
any 3D CAD software.
 Build automatic or manually adjusted mesh of the tetrahedral finite
elements.
 Assign the text labels to all geometrical objects – bodies, faces, edges
and vertices.
 Define the physical properties, boundary conditions and field sources
for all labeled objects.
 Start automatic solution procedure.
 When solution is completed, 3D Postprocessor allows selecting of the
most impressive 3D field presentation, getting local results and
calculating integral parameters.
3D model comprises bodies with various physical properties and
surrounding space. Same as in 2D case, 3D model should always be
spatially confined: for open problems (where no physical boundary exists)
the artificial boundary should be created at sufficient distance from the
model objects.

Creating 3D Model by Extrusion

3D model of the class 3D Extrusion is based on the 2D sketch in XY plane.
This sketch is same as usual geometry model for plane-parallel
QuickField problem. It may be created in QuickField Model Editor. Any
existing 2D plane-parallel model may be used as a sketch for creation of
3D extruded model.
QuickField converts planar XY sketch into 3D model by extruding the
planar objects along Z axis, using the attribute “level”. Extrusion of the
planar vertex creates the vertical edge. Extrusion of the planar edge
creates a flat or cylindrical surface, which is orthogonal to XY plane.
Extrusion of the planar block creates 3D body shaped as a generalized
cylinder with generatrix orthogonal to the XY plane.
Every object in 2D sketch – vertex, edge or block – may be extruded
several times, up or down on different levels, thus creating a layered
structure. Same as in 2D case, for each 3D object the label may be
assigned. Labels are required for every 3D body. For 3D surfaces, edges
and vertices labels are used only if the corresponding objects should have
boundary conditions (e.g. known electric potential) or field sources
(electric charges). The same label assigned to different objects make them
logically uniting– thus the geometry model may become richer than
simple layer-cake.

Creating 3D Model by Importing from CAD

In the problems with 3D Import model class 3D model is imported from
the STEP format file (ISO 10303 - the Standard for the Exchange of
 2D and 3D problems 165

Product Model Data), created by the appropriate CAD program. In such

problem the geometry model has standard file name extension .m3d. In
the very beginning the model is empty until a geometry is imported from a
STEP file.
QuickField 3D geometry import has some limitations. Imported geometry
model should include only one body. If the STEP file describes several
bodies, only the first one will be imported.
3D model processing starts from the QuickField problem creation with
geometry class 3D Import. As usual, the problem setup requires choosing
the geometry file name, in this case with the extension .m3d. Double click
over the file name in the problem tree will open the model editor window
in its 3D view. The button Import STEP in the 3D model editor toolbar
should be clicked next. The STEP file (usually with the extension .step or
.stp) should be selected and the button Open clicked then.
If required, the imported geometric objects may be complemented by the
background region. The background region is often used to restrict the
calculation space, set up the boundary conditions etc. It is a rectangular
box, oriented on the coordinate axes. The box dimensions are
automatically chosen to include all the geometrical objects with
predefined gaps around. The gap is defined by the user in percent from the
maximal model size.

2D and 3D problems
The choice between plane-parallel, axisymmetric or 3D formulation is
performed by selecting the proper model class in the QuickField problem
properties.

2D problems
Majority of QuickField analysis types are formulated as 2D, i.e. plane-
parallel or axisymmetric approximations.
Plane-parallel problems
Plane-parallel approximation means that the geometry, boundary
conditions, field sources, material properties and thus the calculated field
depend on X and Y coordinates, but do not depend on the coordinate Z.
166 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Axisymmetric problems
Axisymmetric approximation means that the geometry, boundary
conditions, field sources, material properties and thus the calculated field
depend of Z and R, but do not depend on the angular coordinate θ.

It means that all the half cross-sections, which include the rotational axis
X and positioned on one side from it, are the same (i.e. independent from
the angular coordinate θ).
In the screen plane we work with upper half of the axial cross section of
the model

3D problems
Starting from the version 6.0 QuickField is able to solve 3D problems.
Right now it is applicable to the electrostatic, DC conduction and steady
state heat transfer analyses only.
In 3D problems the model geometry, material properties, field sources
and/or boundary conditions may depend upon all three spatial coordinates
X, Y and Z.
In QuickField the 3D geometry is built by one of two ways:
 By extrusion objects from the flat XY geometry into Z direction. Each
planar object may be extruded for specified height several times,
which allows making a complicated multi layered 3D body.

This approach expands the familiar simple methods of 2D model

creation into 3D. However, this implies the limitations.
 By importing 3D geometry from STEP file created by virtually any
CAD program. The imported geometry may be complemented by a
surrounding background area – a rectangular box at given distance of
the model bounding box.
Regardless of how the three-dimensional geometry has been created, the
following steps will be assigning labels to geometric objects and
 Problem definition – adding 3D features 167

generating a 3D mesh. The mesh density is controlled by assigning

desired the spacing values to vertices.

Problem definition – adding 3D features

Choice between 2D and 3D analysis is performed by choosing the model
class in the problem properties window. For three dimensional analysis
the related classes are 3D Extrusion and 3D Import. If the class 3D Import
is assigned to an existent problem with another model class, its geometry
information will be lost.
In contrast, if the class 3D Extrusion is assigned to an existing 2D
problem, it will be automatically converted to 3D. In this case QuickField
assigns to all blocks the same pair of levels in Z direction, which is chosen
equal to zero and the problem axial length LZ.
In any case, the only action required for turning on 3D features is
choosing the option 3D Extrusion or 3D Import in the Model class list of
the problem properties window.

The 3D Extrusion and 3D Import options are only available for

electrostatic, DC conduction and steady state heat transfer analyses.

Geometry model in the 3D subsystem

The QuickField Model Editor is used for defining the problem geometry
and creation of the finite-element mesh. It is assumed that reader of this
document has some experience in 2D QuickField model creation: knows
168 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

how to add the vertices and edges, can assign the labels to geometrical
objects, and able to control the finite-element mesh density using Spacing.

Creating 3D Model by Extrusion

Geometry model creation in QuickField 3D subsystem (hereafter referred
as 3D model) starts from the same actions as in 2D, but comparing to 2D
case, it is necessary to perform following additional actions before starting
the solution process:
1. Model should be linked to corresponding 3D problem. It is sufficient
to have open 3D problem which refers to this model. If there is no
such a problem – next steps are impossible.
2. Extrusion parameters should be prepared for each extruded 2D object.
3. 3D model should be created by extrusion of the 2D problem along the
Z axis.
4. Text labels should be assigned to those of created objects which need
to have specific physical properties.
3D extrusion parameters for 2D model objects
During the vertical extrusion the 2D model object – a block, edge or
vertex – converts to one or several objects of the 3D model. Blocks
transform into bodies, edges become vertical faces, and vertices create
vertical edges.
The 2D object which is subjected to extrusion we will call the source. All
horizontal sections of the 3D objects, extruded from the same 2D source
are the same, and their projections to the 2D source plane coincide with
this source. In other words, 3D objects extruded from the same 2D source
are stacked on each other, and the boundary between these objects is the
same source shifted vertically. It is clear that only parameters of this
extrusion are the heights of levels, where the horizontal boundaries
between the 3D extruded objects are located. When this height is defined
we will say that the corresponding height level is assigned to the extrusion
source.
Number of the 3D objects, extruded from the source, is always less by 1
than number of levels assigned to this source, because there is no empty
vertical space between neighboring 3D objects. Therefore at least 2 height
levels should be assigned to 2D objects to perform its 3D extrusion.
 Geometry model in the 3D subsystem 169

Note: If some height level is assigned to 2D object of positive dimension

(block or edge) it is automatically assigned to all 2D objects at its
boundary. Dimension of these boundary objects is always less than the
dimension of the original object.
For example, if the height level 10 is assigned to the edge, then both
vertices at its ends are also assigned the same height level 10. If the block
has the height level 0, then all the boundary edges and nodes
automatically have the height level 0 assigned.

Pic. 3D extrusion parameters assignment example.

Changing of the extrusion parameters of 2D model objects
To change the extrusion parameters the geometry model properties
windows should be displayed on the screen. If it is hidden, to make it
visible you need to click by the left mouse button at any place within the
model window, and then select Properties in the View menu.
To change the extrusion parameters for one or more objects, you need to
select them. In the model properties window the group Selection will be
displayed showing all the types of selected objects (vertices, edges and/or
blocks), as shown at picture below. The group Levels will be added to the
properties of the selected objects of maximum dimension. Group Levels
includes heights of all levels, assigned to at least one of the selected
objects, and additional element Add New Level. Levels are always
arranged with the highest value on top.
170 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Pic. Selected block in the 2D model and 3D problem properties window.

Three types of actions may be performed with the levels:
 Adding of a new level – new level height may be entered in the right
part of the Add New Level line. New value may be selected from the
list which includes all height levels presented in the model at the
moment, or entered manually. As a result the new level is assigned to
all selected objects which did not have this level before.
 Change the existent level height – the current level height may be
replaced by a new value. New level may be selected from the pop out
list with all levels presented in the model, or entered manually. As a
result the level height will be changed for all selected objects where
this level is already present. New level is not assigned to other
objects. If the new value is already assigned to some of selected
objects – the duplicate level will be removed from their properties.
For example if some block has height levels 1, 2 and 3, then after
changing the level 2 to 3 the block properties will include levels 1 and
3.
Taking into account that the levels are also ranked from high to low,
the changed level may be put into other place in the level list than the
original level.
 Existent level removal – to remove the level the value field should be
emptied. As a result this level will be assigned to none of selected
objects.
 Geometry model in the 3D subsystem 171

Note: In some cases it is impossible to remove or change the level because

it is protected. This happens if the level is assigned to the object of higher
dimension. For example, if the level was automatically assigned to the
vertex after being set for the edge or block which include this vertex, than
it may be removed or changed for this vertex only together with the same
action performed for the edge or block.
This change is possible only for the object which has the maximum
dimension between all the neighbors (dimension of the block is 2, edge is
1 and vertex is 0). In this case the change is automatically transferred to its
entire boundary. For example, if the level was assigned to the edge and
was automatically spread out to its end vertices, then it may be changed
only for the edge, but this change will be automatically spread to its
vertices.

Switching to 3D View
After the height levels are set, the extrusion may be performed by
choosing a command 3D in the View menu, or by pressing the button
(Toggle 2D/3D in the model editor toolbar.
For successful extrusion following conditions should be met:
a. At least one block of the 2D model should have the finite-
element mesh and two or more height levels assigned.
b. None of 2D model meshed blocks should have one height level
assigned.
If either of these conditions is not met, error message is displayed, and if it
was caused by “b” then the blocks where the condition does not work are
highlighted. In case of success the bodies extruded from the blocks which
satisfy “a”, and lower dimension objects at their boundaries are displayed
in 3D.

Creating 3D Model by Importing

In the problems with 3D Import model class the 3D model is imported
from the STEP format file (ISO 10303 - the Standard for the Exchange of
Product Model Data), created by the appropriate CAD program.
QuickField 3D geometry import has some limitations. Imported geometry
model should include only one body. If the STEP file contains several
bodies, only the first one will be imported.
3D model processing starts from the QuickField problem creation with
geometry class 3D Import. As usual, the problem setup requires choosing
the geometry file name, in this case with the extension .m3d. Double click
on the file name in the problem tree will open the model editor window in
its 3D view. The button Import STEP in the 3D model editor toolbar
should be clicked next. The STEP file (usually with the extension .step or
.stp) should be selected and the button Open clicked then.
172 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Background Region
If required, the imported geometry entities may be complemented by the
background region.
The background region represents the rectangular box, oriented on the
coordinate axes. The background region dimensions are automatically
chosen to include all the geometrical objects with the predefined gaps
around. The gap is defined by the user in percent from the maximal model
size.

The Background region related controls are grouped in the corresponding

section of the geometry model properties window. Background region
may be turned on and off, and the gap may be defined as some percent of
the model size. Default gap is 50%.
If the background region is turned on, it has all properties of the geometric
object. Internal cavity of the background region may be assigned a label,
e.g. “air”. The faces and edges may also be labelled for the following
boundary condition assigning. The background region curtains other
model objects, and it is reasonable to make it transparent or hidden using
the context menu.

3D View of the Model Editor

With problems of the model class 3D Import the model editor always
shows 3D view. With problems of the model class 3D extrusion one can
freely switch between 2D and 3D views of the model editor by toggling
the 3D command in the View menu or by pressing the button
Toggle 2D/3D in the model editor toolbar.
 Geometry model in the 3D subsystem 173

The 3D view of the model editor allows seeing 3D geometry model,

assigning labels to its entities: bodies, faces, edges and vertices, setting
desired mesh spacing in vertices, generating and control the 3D finite
element mesh.

Manipulation with 3D view

3D images are used in QuickField for the geometric model 3D view and
for 3D problem results analysis. Same methods are used for image
manipulation in both cases.
To get the full information about 3D model geometry it is possible to:
 Look at the model from any direction (rotation):
 Move the model along the screen surface (panning);
 Increase and decrease the model scale (zooming),
 Hide the parts of the model (hiding) to see the objects behind. Also
some bodies may be displayed as transparent.
 Cut the model by a plane with interactive control of the position and
visibility of the cutting plane.
 Select the model elements: bodies, faces, edges, vertices.
 Control of the density of 3D mesh, by assigning desired mesh
spacing.
3D view window interacts with the label list in the problem properties
window:
174 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

If the object (body, face, edge, vertex) label is selected in the problem
properties window, then all the respectively labeled objects will be
selected in the 3D view window. And vice versa – selection of the object
in the 3D view window causes its highlighting in the problem properties
window.
Majority of operations with 3D view is performed by the mouse cursor
movement while left or right mouse button is pressed. For some actions
one or more modifier keys should be pressed on the keyboard before the
mouse is moved.
Making the random transformations of the image in 3D view may easily
get you lost and lose control over the model view. But it is always easy to
return to one of predefined views using the camera control buttons on the
toolbar.
System of the coordinate axes shown at the bottom left corner of the
model window rotates together with the model and helps to understand the
current model orientation:
 Image rotation, panning and zooming 175

Image rotation, panning and zooming

Following actions provide the full information about 3D models:
 Looking at the model components from different sides;
 Increasing and decreasing the zoom level;
 Hiding some parts of the model to see the parts behind them.
Majority of these actions may be performed by moving the mouse cursor
while left or right mouse button is pressed. For some actions one or more
keyboard keys should be pressed before moving the mouse.
We will call the mouse move left or right according to what mouse button
has been pressed during the move.
Table. 3D view window image control using the mouse gestures

What Keyboard Action Cursor

button is key shape
pressed pressed
during the
move

Left None Model rotation in the

direction of the mouse
cursor move. This allows
to look at the model from
different sides

Left SHIFT Model panning with mouse

cursor.

Left CTRL Model rotation relatively to

the axis orthogonal to the
screen plane

Left SHIFT + Model zoom level

CTRL increases or decreases with
mouse cursor going up or
down.

Right None Rectangular frame (“rubber

rectangle”) is displayed on
screen and its size changes
with the mouse movement.
When the mouse button is
released, objects inside the
176 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

rectangle are selected

according to following
rules:
If the ending point is TO
THE LEFT from the
starting point then all
objects crossed by the
rectangle boundary are
INCLUDED into this
selection.
If the ending point is TO
THE RIGHT from the
starting point when all the
objects crossed by the
rectangle boundary are
EXCLUDED from this
selection.

Mouse movements listed above allow full control over the zoom level and
camera position relating the model. Besides that, there are several fixed
image settings which may be switched on using the toolbar buttons.

In conclusion here is the list of all methods of the image zoom control:
1. Mouse wheel rotation increases the zoom level in front direction
or decreases the level with backward direction. Screen position
of the model point under the mouse cursor stays intact.
2. After pressing the toolbar button Zoom in you may click by the
mouse in the model to increase the zoom level twice, or by
moving the mouse with left button pressed you may draw the
rectangle on the screen, which will be stretched to occupy the full
window when the mouse button is released.
3. Pressing the button Zoom out undoes the last zoom increase. If
there is nothing to undo the zoom level will be decreased twice.
4. Button Zoom to fit sets the zoom level necessary to fit the full
model into the window.
5. Mouse movement with the left button and keys SHIFT+CTRL
pressed increases the zoom level if directed up, or decreases it if
directed down.
6. Keyboard commands:
CTRL + (keys Ctrl and plus) increases the zoom level twice;
 Image rotation, panning and zooming 177

CTRL - (keys Ctrl and minus) decreases the zoom level twice;
CTRL 0 (keys Ctrl and zero) scales the window to fit the full
model.

Object selection
3D geometric objects: bodies, faces, edges, vertices are displayed in the
3D window. Each of objects may be in the normal or selected state. Object
selection is needed to change its properties (assign the label etc.) or hide
the object to see what is hidden behind it.

Pic. Examples of geometric objects selection

Object selection may be performed by:
 Clicking over the object by the left mouse button. Object is
highlighted when the mouse cursor goes over it – this helps to
understand what will be selected by the mouse click. First mouse
click over the face selects this face. Second mouse click over the
same face selects the body which contains this face. Next consecutive
clicks over the face switch the mode between face and body selection.
To select several objects the button CTRL should be pressed during
the mouse clicks. This cause selection of the objects of the same
dimension (faces or bodies respectively).
 Mouse click over the object label in the problem tree – this action
selects all the objects of this dimension which are labeled by this
label.
178 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

 Group selection using the rubber rectangle. This action requires the
right mouse slide.

Selection from the left Selection from the right

to the right to the left

Hidden and Transparent Bodies

Sometimes it is necessary to hide some objects to see the objects behind.
Command Hide from the View menu or context menu (opens by the right
mouse button click) hides the selected object or group of objects.
Commands Hide all and Hide all but this are located in the same menus
and perform the actions according to their names. Commands Unhide and
Unhide all from the View menu or context menu make the hidden objects
visible again.

In 3D view the body obscuring other bodies can be not only made hidden
but also rendered transparently. To do that use the Transparent command
in context menu. To cancel transparency of selected bodies use the
Opaque command in context menu.
Transparency does not provide an opportunity to select by mouse click the
body located behind a transparent body. To do this, you need to hide the
obscuring body or use a cutting plane, making it invisible.
 Image rotation, panning and zooming 179

Cutting the Model by a Plane

It is possible to cut the model by a plane to visualize the internal cavities
of the model components, which are hidden behind over objects.

To turn the cutting plane on or off click on the button Cut by Plane in the
model editor 3D view toolbar, or use the command Cut by Plane in the
View menu.
It is possible to control the position of the cutting plane by the following
methods:
 Dragging the cutting plane by the mouse along the plane normal;
 Dragging normal vector to the cutting plane by the mouse;
 Selecting one of the predefined plane normal orientations along the
coordinate axes in the context menu;
 Inside out command of the context menu controls what part of the cut
model should be shown on the screen.
If some object cannot be viewed or selected behind the cutting plane – the
plane may be hidden temporarily using the command Hide cutting plane
in the context menu or in the View menu.

Text label assignment to the 3D model objects

Text labels should be assigned to 3D objects after the 3D model is created
by the vertical extrusion.
To assign the label to some object (body, face, edge or vertex) it should be
selected in the 3D model window – group Selected will appear in the
180 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

properties window with the current label of the selected object shown in
the corresponding subgroup (Bodies, Faces, Edges or Vertices).

This label may be replaced by entering the new name or by selecting it

from the pull down list which includes all label names defined in this
problem for the same dimension of objects. Choosing the value (none) in
the beginning of the list removes the label from the selected object.
Properties of any defined label may be checked or edited by choosing this
label in the problem tree.
To assign one label to several geometrical objects, they should be selected
and the label name should be entered in the subgroup of the group
Selection which is related to objects of this dimension.

Control of the Density of 3D Mesh

3D FEA mesh in QuickField is created automatically. Mesh quality,
number of elements and mesh density affect the solution time, the
accuracy and amount of memory required. To achieve the balance
between the accuracy and complexity the trade-off is often involved. This
may be controlled by mesh density settings.
Similarly to 2D problems, mesh density control is performed by assigning
the desired mesh spacing to some of the model vertices. The automatic
mesh step for all those vertices where the manual mesh spacing is not set
will be calculated basing on the given manual spacing.
 Image rotation, panning and zooming 181

To assign the manual mesh spacing it is required to select the vertices by a

mouse click, or by a rubber rectangle (see 3D objects selection), then in
the model properties pane select the value Manual in the field Spacing
and enter in the field Spacing value the mesh spacing in the current
length units.

3D Finite Element Mesh

Finite element analysis requires the whole model space to be discretized
into the closed non intersecting simple shapes – finite elements.
QuickField uses tetrahedrons of the first order as finite elements for 3D
analysis.
Dividing the model region into the finite elements, or triangulation, is
performed automatically. However, advanced users may define the mesh
spacing and visually control the results. Importance of the mesh control is
based on the fact that the accuracy of the differential equations solution by
the finite element method, and cost of the solution in terms of time and
memory requirements are heavily dependent on the mesh quality. Mesh
density control provides the optimal balance between the solution
accuracy and cost.
These are the stages of the triangulation process:
 Automatic calculation of the optimal mesh spacing in all vertices
where the manual steps are not set;
 Breaking the model edges into segments (1D discretization);
 Breaking the model faces down to flat triangles (2D discretization);
 Breaking the model bodies down to tetrahedrons (3D discretization).
These four stages of the mesh generation provide the quality discretization
of the model calculation region with controlled mesh density, and meshes
of one, two and three dimensions are fully consistent. Model editor toolbar
controls the parameters and visibility of the different dimension meshes:
182 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

If the view control button for the mesh of some dimension turns on
visibility of the mesh which is not yet built, it will be created
automatically. Volume mesh is easier to view using the model cut by
plane.

In some cases it may be required to remove the finite element meshes of

all the dimensions. Command Remove Mesh from the Edit menu allows
it. If the solution process is initiated for the problem where the mesh is not
yet built, mesh will be generated automatically.

Editing material properties and boundary

conditions
In 3D problems the tree shows labels assigned to bodies, faces, edges,
vertices. To edit the data associated with a label double click the label in
the list.

Solving 3D problems
To obtain the problem solution, click the Solve button on the toolbar, or
choose Solve Problem in the Problem menu. You may skip this action
and directly proceed to the analysis results by clicking Analyze Results
on the toolbar or in the Problem menu. If the problem has not been solved
yet, or its results are out of date, the solver will be invoked automatically.
 Result analysis 183

Result analysis
Problem solution in QuickField starts by choosing the command Solve in
the Problem menu, or by pressing the button in the toolbar.
3D solution results may be presented in QuickField by following methods:
 Different ways of the field picture display:
 Color painting of the surfaces according to the value of the
chosen physical parameter,
 Geometry model presentation using the edges,
 Presenting the finite element mesh on the visible surfaces,
 Vector field plotting using scaled directed vectors,
 Scalar field plotting using small scattered color balls,
 Equipotential surfaces,
 Family of parallel slices, colored according to the value of
the chosen physical parameter,
 Cut plane, which may be interactively controlled,
 2D picture of the field view in the cut plane,
 Plot of the chosen physical parameter along the selected
edge or edges.
 Local field values in the chosen point. Point may be selected by
mouse or by entering the coordinates.
 Integral parameters calculated across the volume of selected bodies or
along their external surface.

Calculation results window

Calculation results window is displayed after invoking the command
Field view in the menu Problem or after pressing the button in the
problem toolbar.
Calculation results window contains following elements:
 Field view window with coordinate system icon and color scale;
 Upper toolbars: field view toolbar and camera toolbar.
 Field calculator panes (at the left): settings pane, local values pane
and integral calculator pane
Field calculator panes are designed for numerical data input and output. In
the beginning they are stacked at the left border of the results window.
Whole stack of panes or any pane individually may be dragged by the
mouse to any place, docked to any border or left floating. Mouse click
over any of these three panes switches the calculation result window into
the corresponding mode:
 Field view browsing (mouse cursor looks like );
 Local values calculation for chosen point (mouse cursor turns to );
 Integral values calculation across the selected bodies and their
external surfaces (cursor turns to ).
184 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Besides this, the field view picture includes the 3D coordinate system
icon, which turns along with the camera movement relating to the model
and informs about the current orientation, and color map which shows the
field parameter levels in physical units.

Pic. Calculation results window

Result presentation modes control

Menu View commands, often repeated by the toolbar icons, control the
results presentation.
Upper group of commands switches the field calculator panes, which are
stacked at the left form the field picture. There are three panes:
1. Settings pane;
2. Local values pane, and
3. Integral calculator pane
Group of panes in the middle part of menu turns the field presentation
modes on and off. Most of presentations may be turned on and off
independently to show the most impressive field view on a screen. Field
view window opens two presentations at start: model geometry (shown
with blue edges) and colored surface on visible faces, where color
corresponds to the level of the physical parameter shown.
Majority of the presentations has control settings. The pane Settings
includes all control settings grouped according to the presentation type.
 Result analysis 185

Pic. Menu View commands which control the results presentation

Group of commands in the lower part of the menu controls the
visibility of the separate bodies. It is often required to hide unused parts of
the model to make needed parts visible.

Field view presentations

Calculated field view may be shown by different graphical methods,
called presentations. Each presentation has its own control settings. Most
presentations may be combined on the same screen picture, besides few
presentations which are mutually exclusive.
Pressing the button in the field view toolbar turns the corresponding
presentation on and off. Alternatively it is possible to expand the tree,
controlling the chosen presentation, in the control settings and select Yes
or This only for the field Show.
List of 3D field view presentations includes:

Show geometry

Show Mesh

Colored surfaces

Vector plot

Scatter plot
186 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Isosurface plot

Slice plot

Cut pane

In addition to 3D presentations, where are two presentations for 2D

windows:

2D section

1D XY plot along the chosen edge(s)

To present the field clearly and informatively it is always required to

adjust the picture using rotation, moving or scaling (see the Image control
section) and hide the unused or covering bodies (see the Object hiding
section). These actions, as well as selection of the geometrical objects in
the field view window are performed same way as in the 3D view of the
model editor.
Settings pane includes all control settings grouped according to the
presentation types.
Each presentation setting window includes one or more fields. The fields
are positioned within a vertical column, each field takes one line. Field
name is shown at the left, value is displayed at the right. Depending on the
type, the value may be selected from the list, typed in or both.
The first control parameter of all presentations is the field Show which
allows values Yes, No and This only. The last value keeps only this
presentation and removes all others from the screen
Other parameters of each presentation are explained in the corresponding
sections below.
 Result analysis 187

Pic. Field view and settings pane: model geometry, colored surfaces,
vector plot, scatter plot and plane cut. Selected presentations are shown by
red circles in the settings pane at the left.

Geometry elements: edges and the finite element mesh

Model geometry presentation is turned on by default and displays the
edges of the original geometry model. To turn the geometry on and off
there is a button in the field view toolbar. This presentation has no
adjustment settings.
188 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Finite Element Mesh presentation shows the finite element mesh on the
visible surfaces. Finite Element Mesh command in the View menu or the
field view toolbar button turns this presentation on and off. It does not
have adjustment settings.

Pic. “Finite Element Mesh” presentation

 Result analysis 189

Colored surfaces
Colored surface presentation is turned on by default and displays the
distribution of the chosen physical parameter on the visible surfaces as a
color map, where every level of the physical parameter value corresponds
to some color. Field view toolbar switches the colored surface
presentation on and off.
Colored surface settings include:
1. Selection of the scalar physical quantity from the list. As a
default parameter for electrostatic problems the electric potential
V is used, for thermal problems – temperature T is used etc. List
of alternative parameters includes the field potential, modules
and coordinate components of vectors, and media properties
(dielectric permeability etc.).
2. Minimum and maximum values of the parameter for the legend
adjustment. Default range corresponds to the maximum and
minimum parameter values in the whole calculation area.
3. Number of color grades, with 256 colors as a default.
4. Whether the legend should be displayed or not.

Pic. “Colored surface” presentation.

Vector plot
Vector plot shows the distribution of the vector quantity in the 3D region.
Calculation region is covered by invisible uniform grid with specified
step. Then in the each node of this grid the vector is drawn as a directed
straight segment (arrow). Each arrow direction is agreed with the direction
of the chosen vector quantity, and the length corresponds to the vector
190 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

module in chosen scale. The Vectors command in the View menu or the
button in the field view toolbar turn the vector plot on and off.

Note: Vector Plot presentation may require considerable amount of

computer resources (memory, processor time). It is thus advisable to
gradually increase the parameters, which increase the load. Recommended
presentation parameters are in the list.

Pic. “Vector plot” presentation

Adjustment settings for the vector plot include:
1. List of vector physical quantities for selection.
2. Spatial step of the uniform grid, in each node of which the arrow
will be drawn. If none of the three recommended values is good
enough, other values may be typed in.
3. Scale level, controlling the arrow length. It is recommended to
select one from 7 values offered. However, on your own risk you
may type in any other value.
To better see the “Vector plot” presentation on screen, it is recommended
to turn off the “Color surface” presentation. However this is optional.
Scatter plot
Scatter plot is somewhat similar to the “Vector plot”, but designed to
visualize the spatial distribution of the scalar quantity. Physical parameter
value is shown by the color, which paints the small balls shown in the
finite element mesh nodes. Scattered spheres command from the View
menu or the field view toolbar button turn the scatter plot on and off.
 Result analysis 191

Pic. “Scatter plot” presentation

If the number of finite elements is high, then for the nodes for scatter plot
presentation are randomly selected with total number not exceeding 10
000.
Scatter plot settings include:
1. Scalar physical quantity selection from the list.
2. Sphere size. It is recommended to choose from six predefined
numbers, however other numerical value may be entered.
3. Density factor, which controls the total number of spheres. It is
measured in percent from the finite element mesh node number.
It is recommended to choose from six predefined numbers;
however other numerical value may be entered. Setting the
density to 100% does not necessary mean that the ball number
will be equal to finite element node number, because number of
spheres cannot exceed 10 000.
4. Show or hide the color legend.
To make the “Scatter plot” more visible on the screen, it is recommended
to turn off the “Color surface” presentation. Sometimes the combination
of the scatter and vector plots is the most informative presentation.
Isosurface plot
Isosurface plot presentation displays the surfaces of equal potential.
Surfaces could be monochromatic or color painted according to the
potential values. Each of surfaces will always have a single color. The
command Isosurface plot from the View menu or the button from the
field view toolbar switches this presentation on or off.
192 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Pic. “Isosurface plot” presentation

Selection of the physical quantity for isosurface plotting is not provided –
it is always potential U in the electric problems, temperature Т in the
thermal problems etc.
Isosurface plot settings include:
1. Whether the surfaces should be colored according to potential
values
2. Potential step ΔU between the neighboring surfaces
3. In case the color surfaces selected – whether the color legend
should be shown as well.
Model cutting with a plane, 2D field view
Cut plane presentation cuts the model through by the arbitrary positioned
plane. After the cut is performed, the color surfaces will be shown from
one side of the plane and within the plane. Cut plane does not affect on
other presentations (scatter plot, vector plot, isosurface plot etc.). The
command Cut by plane from the View menu or the button from the
field view toolbar turn the cut plane presentation on and off.
 Result analysis 193

Pic. “Cut plane” presentation

“Cut plane” presentation has following specific features comparing to
other presentations:
 When the presentation is turned on, interactive elements emerge on
screen. Semi-transparent plane with the vector normal to it may be
dragged to any direction by the mouse with left button pressed. The
plane may be parallel dragged along the normal vector, and this
vector may be tilted or turned around the point of intersection with
the plane.
 “Cut plane” presentation should be combined with other presentations
– color surface and finite element mesh – for producing informative
picture on the screen.
Cut plane settings include:
1. Normal direction is possible to select from the list whether is it
along one of coordinate axes X, Y or Z, or specify arbitrary
orientation by entering three coordinates nx, ny, nz of the normal
vector.
2. Distance to Origin specifies the distance from the plane to the
coordinate origin, if the normal vector is parallel to one of
coordinate axes, or thee of coordinates px, py, pz set the position
of the arbitrary point in the plane. Plane position is fully defined
by the direction of the normal vector and coordinates of any point
which belongs to this plane.
3. Clip setting controls the section which is created by the cut
plane. Its value could be No clip, Smooth or Rough:
194 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

Pic Clip setting effect

4. Show plane settings with values Yes/No turn the visibility of the
plane and its normal vector on and off. As a default the show
plane is turned on. After the desired plane position is achieved, it
is convenient to turn the show plane off, to return to usual mouse
gestures control over the presentation view.
5. Inside Out setting with values Yes/No selects from what side
from the cut plane the section should be shown

Pic. Inside Out setting effect.

Field picture in the cut plane
When the cut plane presentation is selected, the field picture in the in the
section may be presented in 3D view, as it was shown in the previous
paragraph, or as a 2D view in separate window. 2D field view in the cut
plane window may be turned on by pressing the button in the toolbar.
This button is active when the presentation “cut plane” is selected.
2D field view window is similar to 3D view window. It includes the
toolbar, two panes of the field calculator stacked at the left, and a field
picture window with coordinates and color legend.
Picture control principles for 2D window are the same as for 3D field
view window. Image also consists from separately turned on/off
presentations – model geometry, finite element mesh, colored surface and
isolines plot (for the lines of equal potential).
 Result analysis 195

Pic. 2D field picture in the cut plane: geometry model, colored surface and
isolines.
Mouse gestures which control the field view are the same as in 3D case
with obvious exceptions: model cannot be rotated, cut plane is always
positioned in the screen plane.
Cut plane allows browsing the local field values similarly to how it could
be done in 3D window.
The tab Integral calculator in the 2D window provides calculation of the
integral values over the whole planar section, e.g. vector flux across the
section. Surface integrals are calculated over all the visible bodies cut by
the section plane.
Field distribution in the section plane may be also displayed as a plot or
table. Table and plot present the field along the broken line contour
consisting from one or more segments.
When the contour is ready, press one of the buttons in the toolbar to
activate the plot or table window. If the table or plot window is already
open, pressing the button 1D Plot or 1D Table changes the window
content accordingly to the current contour.
Contour for plots and tables
Contour for making a plot or table of the field distribution is a flat broken
line, built from one or more segments.
To start creating a contour click the button on the toolbox. The cursor
will change its shape to a cross-hair. Click mouse button to create the
initial node and then drag the mouse till the next node. Each left mouse
196 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

click generates the new node. Right mouse click makes the last node. If
the last node coincides with the first node, the contour will be closed
polygon.
After creating the last contour node, it turns to the mode which allows
dragging existent nodes by the mouse or creation new nodes on the edges.
To pull the node you need to move the cursor to the node to change its
color, and drag the cursor with the right mouse button pressed. Doing the
same with the middle point of the contour will create a new intermediate
node.

When the mouse cursor is over the contour, right mouse button click
activates the context menu with contour editing commands:
Two upper commands select one of the alternative contour modes: adding
new segments to the end of the broken line, or dragging the existent
nodes. Next two commands remove the selected node or the whole
contour.
 The contour is always directed, i.e. it is known which nodes are first
and last. Contour direction may be changed using the Change
Direction command.
 Translate Contour command allows dragging the contour as a whole
by the mouse.
Context menu commands for the contour manipulation are also included
into the Contour menu.
Multiple parallel cuts – slice plot
It is often useful to use not one, but multiple cut planes for complete field
analysis. Presentation “Slice plot” is provided for such situations.
Command Parallel Slices from the View menu or the button in the
field view toolbar turns this presentation on and off.
 Result analysis 197

Pic. “Slice plot” presentation.

Similarly to cut plane, when the “Slice plot” presentation is turned on, the
interactive controls – plane and normal vector – are displayed.
Manipulating with these controls adjusts the orientation of the cut slices
family.
Selected physical quantity color map is shown on the parallel slices. When
the slice plot presentation is turned on, color surfaces are automatically
turned off to make the slices visible.
Slice plot settings include:
1. Choose of the physical quantity to be displayed as color maps on
the slices. List of available choices includes all scalar quantities.
2. Show or hide the color legend.
3. Distance between the slices. Recommended values may be
selected from the list, or arbitrary number may be entered.
4. Show plane value which may be Yes or No turns the visibility of
the cut plane and normal vector on and off.
5. Two groups of fields including Normal direction and Distance
to Origin control the position of the cut planes same way as
corresponding settings of the cut plane presentation.
Plots
Field parameters distribution along the selected model edges or contour
may be displayed in the plot. Plot window is displayed by using the
command 1D XY Plot in the View menu or by pressing the button
from the field view toolbar.
198 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

The plot shows distribution of the selected physical quantity along the
selected edge or the sequence of edges. The plot is automatically redrawn
with the change of edge selection. Sequence of edges for plotting should
form the spatial contiguous not self-crossing. The edge selection suitable
for plotting should form a contiguous line without self-crossing segments.
Beginning of this line may coincide with the end – no other crossings are
allowed.
Toolbar above the plot area includes:
 Zoom buttons. To the left from the plot the legend pane is
shown, which may be dragged to any side of the plot or left floating.
 The legend pane allows selection of the physical parameter for
plotting. Radio buttons provide the choice between the parameter
families, expandable set of the flags turns on/off the specific
parameter within the family.
 This button returns to the field view which is associated with this
plot. If the plot is drawn along the selected edges, the button activates
the 3D field view picture. If the plot is drawn along the flat contour,
the button activates the 2D section window, which includes the
contour.
 This button activates the table window, which includes the
distribution of the physical parameters along the edges or contour.

Pic. XY-Plot of the electric field E along selected edges.

Right mouse button click activates the context menu.
Tables
Field parameter distribution along the selected edges or contour may be
presented not only on a graph, but also as a table. Table window is
activated by pressing the button in the 3D field view toolbar (table
along the selected edges) or in the 2D section toolbar (table along the
contour).
 Result analysis 199

Table rows are related to the geometry model nodes, evenly distributed
along the contour or the selected edges group. Table columns are the
physical parameter values.
Table columns displayed may be modified by pressing the button in
the table toolbar or in the context menu using the Table columns
dialogue.

To specify the number of the table rows you need to press the button in
the toolbar, which displays the dialogue window Table rows.

Number of the rows in the table may be defined directly, or by setting the
desired space between the nodes in the model length units measured along
the contour. If the contour consists from several segments, or there are
several edges selected, dialogue allows defining different steps for
different segments. All the segment ends are mandatory included into the
table.

Local field values calculation

Physical field quantities calculated in the specific point are called local
values.
200 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem

It is required to switch on the Probing mode of the field calculator to

display the local values in chosen point. This may be performed by
pressing the button in the toolbar or by selecting the pane Local Values
in the stack of field calculator panes, or by using the command Local
Values from the View menu. This will be indicated by the cursor shape
change to .
Every mouse click over the points at the model surface will lead to
refreshing the coordinates and field values in the pane. Point coordinates
for the local values calculation may also be manually entered into the
corresponding fields of the local value pane.

In the upper part of the pane three fields X, Y and Z are prepared for
entering the probing point coordinates. These fields are automatically
refreshed when the mouse is clicked within the model.

Integral calculation
In addition to the local field values QuickField can calculate integral
parameters, such as electric charge, mechanical force and electric field
energy.
Integration region for the volume integrals includes the selected bodies,
and for the surface integrals – the selected faces or the planar section of
the 3D model.
Integration area of the surface integrals, calculated over the planar section
includes the cross-sections of all the visible bodies which were cut by the
plane. Turning their visibility on/off will control the integration area.
Integration results are shown in the Integral Calculator tab of the 2D
section window.
In the electrostatic problems the following integrals may be calculated:
 Result analysis 201

 Total electric charge in a particular volume

𝑞 = ∮ 𝐃 ∙ 𝐝𝐬
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Total electric force acting on bodies contained in a particular volume
1
F
2  E n  D   D n  E   n E  D ds
 Energy of electric field

w = 1/2 ∫ 𝐄𝐃 ⋅ 𝐝𝐯
𝑉

In the DC conduction problems the following integrals may be calculated:

 Electric current through a particular surface

I = ∮ 𝐉 ∙ 𝐝𝐬
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume.

In the steady state heat transfer problems the following integrals may be
calculated:
 Heat flux through a particular surface

Ф = ∮ 𝜆 ∙ grad 𝑇 𝐝𝐬
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume.

Integral calculation mode may be turned on by pressing the button on
the toolbar, or by selecting the pane Integral Calculator from the field
calculator dialog, or by using the command Integral Values from the
View menu. This mode is indicated by the cursor shape.
All available by the moment integral values are calculated by integration
across the selected bodies (or their external surfaces). All changes in this
selection invoke automatic calculation of the new integral values.
202 Chapter 9 Working with 3D Problem
 203

C H A P T E R 1 0

Add-ins

Add-in is a supplemental program or component that extends the

capabilities of QuickField by adding custom features, such as custom
menu items, toolbar buttons etc.
To view the list of add-ins available on your computer:
1. On the Tools menu click Add-in Manager….
2. You will see the list of available add-ins. To get more information
about some add-in, select it in the list. You will see its description in
the box below the list.
Add-ins can be switched on and off. You can switch an add-in off if you
do not plan to use it for some time. Switching an add-in off does not
remove it from your computer; you can switch it on later.

To switch add-ins on or off:

1. On the Tools menu click Add-in Manager….
2. To switch an add-in on, select the check box next to its name.
3. To switch an add-in off, clear the check box next to its name.
4. Click OK.
204 Chapter 10 Add-ins

Add-ins Available in QuickField

The following add-ins are supplied with QuickField:
Insert Shape. A simple tool that allows adding common shapes
(rectangles, circles and ellipses) to your model.
LabelMover. A simple tool for parametric analysis. This tool allows you
to study how the problem solution depends on changes of the model
geometry or of the problem physical properties.
Various types of analysis are provided: serial analysis, tolerance analysis
and optimization.
Harmonic Analysis. This add-in allows you to calculate and view
harmonics (that is, phases and amplitudes for Fourier series) for any value
for the current contour.
Capacitance Matrix. Automatically calculates the self- and mutual
capacitances for a system with multiple conductors using a number of
electrostatic analyses.

Advanced Add-in Features

Adding, Editing and Deleting Add-ins
There are some more advanced operations that you can do using Add-in
Manager dialog box.
 You can register your own program or component as an add-in. To do
it, click Add and use the Add-in Properties dialog box to specify the
properties.
 You can change properties for an add-in, menu text, shortcut, toolbar
icon etc. To do it, select an add-in, click Edit and use the Add-in
Properties dialog box to change some properties.
 You can remove an add-in from the list of or available add-ins. To do
it, select an add-in and click Delete. Removing add-in from the list
does not delete the add-in file from your disk.
These features are typically used only when you create your own add-ins.
If you deal with standard QuickField add-ins only, you will not have to
use these features.

Creating Your Own Add-ins

You can easily create your own add-ins, using Visual Basic or any other
programming product that supports COM (C#, Visual C++, Delphi etc.).
With such add-ins, you can automate some of your tedious repeating tasks
and make your interaction with QuickField more effective and convenient.
 Advanced Add-in Features 205

For more information about writing your own add-ins, see Creating Add-
ins in ActiveField help.

Add-in Properties Dialog Box

In this dialog you can specify the following fields:
General Properties
Type. Choose one of two variants: Simple COM Add-In or EXE Add-In.
If Simple COM Add-In is selected, add-in will be called from QuickField
using COM. So, this add-in should be a COM server. If EXE Add-In is
selected, you can use any EXE file as an add-in. QuickField start this EXE
file each time you click the corresponding menu item.
Name of the COM object for the add-in or Command line to call the
add-in. Specify the object name for COM add-in here. For EXE add-in,
specify the command line to invoke the add-in. Typically, it is the full
path to the add-in *.exe file.

Menu items attached to this add-in. This box contains the list of menu
items attached to the add-in. Typically, one menu item is attached to every
add-in. However, for more advanced add-ins, you can associate several
menu items with one add-in.
 To add a menu item, click Add Item.
 To delete a menu item, click Delete.
 To change menu item properties, click Edit.
Description Properties
Friendly name. It is recommended to specify a readable name here for
add-in.
Description. It is recommended to provide detailed description of the add-
in here.
206 Chapter 10 Add-ins

Add-in Menu Item Dialog Box

In this dialog you can specify the following fields:

Menu should be available. Choose one of the following options:
 Always - menu item will be always available.
 In model editor - menu item will be available for model editor only.
 In postprocessor - menu item will be available for postprocessor
only (that is, when we are viewing results only).
Menu text. Specify text for menu item here.
Menu. You can choose the menu this item will be added to.
Status line. In this field you can describe what this item does. This
description will be shown in a status line for the item.
Show in popup menu. If this check box is selected, the menu item will
also be added to context (right mouse button) menu.
Show in toolbar as icon. If this check box is selected, the menu item will
also be available from the toolbar. You can choose icon for the toolbar
button from the drop-down list next to the check box.
Press a shortcut key. You can set a shortcut for the menu item using this
field.
 207

C H A P T E R 1 1

Theoretical Description

The objective of this chapter is to outline the theories on which the

QuickField finite element analysis system is based. The chapter contains
underlying mathematical equations, and considers various physical
conditions and the ways how they are implemented in QuickField.
QuickField solves two-dimensional (2D) boundary value problems for
elliptic partial differential equation for either scalar or one-component
vector potential. It also solves 2D solid stress analysis problems (plane
stress, plane strain, axisymmetric stress). There are three main classes of
2D problems: plane, plane-parallel and axisymmetric. Plane problems
usually arise when describing heat transfer processes in thin plates. They
are solved in planar rectangular coordinate system. Plane-parallel
problems use right-handed Cartesian coordinate system xyz. It is assumed
that neither geometric shape and properties of material nor field sources
vary in z-direction. The problem is described, solved and the results are
analyzed in xy-plane, which we will call the plane of model.
Axisymmetric problems are formulated in cylindrical coordinate system
zr. The order of axes is chosen for conformity with the plane-parallel
case. Physical properties and field sources are assumed to not depend on
the angle coordinate. All operations with the model are done in zr-plane
(more precise in a half plane r  0). Z-axis is assumed to be horizontal and
directed to the right, r-axis is directed up.
The geometric configuration of the problem is defined as a set of curved
polygonal subregions in the plane of model. Each region corresponds to a
domain with a particular set of physical properties. We will use term
blocks for polygonal subregions, term edges for line segments and circular
arcs that constitute their boundaries and term vertices for ends of edges
and for isolated points. Those edges that separate whole problem region
from other part of the plane, where no field is calculated, constitutes the
outward boundary of the region. Other edges constitute inner boundaries.
Below you can find detailed mathematical formulations for dc, ac and
transient magnetic, electrostatic, dc and ac conduction, steady state and
transient heat transfer, and stress analysis problems.
208 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Magnetostatics
QuickField can solve both linear and nonlinear magnetic problems.
Magnetic field may be induced by the concentrated or distributed currents,
permanent magnets or external magnetic fields.
The magnetic problem is formulated as the Poisson's equation for vector
magnetic potential A (B = curl A, Bmagnetic flux density vector). The
flux density is assumed to lie in the plane of model (xy or zr), while the
vector of electric current density j and the vector potential A are
orthogonal to it. Only jz and Az in planar or j and A in axisymmetric case
are not equal to zero. We will denote them simply j and A. The equation
for planar case is
𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑦 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑥
( )+ ( ) = −𝑗 + ( − );
𝜕𝑥 𝜇𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜇𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
and for axisymmetric case is
𝜕 1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑟 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑧
( )+ ( ) = −𝑗 + ( − ).
𝜕𝑟 𝑟𝜇𝑧 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜇𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟
where components of magnetic permeability tensor x and y (z and r),
components of coercive force vector Hcx and Hcy (Hcz and Hcr), and current
density j are constants within each block of the model.

Note. Isotropic (x = y or z = r) but field dependent permeability is

assumed in nonlinear case. Magnetization characteristic of material is
described by the B-H curve.

Field Sources
The field sources can be specified in blocks, at the edges or at the
individual vertices of the model. Possible field sources include space,
surface and linear electric currents and permanent magnets. The coercive
force is chosen to be primary characteristic for the permanent magnets.
A point source in the xy-plane describes a linear current in out-of-plane
direction. In axisymmetric case the point source represents the current in a
thin ring around the axis of symmetry. Edge-bound source in the plane of
model represents a surface current in three-dimensional world. It is
specified by the Neumann boundary condition for the edge. The space
current is described either by the electric current density or total number
of ampere-turns associated with the block density associated with the
block. Current density in a coil can be obtained from the equation
j = n · I / S,
where n is a number of turns, I is a total current, and S is a cross-sectional
area of the coil.
 Magnetostatics 209

Several blocks with the same number of ampere-turns specified can be

considered as connected in series. In that case current density in each
block would be calculated as common total ampere-turns divided by the
square of the block.
In axisymmetric case if total number of ampere-turns is specified resulting
current density could be described as varies as ~(1/r), where r is a radius
coordinate of the point. This approach allows simulate massive spiral
coils.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of vector magnetic potential
A0 at the vertex or at the edge of the model. This boundary condition
defines normal component of the flux density vector. It is often used to
specify vanishing value of this component, for example at the axis of
symmetry or at the distant boundary. QuickField also supports the
Dirichlet condition with a function of coordinates. This approach allows
you to model a uniform external field by specifying non-zero normal
component of the flux density at arbitrary straight boundary segment.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of the each part. Zero Dirichlet condition is defaulted at the axis
of rotation for the axisymmetric problems.

Neumann condition has the following form

Ht = σ  at outward boundaries,
Ht+ - Ht- =σ  at inner boundaries,
where Ht is a tangent component of magnetic field intensity, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary and σ is a linear density of the surface current. If σ value is zero,
the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of boundary
condition is often used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the plane of magnetic antisymmetry of the problem (opposite
sources in symmetrical geometry). The homogeneous Neumann condition
is the natural one, it is assumed by default at all outward boundary parts
where no explicit boundary condition is specified.

Note. Zero Dirichlet condition is defaulted at the axis of rotation for the
axisymmetric problems.
210 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

If the surface electric current is to be specified at the plane of problem

symmetry and this plane forms the outward boundary of the region, the
current density has to be halved.
Zero flux boundary condition is used to describe superconducting
materials that are not penetrated by the magnetic field. Vector magnetic
potential is a constant within such superconducting body (rA = const in
axisymmetric case), therefore superconductor's interior can be excluded
from the consideration and the constant potential condition can be
associated with its surface.

Note. If the surface of a superconductor has common points with any

Dirichlet edge, the whole surface has to be described by the Dirichlet
condition with an appropriate potential value.

Permanent Magnets
Since the coercive force is considered in QuickField to be the piecewise
constant function, its contribution to the equation is equivalent to surface
currents which flow along the surface of the permanent magnet in
direction orthogonal to the model plane. The density of such effective
current is equal to jump of the tangent component of the coercive force
across the magnet boundary. For example, rectangular magnet with the
coercive force Hc directed along x-axis can be replaced by two oppositely
directed currents at its upper and lower surfaces. The current density at the
upper edge is numerically equal to Hc, and Hc at the lower edge.
Therefore, the permanent magnet can be specified by either coercive force
or Neumann boundary conditions at its edges. You can choose more
convenient and obvious way in each particular case.
Permanent magnet with nonlinear magnetic properties needs some special
consideration. Magnetic permeability is assumed to be defined by the
following equation:
𝐵
𝐵 = (𝐵) · (𝐻 + 𝐻𝑐 ); (𝐵) =
𝐻 + 𝐻𝑐
It must be pointed out that B dependence is different from the
analogous curve for the same material but without permanent magnetism.
If the real characteristic for the magnet is not available for you, it is
possible to use row material curve as an approximation. If you use such
approximation and magnetic field value inside magnet is much smaller
than its coercive force, it is recommended to replace the coercive force by
the following effective value
1
𝐻𝑐′ = 𝐵
𝜇(𝐵𝑟 ) 𝑟
where Br is remanent induction.
 Magnetostatics 211

Calculated Physical Quantities

For magnetostatic problems the QuickField postprocessor calculates the
following set of local and integral physical quantities.
Local quantities:
 Vector magnetic potential A (flux function rA in axisymmetric case);
 Vector of the magnetic flux density B = curl A
𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑥 = , 𝐵𝑦 = −  for planar case;
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥

1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑧 = ∙ , 𝐵𝑟 = −  for axisymmetric case;
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧
 Vector of magnetic field intensity
1
𝐇 = 𝐁,
𝜇
where  is the magnetic permeability tensor.
Integral quantities:
 Total magnetic force acting on bodies contained in a particular volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐇(𝐧𝐁) + 𝐁(𝐧𝐇)– 𝐧(𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Total torque of magnetic forces acting on bodies contained in a
particular volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐇](𝐧𝐁) + [𝐫 × 𝐁](𝐧𝐇) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point.
 Magnetic field energy

1
𝑊= ∫ (𝐇 · 𝐁)𝑑𝑣  linear case;
2
𝑉
212 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

𝑊 = ∫ (∫ 𝐻(𝐵′)𝑑𝐵′) 𝑑𝑣  nonlinear case.

0

 Flux linkage per one turn of the coil

∮ 𝐴𝑑𝑠
Ψ =  for planar case;
𝑆
2𝜋 ∮(𝑟𝐴)𝑑𝑠
Ψ =  for axisymmetric case.
𝑆

the integral has to be evaluated over the cross section of the coil, and S
is the area of the cross section.
For planar problems all integral quantities are considered per unit length
in z-direction.
The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a
closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

Inductance Calculation
To get self inductance of a coil, leave the current on in this coil only and
make sure that all other currents are turned off. After solving the problem
go to the Postprocessor and obtain flux linkage for the contour coinciding
with the cross section of the coil. Once you’ve done that, the inductance of
the coil can be obtained from the following equation:
𝑛Ψ
𝐿= ,
𝐼
where n is a number of turns in the coil,  is a flux linkage, j is a current
per one turn of the coil.
Mutual inductance between two coils can be obtained in a similar way.
The only difference from the previous case is that electric current has to
be turned on in one coil, and the flux linkage has to be evaluated over the
cross section of another.
𝑛2 Ψ2
𝐿12 = ,
𝐼1
In plane-parallel case every coil has to be represented by at least two
conductors with equal but opposite currents. In some cases both
conductors are modeled, in other cases only one of two conductors is
included in the model and the rest is replaced by the boundary condition
A = 0 at the plane of symmetry. If the magnetic system is symmetric, the
inductance can be obtained based on the flux linkage for one of the
conductors only. The result has to be then multiplied by a factor of two to
account for the second conductor. If the model is not symmetric, then the
total inductance can be obtained by adding up the analogous terms for
 Transient Magnetics 213

each conductor. Note that the current should be turned on in all conductors
corresponding to one coil.
In plane-parallel case the inductance is calculated per unit length in
z-direction.

Transient Magnetics
Transient magnetic analysis is the generalized form of computation of
electric and magnetic field, induced by direct or time-varying currents
(alternating, impulse, etc.), permanent magnets, or external magnetic
fields, in linear or nonlinear (ferromagnetic) media, and takes into account
eddy current (skin) effect in conductors of electric current.
The formulation is derived from Maxwell's equations for vector magnetic
potential A (B = curl A) and scalar electric potential U (E = -grad U):
𝟏
𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥 𝐀 = 𝐣 + 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥 𝐇𝒄 ,
𝜇
𝜕𝐀
𝐣 = σ𝐄 = −σ − σ ∙ 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝑈
𝜕𝑡
where 1/μ is an inverse permeability tensor, and g is electric conductivity.
In accordance with the second equation, vector j of the total current in a
conductor can be considered as a combination of a source current
produced by the external voltage and an eddy current induced by the time-
varying magnetic field
𝐣 = 𝐣0 + 𝐣eddy ,
where
𝐣0 = − σ ∙ 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝑈,
𝜕𝐀
𝐣eddy = −σ .
𝜕𝑡
If a field simulation is coupled with an electric circuit, the branch equation
for a conductor is:

𝑈 𝜕𝐀
𝐼= −σ∫ 𝑑𝑠
𝑅 𝜕𝑡
Ω

where U is the voltage difference between the two terminals of the solid
conductor, and R is the DC resistance of the conductor.
The flux density is assumed to lie in the plane of model (xy or zr), while
the vector of electric current density j and the vector potential A are
orthogonal to it. Only jz and Az in planar or j and A in axisymmetric case
are not equal to zero. We will denote them simply j and A. Finally, the
equation for planar case is
214 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐀 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑦 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑥
( )+ ( )−σ = −𝑗0 + ( − );
𝜕𝑥 𝜇𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜇𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
and for axisymmetric case is
𝜕 1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐀 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑟 𝜕𝐻𝑐𝑧
( )+ ( )−σ = −𝑗0 + ( − ),
𝜕𝑟 𝑟𝜇𝑧 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜇𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟
where components of magnetic permeability tensor x and y (z and r),
components of coercive force vector Hcx and Hcy (Hcz and Hcr) are
constants within each block of the model. Source current density j0 is
assumed to be constant within each model block in planar case and vary as
1/r in axisymmetric case.

Note. Isotropic (x = y or z = r) but field dependent permeability is

assumed in nonlinear case. Magnetization characteristic of material is
described by the B-H curve.

In time domain, the problem is solved within a given time interval,

starting with time t0 = 0, and initial field distribution is considered to be
zero in the whole region, or can be imported from another problem
(magnetostatics or transient).

Field Sources
The field sources can be specified in blocks, at the edges or at the
individual vertices of the model. Possible field sources include space,
surface and linear electric currents; voltages applied to conductive areas;
and permanent magnets. The coercive force is chosen to be primary
characteristic for the permanent magnets.
A point source in the xy-plane describes a linear current in out-of-plane
direction. In axisymmetric case the point source represents the current in a
thin ring around the axis of symmetry. Edge-bound source in the plane of
model represents a surface current in three-dimensional world. It is
specified by the Neumann boundary condition for the edge.
The space-distributed current is defined differently in areas, where the
eddy current effect is considered (non-zero conductivity is specified) or
not considered (conductivity is set to zero). In latter case, the space
current is described either by the electric current density or total number
of ampere-turns associated with the block density associated with the
block. Current density in a coil can be obtained from the equation
j = n · I / S,
where n is a number of turns, I is a total current, and S is a cross-sectional
area of the coil.
Several blocks with the same number of ampere-turns specified can be
considered as connected in series. In that case current density in each
 Transient Magnetics 215

block would be calculated as common total ampere-turns divided by the

square of the block.
In axisymmetric case if total number of ampere-turns is specified resulting
current density could be described as varies as 1/r, where r is a radius
coordinate of the point. This approach allows simulate massive spiral
coils.
In a massive conductor, you specify a voltage applied to the conductor. In
planar problems, voltage drop is specified per unit depth of the model, and
in axisymmetric case voltage is assumed per one turn around the axis of
symmetry. Nonzero voltage applied to a conductor in axisymmetric
problem means that the conductor has a radial cut, and the voltage is
applied to sides of the cut. In practice this option could be used to describe
known voltage applied to massive spiral wiring, in which case the total
voltage drop for the coil should be divided by number of turns in the coil.
Zero voltage means that the conductor’s ends are short circuit.
Any voltage or current sources, specified for a massive (solid) conductor,
are ignored when the electric circuit is present. In this case, you can
specify time-dependent voltage and current sources while editing the
circuit.
Voltage, current, or the current density can be specified as arbitrary
function of time. This allows you to perform analysis of any possible type
of time-varying sources – periodic or not.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of vector magnetic potential
A0 at the vertex or at the edge of the model. This boundary condition
defines normal component of the flux density vector. It is often used to
specify vanishing value of this component, for example at the axis of
symmetry or at the distant boundary. QuickField also supports the
Dirichlet condition with a function of coordinates. This approach allows
you to model a uniform external field by specifying non-zero normal
component of the flux density at arbitrary straight boundary segment.
.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of the each part. Zero Dirichlet condition is defaulted at the axis
of rotation for the axisymmetric problems.
216 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Neumann condition has the following form

Ht = σ  at outward boundaries,
Ht+ - Ht- = σ  at inner boundaries,
where Ht is a tangent component of magnetic field intensity, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary and σ is a linear density of the surface current. If  value is zero,
the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of boundary
condition is often used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the plane of magnetic antisymmetry of the problem (opposite
sources in symmetrical geometry). The homogeneous Neumann condition
is the natural one, it is assumed by default at all outward boundary parts
where no explicit boundary condition is specified.

Note. Zero Dirichlet condition is defaulted at the axis of rotation for the
axisymmetric problems.

If the surface electric current is to be specified at the plane of problem

symmetry and this plane forms the outward boundary of the region, the
current density has to be halved.
Zero flux boundary condition is used to describe superconducting
materials that are not penetrated by the magnetic field. Vector magnetic
potential is a constant within such superconducting body (rA = const in
axisymmetric case), therefore superconductor's interior can be excluded
from the consideration and the constant potential condition can be
associated with its surface.

Note. If the surface of a superconductor has common points with any

Dirichlet edge, the whole surface has to be described by the Dirichlet
condition with an appropriate potential value.

Permanent Magnets
Since the coercive force is considered in QuickField to be the piecewise
constant function, its contribution to the equation is equivalent to surface
currents which flow along the surface of the permanent magnet in
direction orthogonal to the model plane. The density of such effective
current is equal to jump of the tangent component of the coercive force
across the magnet boundary. For example, rectangular magnet with the
coercive force Hc directed along x-axis can be replaced by two oppositely
directed currents at its upper and lower surfaces. The current density at the
upper edge is numerically equal to Hc, and Hc at the lower edge.
Therefore, the permanent magnet can be specified by either coercive force
or Neumann boundary conditions at its edges. You can choose more
convenient and obvious way in each particular case.
 Transient Magnetics 217

Permanent magnet with nonlinear magnetic properties needs some special

consideration. Magnetic permeability is assumed to be defined by the
following equation
𝐵
𝐵 = (𝐵) · (𝐻 + 𝐻𝑐 ); (𝐵) =
𝐻 + 𝐻𝑐
Pleae note that B dependence is different from the analogous curve for
the same material but without permanent magnetism. If the real
characteristic for the magnet is not available for you, it is possible to use
row material curve as an approximation. If you use such approximation
and magnetic field value inside magnet is much smaller than its coercive
force, it is recommended to replace the coercive force by the following
effective value
1
𝐻𝑐′ = 𝐵
𝜇(𝐵𝑟 ) 𝑟
where Br is remanent induction.

Calculated Physical Quantities

For problems of transient magnetics, QuickField postprocessor calculates
the following set of local and integral physical quantities. These quantities
can be observed at any given moment of time in the transient process.
Local quantities:
 Vector magnetic potential A (flux function rA in axisymmetric case);
 Voltage U applied to the conductor;
 Total current density j = j0 + jeddy, source current density j0 and eddy
current density
𝜕𝐀
𝐣eddy = −σ
𝜕𝑡
 Vector of the magnetic flux density B = curl A
𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑥 = , 𝐵𝑦 = −  for planar case;
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥

1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑧 = ∙ , 𝐵𝑟 = −  for axisymmetric case;
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧
 Vector of magnetic field intensity
1
𝐇 = 𝐁,
𝜇
where  is the magnetic permeability tensor.
 Joule heat density
1 2
𝑄 = 𝑗
𝜎
 Magnetic field energy density w = (BH)/2;
218 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

 Magnetic permeability  (its largest component in anisotropic media);

 Electric conductivity σ.
Integral quantities:
 Electric current through a particular surface

𝐼 = ∫ 𝑗 𝑑𝑠

and its source I0 and eddy Ie components.

 Joule heat in a volume
1
𝑃 = ∫ 𝑗 2 𝑑𝑣
𝜎
 Total magnetic force acting on bodies contained in a volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐇(𝐧𝐁) + 𝐁(𝐧𝐇)– 𝐧(𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Total torque of magnetic forces acting on bodies contained in a
volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐇](𝐧𝐁) + [𝐫 × 𝐁](𝐧𝐇) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point.
 Magnetic field energy

1
𝑊= ∫ (𝐇 · 𝐁)𝑑𝑣  linear case;
2
𝑉

𝑊 = ∫ (∫ 𝐻(𝐵′)𝑑𝐵′) 𝑑𝑣  nonlinear case.

0

 Flux linkage per one turn of the coil

∮ 𝐴𝑑𝑠
Ψ =  for planar case;
𝑆
 AC Magnetic 219

2𝜋 ∮(𝑟𝐴)𝑑𝑠
Ψ =  for axisymmetric case.
𝑆

the integral has to be evaluated over the cross section of the coil, and S
is the area of the cross section.
For planar problems, all integral quantities are considered per unit length
in z-direction.
The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a
closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

AC Magnetic
AC magnetic analysis is the study of magnetic and electric fields arising
from the application of an alternating (AC) current source, or an imposed
alternating external field.
Variation of the field with respect to time is assumed to be sinusoidal. All
field components and electric currents vary with time like
𝑧 = 𝑧0 cos(𝑡 + 𝑍 ),
where z0 is a peak value of z, z — its phase angle, and  — the angular
frequency.

Complex representation of harmonic time dependency facilitates multiple

phase analysis based on one complex solution. Real and imaginary parts
of a complex quantity
𝑧 = 𝑧0 𝑒 𝑖(𝑡 + 𝑍 ) , 𝑖 = √−1
have phase angles shifted by 90 degrees, and their linear combination may
be used to represent any arbitrary phase angle.
Depending on the phase shift between two oscillating components of a
vector, the vector can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, or oscillate
along certain direction. Generally, the end of such a vector draws an
220 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

ellipse. The semi-major axis of the ellipse corresponds to the peak value
of the vector. The ratio between minor and major axes of the ellipse
defines the coefficient of polarization. The coefficient of polarization is
assumed to be positive for the counterclockwise and negative for the
clockwise rotation. Zero coefficient corresponds to the linear polarization.
Total current in a conductor can be considered as a combination of a
source current produced by the external voltage and an eddy current
induced by the oscillating magnetic field
𝐣 = 𝐣0 + 𝐣eddy
If a field simulation is coupled with an electric circuit, the branch equation
for a conductor is:

𝑈 𝜕𝐀
𝐼= −σ∫ 𝑑𝑠
𝑅 𝜕𝑡
Ω

where U is the voltage difference between the two terminals of the solid
conductor, and R is the DC resistance of the conductor.
The problem is formulated as a partial differential equation for the
complex amplitude of vector magnetic potential A (B = curl A, B
magnetic flux density vector). The flux density is assumed to lie in the
plane of model (xy or zr), while the vector of electric current density j and
the vector potential A are orthogonal to it. Only jz and Az in planar or j
and A in axisymmetric case are not equal to zero. We will denote them
simply j and A. The equation for planar case is
𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴
( )+ ( ) − 𝑖𝜔𝜎𝐴 = −𝑗0
𝜕𝑥 𝜇𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜇𝑥 𝜕𝑦
and for axisymmetric case is
𝜕 1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕 1 𝜕𝐴
( )+ ( ) − 𝑖𝜔𝜎𝐴 = −𝑗0
𝜕𝑟 𝑟𝜇𝑧 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜇𝑟 𝜕𝑧
where electric conductivity σ and components of magnetic permeability
tensor x and y (z and r) are constants within each block of the model.
Source current density j0 is assumed to be constant within each model
block in planar case and vary as ~(1/r) in axisymmetric case.

Note. QuickField allows nonlinear materials with field-dependent

permeability (ferromagnets) in AC magnetic formulation. This harmonic
estimation makes use of a specially adjusted B-H curves providing energy
conservancy over the AC period. This adjustment is performed
automatically in the Curve Editor, it is recalculated after every change of
the original curve made by the user. The curve editor for AC Magnetic
problem presents both the user-defined and adjusted B-H curves.
 AC Magnetic 221

The described formulation ignores displacement current density term

D/t in the Ampere’s Law. Typically the displacement current density is
not significant until the operating frequency approaches the MHz range.

Note. Permanent magnets cannot be simulated in a time-harmonic

analysis. Since the entire field must vary sinusoidally, this would prevent
permanent magnets from being simulated using the harmonic analysis as
the permanent magnets supply a constant flux to the system.

Field Sources
The field sources can be specified in the blocks, at the edges or at the
individual vertices of the model. Possible field sources include space,
surface and linear electric currents and voltages applied to conductive
areas.
A point source in the xy-plane corresponds to a linear current in
out-of-plane direction. In axisymmetric case the point source represents
the current in a thin ring around the axis of symmetry. Edge-bound source
in the plane of model represents a surface current in three-dimensional
world. It is specified by the Neumann boundary condition for the edge.
There are several ways to specify space-distributed electric current. In a
massive conductor, you can specify either a total current or a voltage
applied to the conductor. In planar problems, voltage drop is specified per
unit depth of the model, and in axisymmetric case voltage is assumed per
one turn around the axis of symmetry. Nonzero voltage applied to a
conductor in axisymmetric problem means that the conductor has a radial
cut, and the voltage is applied to sides of the cut. In practice this option
could be used to describe known voltage applied to massive spiral wiring,
in which case the total voltage drop for the coil should be divided by
number of turns in the coil.
Several blocks with the same value of total current or voltage applied can
be considered as connected in series. In that case each conductor carries
the same total current, and voltage (if any) is applied to the terminals of
the whole group of conductors connected in series.

Note. The meanings of zero total current and zero voltage applied to a
conductor are very different. Zero voltage means that the conductor’s ends
are short circuit, and zero value of the total current means open ends of the
conductor.

Field source could also be specified in non-conductive areas. This option

is useful to specify current in coils made of thin wire, where skin effect is
insignificant. You can specify either a total current or a current density,
whichever is easier to calculate in a specific case. Current density in a coil
can be obtained from the equation
222 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

j = n · I / S,
where n is a number of turns, I is a total current, and S is a cross-sectional
area of the coil.

Note. In order to properly model thin wire coils, the source current density
j0 in non-conductive areas is assumed to be uniform in both plane and
axisymmetric cases. Its behavior is different for massive conductors,
where source current density varies as ~(1/r) in axisymmetric case.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of vector magnetic potential
A0 at the vertex or at the edge of the model. This boundary condition
defines normal component of the flux density vector. It is often used to
specify vanishing value of this component, for example at the axis of
symmetry or at the distant boundary. QuickField also supports the
Dirichlet condition with a function of coordinates. This approach allows
you to model a uniform external field by specifying non-zero normal
component of the flux density at arbitrary straight boundary segment.
Neumann condition has the following form
Ht = σ  at outward boundaries,
Ht+ - Ht- = σ  at inner boundaries,
where Ht is a tangent component of magnetic field intensity, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary and σ is a linear density of the surface current. If σ value is zero,
the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of boundary
condition is often used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the plane of magnetic antisymmetry of the problem (opposite
sources in symmetrical geometry). The homogeneous Neumann condition
is the natural one, it is assumed by default at all outward boundary parts
where no explicit boundary condition is specified.

Note. Zero Dirichlet condition is defaulted at the axis of rotation for the
axisymmetric problems.

If the surface electric current is to be specified at the plane of problem

symmetry and this plane forms the outward boundary of the region, the
current density has to be halved.
Zero flux boundary condition is used to describe superconducting
materials that are not penetrated by the magnetic field. Vector magnetic
potential is a constant within such superconducting body (rA = const in
axisymmetric case), therefore superconductor's interior can be excluded
 AC Magnetic 223

from the consideration and the constant potential condition can be

associated with its surface.

Note. If the surface of a superconductor has common points with any

Dirichlet edge, the whole surface has to be described by the Dirichlet
condition with an appropriate potential value.

Calculated Physical Quantities

The following local and integral physical quantities are calculated in the
process of harmonic magnetic field analysis.
Local quantities:
 Complex amplitude of vector magnetic potential A (flux function rA in
axisymmetric case);
 Complex amplitude of voltage U applied to the conductor;
 Complex amplitude of total current density j = j0 + jeddy, source current
density j0 and eddy current density jeddy = i σA;
 Complex vector of the magnetic flux density B = curl A
𝜕𝐴 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑥 = , 𝐵𝑦 = −  for planar case;
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥

1 𝜕(𝑟𝐴) 𝜕𝐴
𝐵𝑧 = ∙ , 𝐵𝑟 = −  for axisymmetric case;
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧
 Complex vector of magnetic field intensity
1
𝐇 = 𝐁,
𝜇
where  is the magnetic permeability tensor;
 Time average and peak Joule heat density
1 2 3
𝑄 = 𝑗 + 𝑘ℎ ∙ 𝑓 ∙ 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑐 ∙ 𝑓 2 ∙ 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑒 ∙ (𝑓 ∙ 𝐵)2
𝜎
 Time average and peak magnetic field energy density w = B  H / 2;
 Time average Poynting vector (local power flow) S = E×H;
 Time average Lorentz force density vector F = j×B;
 Magnetic permeability  (its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Electric conductivity σ.
Integral quantities:
 Complex magnitude of electric current through a particular surface

𝐼 = ∫ 𝑗 𝑑𝑠

and its source I0 and eddy Ie components.

224 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

 Time average and peak Joule heat in a volume

1
𝑃 = ∫ 𝑗 2 𝑑𝑣
𝜎

 Time average core loss in a volume

3
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 = ∫ [𝑘ℎ · 𝑓 · 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑐 · 𝑓 2 · 𝐵2 + 𝑘𝑒 · (𝑓 · 𝐵)2 ] 𝑑𝑣,

where B – is the flux density magnetide and kh, kc, ke are user defined
coefficients.
 Time average and peak magnetic field energy

1
𝑊= ∫(𝐇 · 𝐁)𝑑𝑣
2
𝑉

 Time average and peak power flow through the given surface
(Poynting vector flow)

𝑆 = ∫(𝐒 · 𝐧)𝑑𝑠

 Time average and oscillating part of Maxwell force acting on bodies

contained in a particular volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐇(𝐧𝐁) + 𝐁(𝐧𝐇)– 𝐧(𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Time average and peak Maxwell force torque acting on bodies
contained in a particular volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐇](𝐧𝐁) + [𝐫 × 𝐁](𝐧𝐇) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐇𝐁))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

 AC Magnetic 225

 Time average and oscillating part of Lorentz force acting on

conductors contained in a particular volume

𝐅 = ∫ [𝐣 × 𝐁]𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

 Time average and peak Lorentz force torque acting on bodies

contained in a particular volume

𝐓 = ∫[𝐫 × [𝐣 × 𝐁]]𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point.

Note. Magnetic field produces forces acting on the current carrying

conductors and on the ferromagnetic bodies. The force acting on
conductors is known as Lorentz force, while the Maxwell force
incorporates both components.

The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a

closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

Impedance Calculation
Impedance in ac magnetic analysis is a complex coefficient between
complex values of current and voltage, V = ZI. Its real part represents
active resistance of the conductor, calculated with the skin effect taken
into account. The imaginary part of the impedance is the inductance
multiplied by the angular frequency .
𝑍 = 𝑅 + 𝑖𝜔𝐿
As values of voltage and current in any conductor are easily accessible in
the postprocessor, you can determine the impedance by dividing voltage
by current using complex arithmetic. Let V and I be peak values of voltage
and current, and V and I be phases of those quantities. Then the active
resistance is calculated as
𝑉
𝑅= cos(φ𝑉 − φ𝐼 ),
𝐼
and the inductance as
226 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

𝑉
𝐿= sin(φ𝑉 − φ𝐼 ),
𝐼 ∙ 2𝜋𝑓
To get mutual inductance between two conductors, you can specify non-
zero total current in one of them, make the ends of the other open
(applying zero total current), and measure the voltage induced in the
second conductor by the current in the first one.

Note. As in planar case, voltage is applied and measured per unit length,
the impedance is also calculated per unit length in z-direction.

Electrostatics
Electrostatic problems are described by the Poisson's equation for scalar
electric potential U (E = gradU, Eelectric field intensity vector). The
equation for planar case is
𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜀𝑥 ) + (𝜀𝑦 ) = −ρ,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
for axisymmetric case:
1 𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜀𝑟 𝑟 ) + (𝜀𝑧 ) = −ρ,
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
And for 3D formulation:
𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜀 ) + (𝜀 ) + (𝜀 ) = −ρ,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
where components of electric permittivity tensor x, y, z or z, r and
electric charge density  are constants within each block of the model.
Anisotropy is not accounted for in 3D formulation.

Field Sources
QuickField provides possibility to specify electric charges located in the
bodies, on the faces, at the edges or at the individual vertices of the model.
In planar case, the electric charge specified at a point of the xy-plane
corresponds to a charged string that is perpendicular to the plane of the
model, and is described by the linear charge density. In axisymmetric case
the vertex charge represents a charged circle around the axis of symmetry
or a point charge located on the axis. To incorporate both these cases a
total charge value is associated with the vertex. For the charged circle the
total charge is connected with its linear density by the relationship
q = 2r. Edge-bound charge in the plane of model represents a
surface-bound charge in three-dimensional world. It is described by
surface charge density and is specified by the Neumann boundary
condition for the edge. The charge density associated with a body or
within a block is equivalent to the space charge.
 Electrostatics 227

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of electric potential U0 at the
vertex, at the edge, or on the face of the model (for example on a capacitor
plate). This kind of boundary condition is also useful at an outward
boundary of the region that is formed by the plane of electric
antisymmetry of the problem (opposite charges in symmetrical geometry).
U0 value can be specified as a linear function of coordinates. The function
parameters can vary from one entity to another, but have to be adjusted to
avoid discontinuities at entities' junction points.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of every part.

Neumann condition is defined by the following equations:

Dn = σ  at outward boundaries,
+
Dn - Dn- =σ  at inner boundaries,
where Dn is a normal component of electric induction, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary, σ is a surface charge density. If σ value is zero, the boundary
condition is called homogeneous. It indicates vanishing of the normal
component of electric field intensity vector. This kind of boundary
condition is used at an outward boundary of the region that is formed by
the symmetry plane of the problem. The homogeneous Neumann
condition is the natural one, it is defaulted at all outward boundary parts
where no explicit boundary condition is specified.
If the surface-bound charge is to be specified at the plane of problem
symmetry and this plane is the outward boundary of the region, the
surface charge density has to be halved.
Constant potential boundary condition is used to describe surface of an
isolated "floating" conductor that has constant but unknown potential
value.

Note. The edge or the face described as possessing constant potential

should not have common points with any Dirichlet entity. In that case the
constant potential entity has to be described by a Dirichlet condition with
appropriate potential value.
228 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Calculated Physical Quantities

For electrostatic problems the QuickField postprocessor calculates the
following set of local and integral physical quantities.
Local quantities:
 Scalar electric potential U;
 Vector of electric field intensity E = gradU
𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈  for planar or 3D
𝐸𝑥 = − , 𝐸𝑦 = − , 𝐸𝑧 = −
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 case;

𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈  for axisymmetric
𝐸𝑧 = − , 𝐸𝑟 = −
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟 case;
 Tensor of the gradient of electric field intensity G = gradE
𝜕𝐸𝑥 𝐸𝑦 𝜕𝐸𝑥 𝜕𝐸𝑦 —for planar
G𝑥𝑥 = , G𝑦𝑦 = , 𝐺𝑥𝑦 = ½ ( + )
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 case;

𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝐸𝑟 𝜕𝐸𝑧 𝜕𝐸𝑟 —for

G𝑧𝑧 = , G𝑟𝑟 = , 𝐺𝑧𝑟 = ½ ( + )
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 axisymmetric
case;

and also its principal components G1 and G2.

 Vector of electric induction D = E, where  is electric permittivity
tensor.
Integral quantities:
 Total electric charge in a particular volume

𝑞 = ∮ 𝐃 ∙ 𝐧 𝑑𝑠,

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Total electric force acting on bodies contained in a particular volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

 Total torque of electric forces acting on bodies contained in a

particular volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) + [𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in planar case, and is identically
equal to zero in axisymmetric one. The torque is considered relative to
the origin of the coordinate system. The torque relative to any other
 Electrostatics 229

arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra term of F  r0, where F

is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of the point.
 Energy of electric field

1
𝑊= ∫(𝐄 · 𝐃)𝑑𝑣
2
𝑉

For planar problems all integral quantities are considered per unit length
in z-direction.
The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a
closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

Capacitance Calculation
There are several ways to calculate capacitance using QuickField. The
easiest one of them is based on measuring an electric potential produced
by a known charge. To get capacitance of a conductor, put constant
potential boundary condition on its surface, specify an arbitrary non zero
electric charge in one of the vertices on the surface of the conductor (in
fact, the charge will be distributed over the conductor’s surface), and turn
off all other field sources in the model. Once the problem is solved, go to
the Postprocessor and take the value of electric potential somewhere on
the surface of the conductor. The capacitance of the conductor can be
obtained from the equation
𝑞
𝐶= ,
𝑈
where q is the electric charge and U is the potential of the conductor.
To calculate mutual capacitance between two conductors put a charge on
one conductor and measure electric potential on another. Constant
potential boundary condition has to be applied to the surfaces of both
conductors.
𝑞1
𝐶12 = .
𝑈2
Self- and mutual partial capacitance matrix calculation in the multi-
conductor system is discussed in the “Partial Capacitance Matrix
Calculation for the System of Conductors” chapter.
230 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

DC Conduction Analysis
QuickField is able to calculate the distribution of electric current in
systems of conductors. The problems of current distribution are described
by the Poisson's equation for scalar electric potential U.
The equation for planar case is
𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜎 )+ (𝜎 ) = 0,
𝜕𝑥 𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝑦 𝜕𝑦
for axisymmetric case:
1 𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜎 𝑟 ) + (𝜎𝑧 ) = 0,
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
and for 3D formulation:
𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈 𝜕 𝜕𝑈
(𝜎 ) + (𝜎 ) + (𝜎 ) = 0,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
where components of electric conductivity tensor σx, σy or σz, σr are
constant within each model block. Anisotropy is not accounted for in 3D
formulation.
The electric current density j can be obtained from the equation
j  σgrad U.

Field Sources
With the problems of dc conduction, the field sources are external currents
supplied to the boundary of a conductor. QuickField provides possibility
to specify external current density at the edges or at the individual vertices
of the model. The current density specified at a point of the xy-plane
corresponds to a knife-edge current collector that is perpendicular to the
plane of the model, and is described by the linear current density. In
axisymmetric case the vertex source represents a circular collector around
the axis of symmetry or a point collector located on the axis. To
incorporate both these cases, a total current value is associated with the
vertex. For the circular knife-edge collector the total current value is
connected with its linear density by the relationship I = 2r.
Edge-bound current density in the plane of model represents a
surface-bound external current density in three-dimensional world. It is
specified by the Neumann boundary condition for the edge.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of electric potential U0 at the
vertex or at the edge of the model. U0 value at the edge can be specified as
 DC Conduction Analysis 231

a linear function of coordinates. The function parameters can vary from

one edge to another, but have to be adjusted to avoid discontinuities at
edges' junction points.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of every part.

Neumann condition is defined by the following equations:

jn = j  at outward boundaries,
jn+ - jn- = j  at inner boundaries,
where jn is a normal component of the current density vector, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary, and j at right hand side is a density of the external current. If j
value is zero, the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of
boundary condition is used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the symmetry plane of the problem. The homogeneous
Neumann condition is the natural one, it is defaulted at all outward
boundary parts where no explicit boundary condition is specified.
If the surface-bound current density is to be specified at the plane of
problem symmetry and this plane is the outward boundary of the region,
the surface current density has to be halved.
Constant potential boundary condition is used to describe surface of a
conductor having much greater conductivity than the surrounding
medium. This conductor is assumed to have constant but unknown
potential value.

Note. The edge described as possessing constant potential should not have
common points with any Dirichlet edge. In that case the constant potential
edge has to be described by the Dirichlet condition with an appropriate
potential value.

Calculated Physical Quantities

For problems of dc conduction, the QuickField postprocessor calculates
the following set of local and integral physical quantities.
Local quantities:
Scalar electric potential U;
 Vector of electric field intensity E = grad U
𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈
𝐸𝑋 = − ,𝐸 = − ,𝐸 = − —for planar or 3D case;
𝜕𝑥 𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝑧 𝜕𝑧
232 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈
𝐸𝑧 = − , 𝐸𝑟 = − —for axisymmetric case;
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟
 Vector of current density j  σE, where σ - is electric conductivity
tensor.
Integral quantities:
Electric current through a given surface

𝐼 = ∫ 𝐣 ∙ 𝐧 𝑑𝑠,
𝑆

where n denotes the vector of the unit normal.

 Joule heat produced in a volume

𝑊 = ∫(𝐄 · 𝐣)𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

For planar problems all integral quantities are considered per unit length
in z direction.
The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a
closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

AC Conduction Analysis
AC conduction analysis is the study of electric field, current and losses
arising in conductors and imperfect (lossy) dielectrics from the application
of an alternating (AC) voltage or external current to electrodes.
Similar to problems of AC magnetics, variation of the field with respect to
time is assumed to be sinusoidal. All field components and electric current
vary with time like
z = z0 cos(t + z),
where z0 is a peak value of z, z — its phase angle, and  — the angular
frequency.
Complex arithmetic is used to represent harmonic time-dependency.
The problem formulation combines equations for electrostatics (E = )
and dc conduction (j = -iσ), taking into account the Ohm's law, j = σE.
Final equation with respect to electric potential U is
𝑖𝜎
∇ ([𝜀 − ] ∇𝑈) = 0;
𝜔
where electric conductivity σ and components of electric permittivity
tensor z and y (z and r) are constants within each block of the model.
 AC Conduction Analysis 233

Field Sources
With ac conduction problems, the field sources are external currents or
voltages supplied to the boundary of a conductor. QuickField provides
possibility to specify external current density at the edges or at the
individual vertices of the model. The current density specified at a point of
the xy-plane corresponds to a knife-edge current collector, which is
perpendicular to the plane of the model, and is described by the linear
current density. In axisymmetric case the vertex source represents a
circular collector around the axis of symmetry or a point collector located
on the axis. To incorporate both these cases, a total current value is
associated with the vertex. For the circular knife-edge collector the total
current value is connected with its linear density by the relationship
I = 2r. Edge-bound current density in the plane of model represents a
surface-bound external current density in three-dimensional world. It is
specified by the Neumann boundary condition for the edge. Every
condition is defined by its magnitude and phase.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of electric potential U0 at the
vertex or at the edge of the model. U0 value at the edge can be specified as
a linear function of coordinates. The function parameters can vary from
one edge to another, but have to be adjusted to avoid discontinuities at
edges' junction points.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of every part.

Neumann condition is defined by the following equations:

jn = j  at outward boundaries,
+ -
jn - jn = j  at inner boundaries,
where jn is a normal component of the current density vector, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary, and j at right hand side is a density of the external current. If j
value is zero, the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of
boundary condition is used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the symmetry plane of the problem. The homogeneous
Neumann condition is the natural one; it is defaulted at all outward
boundary parts where no explicit boundary condition is specified.
234 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

If the surface-bound current density is to be specified at the plane of

problem symmetry and this plane is the outward boundary of the region,
the surface current density has to be halved.
Constant potential boundary condition is used to describe surface of a
conductor having much greater conductivity than the surrounding
medium. This conductor is assumed to have constant but unknown
potential value.

Note. The edge described as possessing constant potential should not have
common points with any Dirichlet edge. In that case the constant potential
edge has to be described by the Dirichlet condition with an appropriate
potential value.

Calculated Physical Quantities

For ac conduction problems, the QuickField postprocessor calculates the
following set of local and integral physical quantities.
Local quantities:
 Complex amplitude of electric potential U;
 Complex vector of electric field intensity E = grad U
𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈
𝐸𝑥 = − , 𝐸𝑦 = −  for planar case;
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈
𝐸𝑧 = − , 𝐸𝑟 = −  for axisymmetric case;
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟
 Complex vector of active jactive  σE, reactive jreactive  iE and
apparent japparent  jactive + jreactive current density;
 Time average and peak active power (losses) density Qactive = jactive · E,
reactive Qreactive = jreactive · E, and apparent Qapparent = japparent · E power
density;
 Electric permittivity  (its largest component in anisotropic media);
 Electric conductivity g (its largest component in anisotropic media).
Integral quantities:
 Complex magnitude of electric current (active Iactive, reactive Ireactive
and apparent I) through a given surface

𝐼 = ∫ (𝐣 ∙ 𝐧) 𝑑𝑠
𝑆

where n denotes the vector of the unit normal.

 Time average and peak active Pactive, reactive Preactive, and apparent P
power produced in a volume

𝑃 = ∫ (𝐄 ∙ 𝐣) 𝑑𝑣
𝑉
 Transient Electric Analysis 235

 Time average and oscillating part of electric force acting on bodies

contained in a particular volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Time average and peak electric force torque acting on bodies
contained in a particular volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) + [𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point.
The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the model as a
closed contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs.

Transient Electric Analysis

Transient electric is the most generic formulation of electric field analysis
in the absence of magnetic field. In this formulation, the field sources
(voltage or current) can be arbitrary functions of time, and electric
properties of materials can vary with electric field.
The problem formulation is similar to AC conduction:
𝜕
−[𝜎(𝐸)𝑈] − [𝜀(𝐸)𝑈] = 0
𝜕𝑡
where electric conductivity σ and electric permittivity  can be nonlinear
or anisotropic.

Field Sources
The field sources are external currents or voltages supplied to the
boundary of a conductor. QuickField provides possibility to specify
external current density at the edges or at the individual vertices of the
model. The current density specified at a point of the xy-plane corresponds
to a knife-edge current collector, which is perpendicular to the plane of the
model, and is described by the linear current density. In axisymmetric case
236 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

the vertex source represents a circular collector around the axis of

symmetry or a point collector located on the axis. To incorporate both
these cases, a total current value is associated with the vertex. For the
circular knife-edge collector the total current value is connected with its
linear density by the relationship I = 2r. Edge-bound current density in
the plane of model represents a surface-bound external current density in
three-dimensional world. It is specified by the Neumann boundary
condition for the edge. Every condition is defined by the formula
involving spatial coordinates and time.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Dirichlet condition specifies a known value of electric potential U0 at the
vertex or at the edge of the model. U0 value at the edge can be specified as
a linear function of coordinates. The function parameters can vary from
one edge to another, but have to be adjusted to avoid discontinuities at
edges' junction points.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the Dirichlet condition has to be

specified at least at one point. If the region consists of two or more
disjoint subregions, the Dirichlet conditions have to be specified at least at
one point of every part.

Neumann condition is defined by the following equations:

jn = j  at outward boundaries,
+ -
jn - jn = j  at inner boundaries,
where jn is a normal component of the current density vector, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary, and j at right hand side is a density of the external current. If j
value is zero, the boundary condition is called homogeneous. This kind of
boundary condition is used at an outward boundary of the region that is
formed by the symmetry plane of the problem. The homogeneous
Neumann condition is the natural one; it is defaulted at all outward
boundary parts where no explicit boundary condition is specified.
If the surface-bound current density is to be specified at the plane of
problem symmetry and this plane is the outward boundary of the region,
the surface current density has to be halved.
Constant potential boundary condition is used to describe surface of a
conductor having much greater conductivity than the surrounding
medium. This conductor is assumed to have constant but unknown
potential value.
 Transient Electric Analysis 237

Note. The edge described as possessing constant potential should not have
common points with any Dirichlet edge. In that case the constant potential
edge has to be described by the Dirichlet condition with an appropriate
potential value.

Calculated Physical Quantities

The QuickField postprocessor calculates the following set of local and
integral physical quantities at any given moment of time or as time-
dependent graphs and tables:
Local quantities:
 Electric potential U;
 Electric field intensity E = grad U
𝜕
 Vector of active jactive  σE, reactive jreactive  (𝐄) and apparent
𝜕𝑡
japparent  jactive + jreactive current density;
 Active power (losses) density Qactive = jactive · E, reactive Qreactive
= jreactive · E, and apparent Qapparent = japparent · E power density;
 Electric permittivity (E);
 Electric conductivity σ(E).
Integral quantities:
 Electric current (active Iactive, reactive Ireactive and apparent I) through a
given surface

𝐼 = ∫ 𝐣 ∙ 𝐧 𝑑𝑠,
𝑆

where n denotes the vector of the unit normal.

 Active Pactive, reactive Preactive, and apparent P power produced in a
volume

𝑃 = ∫(𝐄 · 𝐣)𝑑𝑣.
𝑉

 Electric force acting on bodies contained in a particular volume

1
𝐅= ∮ (𝐄(𝐧𝐃) + 𝐃(𝐧𝐄)– 𝐧(𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆

where integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n

denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Electric force torque acting on bodies contained in a particular volume

1
𝐓= ∮ ([𝐫 × 𝐄](𝐧𝐃) + [𝐫 × 𝐃](𝐧𝐄) – [𝐫 × 𝐧](𝐄𝐃))𝑑𝑠,
2
𝑆
238 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.

The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point. The domain of integration is specified in the plane of the
model as a closed contour consisting of line segments and circular
arcs.

Heat Transfer
With QuickField you can analyze linear and nonlinear temperature fields
in one of two formulations: steady state or transient: heating or cooling of
the system.
Heat-transfer equation for linear problems is:

𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇
(𝜆𝑥 ) + (𝜆𝑦 ) = −𝑞 − 𝑐𝜌  planar case;
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑡

1 𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇
(𝜆𝑟 𝑟 ) + (𝜆𝑧 ) = −𝑞 − 𝑐𝜌  axisymmetric case;
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡
𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇
(𝜆 ) + (𝜆 ) + (𝜆 ) = −𝑞  3D case;
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧

for nonlinear problems:

𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇
(𝜆(𝑇) ) + (𝜆(𝑇) ) =
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑇  planar case;
= −𝑞(𝑇) − 𝑐(𝑇)𝜌
𝜕𝑡

1 𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝜕𝑇
(𝜆(𝑇)𝑟 ) + (𝜆(𝑇) ) =
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝑇  axisymmetric case;
= −𝑞(𝑇) − 𝑐(𝑇)𝜌
𝜕𝑡

where:
T — temperature;
t — time;
x(y,z,r) — components of heat conductivity tensor, anisotropy is
not accounted for in 3D formulation;
T — heat conductivity as a function of temperature
approximated by cubic spline (anisotropy is not supported in nonlinear
case);
 Heat Transfer 239

qT — volume power of heat sources, in linear case—constant,

in nonlinear case—function of temperature approximated by cubic spline.
cT — specific heat, in nonlinear case—function of
temperature approximated by cubic spline;
ρ — density of the substance.
In steady state case the last term in these equations equals zero. In linear
case all the parameters are constants within each block of the model.

Heat Sources
QuickField provides possibility to specify the heat sources located in the
blocks, at the edges or at the individual vertices of the model. The heat
source specified at a point of the xy-plane corresponds to a linear
string-like heater which is perpendicular to the plane of the model, and is
described by the generated power per unit length. In axisymmetric case
the vertex heat source represents a heating circle around the axis of
symmetry or a point heater located on the axis. To incorporate both these
cases a total generated power value is associated with the vertex. For the
heating circle the total power is connected with its linear density by the
relationship q  2rql. Edge-bound heat source in the plane of model
represents a surface heat source in three-dimensional world. It is described
by power per unit area and is specified by the Neumann boundary
condition for the edge. The volume power density associated with a block
corresponds to the volume heat source.

Boundary Conditions
The following boundary conditions can be specified at outward and inner
boundaries of the region.
Known temperature boundary condition (known also as boundary
condition of the first kind) specifies a known value of temperature T0 at
the vertex or at the edge of the model (for example on a liquid-cooled
surface). T0 value at the edge can be specified as a linear function of
coordinates. The function parameters can vary from one edge to another,
but have to be adjusted to avoid discontinuities at edges' junction points.
This boundary condition sometimes is called the boundary condition of
the first kind.
Heat flux boundary condition (known also as boundary condition of the
second kind) is defined by the following equations:
Fn = -qs  at outward boundaries,
+
Fn - Fn- = -qs  at inner boundaries,
where Fn is a normal component of heat flux density, "+" and ""
superscripts denote quantities to the left and to the right side of the
boundary. For inner boundary qs denotes the generated power per unit
240 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

area, for outward boundary it specifies the known value of the heat flux
density across the boundary. If qs value is zero, the boundary condition is
called homogeneous. The homogeneous condition at the outward
boundary indicates vanishing of the heat flux across the surface. This type
of boundary condition is the natural one, it is defaulted at all outward
boundary parts where no explicit boundary condition is specified. This
kind of boundary condition is used at an outward boundary of the region
which is formed by the symmetry plane of the problem.
If the surface heat source is to be specified at the plane of problem
symmetry and this plane constitutes the outward boundary of the region,
the surface power has to be halved.
This boundary condition sometimes is called the boundary condition of
the second kind.
Convection boundary condition can be specified at outward boundary of
the region. It describes convective heat transfer and is defined by the
following equation:
Fn = (T - T0),
where  is a film coefficient, and T0temperature of contacting fluid
medium. Parameters  and T0 may differ from part to part of the
boundary.
This boundary condition sometimes is called the boundary condition of
the third kind.
Radiation boundary condition can be specified at outward boundary of
the region. It describes radiative heat transfer and is defined by the
following equation:
Fn = kSB(T4 - T04),
where kSB is a Stephan-Boltsman constant,  is an emissivity coefficient,
and T0—ambient radiation temperature. Parameters  and T0 may differ
from part to part of the boundary.

Note. For heat transfer problem to be defined correctly the known

temperature boundary condition, or the convection, or the radiation has to
be specified at least at some parts of the boundary.

Constant temperature boundary condition may be used to describe

bodies with very high heat conductivity. You can exclude interior of these
bodies from the consideration and describe their surface as the constant
temperature boundary.
 Stress Analysis 241

Note. The edge described as possessing constant temperature cannot have

common points with any edge where the temperature is specified
explicitly. In that case the constant temperature edge has to be described
by the boundary condition of the first kind with an appropriate
temperature value.

Calculated Physical Quantities

For heat transfer problems the QuickField postprocessor calculates the
following set of local and integral physical quantities.
Local quantities:
 Temperature T;
 Vector of the heat flux density F   grad T
𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇
𝐹𝑥 = −𝜆𝑥 , 𝐹𝑦 = −𝜆𝑦  for planar case;
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇  for axisymmetric
𝐹𝑧 = −𝜆𝑧 , 𝐹𝑟 = −𝜆𝑟
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑟 case;
𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇
𝐹𝑥 = −𝜆 , 𝐹𝑦 = −𝜆 ,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑇  for 3D case;
𝐹𝑧 = −𝜆
𝜕𝑧

The postprocessor can calculate the heat flux through an arbitrary closed
or unclosed surface

𝛷 = ∫ (𝐅 ∙ 𝐧) 𝑑𝑠
𝑆

where n denotes the unit vector of normal to the surface. The surface is
specified by a contour consisting of line segments and circular arcs in the
plane of the model.

Stress Analysis
Within QuickField package, the plane stress, the plane strain and the
axisymmetric stress models are available with both isotropic and
orthotropic materials. The plane stress model is suitable for analyzing
structures that are thin in the out-of-plane direction, e.g., thin plates
subject to in-plate loading. Out-of-plane direct stress and shear stresses are
assumed to be negligible. The plane strain model is formulated by
assuming that out-of-plane strains are negligible. This model is suitable
for structures that are thick in the out-of-plane direction.
242 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Displacement, Strain and Stress

The displacement field is assumed to be completely defined by the two
components of the displacement vector  in each point:

𝛿𝑥
{𝛿} = { }  for plane problems;
𝛿𝑦

𝛿
{𝛿} = { 𝑧 }  for axisymmetric problems.
𝛿𝑟

Only three components of strain and stress tensors are independent in both
plane stress and plane strain cases. The strain-displacement relationship is
defined as:
𝜕𝛿𝑥
𝜕𝑥
𝜀𝑥
𝜕𝛿𝑦
{𝜀} = { 𝜀𝑦 } =
𝛾𝑥𝑦 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝛿𝑥 𝜕𝛿𝑦
+
{ 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 }
The corresponding stress components:
𝜎𝑥
{𝜎} = { 𝜎𝑦 }
𝜏𝑥𝑦
The axisymmetric problem formulation also includes the out-of-plane
direct strain , caused by the radial deformation. The strain-displacement
relationship is defined as:
𝜕𝛿𝑧
𝜕𝑧
𝜀𝑧 𝜕𝛿𝑟
𝜀 𝜕𝑟
{𝜀} = { 𝜀𝑟 } =
𝜃 𝛿𝑟
𝛾𝑟𝑧 𝑟
𝜕𝛿𝑧 𝜕𝛿𝑟
{ 𝜕𝑟 + 𝜕𝑧 }
The corresponding stress components:
𝜎𝑧
𝜎
{𝜎} = { 𝜎𝑟 }
𝜃
𝜏𝑟𝑧
The equilibrium equations for the plane problems are:
𝜕𝜎𝑥 𝜕𝜏𝑥𝑦
+ = −𝑓𝑥
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝜏𝑥𝑦 𝜕𝜎𝑦
+ = −𝑓𝑦
{ 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
 Stress Analysis 243

and for the axisymmetric problems are:

1 𝜕(𝑟𝜎𝑟 ) 𝜕𝜏𝑟𝑧
+ = −𝑓𝑟
{𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧
1 𝜕(𝑟𝜏𝑟𝑧 ) 𝜕𝜎𝑧
+ = −𝑓𝑧
𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑧
where x, y and z, r are components of the volume force vector.
For linear elasticity, the stresses are related to the strains using
relationship of the form
{} = [D]({} – {0}),
where [D] is a matrix of elastic constants, and 0 is the initial thermal
strain. The specific form of the matrix depends on a particular problem
formulation.
For plane stress and isotropic material:
1 𝜈 0
𝐸 𝜈 1 0
[𝐷] = [ 1 − 𝜈]
1 − 𝜈2
0 0
2

For plane stress and orthotropic material:

−1
1 𝜐𝑦𝑥
− 0
𝐸𝑥 𝐸𝑦
𝜐𝑦𝑥 1
[𝐷] = − 0
𝐸𝑦 𝐸𝑦
1
0 0
[ 𝐺𝑥𝑦 ]
For plane strain and isotropic material:
𝜈
1 0
1−𝜈
𝐸(1 − 𝜈) 𝜈
[𝐷] = 1 0
(1 + 𝜈)(1 − 2𝜈) 1 − 𝜈
1 − 2𝜈
0 0
[ 2(1 − 𝜈)]
For plane strain and orthotropic material:
2 −1
1 𝜐𝑧𝑥 𝜐𝑦𝑥 𝜐𝑧𝑥 𝜐𝑧𝑦
− − − 0
𝐸𝑥 𝐸𝑧 𝐸𝑦 𝐸𝑧
2
𝜐𝑦𝑥 𝜐𝑧𝑥 𝜐𝑧𝑦 1 𝜐𝑧𝑦
[𝐷] = − − − 0
𝐸𝑦 𝐸𝑧 𝐸𝑦 𝐸𝑧
1
0 0
[ 𝐺𝑥𝑦 ]
244 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

For axisymmetric problem and isotropic material:

𝜈 𝜈
1 0
1−𝜈 1−𝜈
𝜈 𝜈
1 0
𝐸(1 − 𝜈) 1−𝜈 1−𝜈
[𝐷] =
(1 + 𝜈)(1 − 2𝜈) 𝜈 𝜈
1 0
1−𝜈 1−𝜈
1 − 2𝜈
0 0 0
[ 2(1 − 𝜈)]
For axisymmetric problem and orthotropic material:
−1
1 𝜐𝑟𝑧 𝜐𝜃𝑧
− − 0
𝐸𝑧 𝐸𝑟 𝐸𝜃
𝜐𝑟𝑧 1 𝜐𝜃𝑟
− − 0
𝐸𝑟 𝐸𝑟 𝐸𝜃
[𝐷] =
𝜐𝜃𝑧 𝜐𝜃𝑟 1
− − 0
𝐸𝜃 𝐸𝜃 𝐸𝜃
1
0 0 0
[ 𝐺𝑧𝑟 ]
In all these equations E denotes Young's modulus of the isotropic
material; Ex, Ey, Ez, Er, and E are the Young's moduli of the orthotropic
material along the corresponding axes;  is a Poisson's ratio for isotropic
material; yx, zx, zy, rz, z, r are the Poisson's ratios for orthotropic
material; Gxy and Gzr are the shear moduli.

Thermal Strain
Temperature strain is determined by the coefficients of thermal expansion
and difference of temperatures between strained and strainless states.
Components of the thermal strain for plane stress and isotropic material
are defined by the following equation:
𝛼
{𝜀0 } = {𝛼 } Δ𝑇;
0
plane stress, orthotropic material:
𝛼𝑥
{𝜀0 } = {𝛼𝑦 } Δ𝑇;
0
plane strain, isotropic material:
𝛼
{𝜀0 } = (1 + υ) {𝛼 } Δ𝑇;
0
plane strain, orthotropic material:
𝛼𝑥 + υ𝑧𝑥 𝛼𝑧
{𝜀0 } = {𝛼𝑦 + υ𝑧𝑦 𝛼𝑧 } Δ𝑇;
0
 Stress Analysis 245

axisymmetric problem, isotropic material:

𝛼
𝛼
{𝜀0 } = { } Δ𝑇;
𝛼
0

axisymmetric problem, orthotropic material:

𝛼𝑧
𝛼𝑟
{𝜀0 } = { } Δ𝑇;
𝛼𝜃
0
where  is a coefficient of thermal expansion for isotropic material; x,
y, z, r,  are the coefficients of thermal expansion along the
corresponding axes for orthotropic material; T is the temperature
difference between strained and strainless states.

External Forces
QuickField provides way to specify concentrated loads, surface and body
forces. The concentrated loads are defined at vertices as two components
of the corresponding vector. The surface forces at the edges of the model
are specified by the vector components or by the normal pressure. The
body forces are defined by their components within blocks of the model.
Each component of the body force vector can be specified as a function of
the coordinates. This feature can be used, for example, to model
centrifugal forces. The normal pressure also can be a function of the
coordinates that is useful for hydrostatic pressure.

Note. The concentrated load is specified by the force per thickness unit
for plane problems and by the total force value for axisymmetric ones. In
the last case the force can be applied to the point at the axis of symmetry
or distributed along the circle around the axis.

Any surface force which is directed along the normal to the surface can be
described as a pressure. The pressure is considered positive if it is directed
inside region at its outward boundary or from right to left at the inner
boundary. Left and right are referred relative to the edge intrinsic
direction, which is always counterclockwise for arcs and is determined for
line segments by the order of picking vertices when the edge is created.

Restriction Conditions
Rigid constraint condition along one or both axes can be specified at any
vertex or along any edge of the model. Prescribed displacement at
restrained edge can be specified as a linear function of the coordinates.
246 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Elastic support condition describes a vertex subject to springy force which

is proportional to difference between actual and predetermined
displacement. The elastic support condition is characterized by the
predetermined displacement and the support elasticity.

Note. For problem to be defined correctly the constraint or elastic support

conditions have to be specified in such a way to exclude rigid body shifts
and rotations of the model or its parts without increasing the potential
energy. Two translational and one rotational degrees of freedom have to
be restricted for plane problem, in axisymmetric case only shift in
z-direction has to be excluded.

Calculated Physical Quantities

For the stress analysis problems the QuickField postprocessor calculates
the following set of physical quantities:
Local quantities:
 The absolute value of displacement
𝛿 = √𝛿𝑥2 + 𝛿𝑦2 , or 𝛿 = √𝛿𝑧2 + 𝛿𝑟2
 Maximum and minimum principal stresses in the plane of model 1
and 2;
 Normal and tangential stresses along coordinate axes x, y and xy
(z, r and rz in axisymmetric case);
 Normal stress in out-of-plane direction (z—for xy-plane, —for
rz-plane). For the plane stress problems this component vanishes by
the definition;
 Von Mises criterion (stored energy of deformation):

1
σ𝑒 = √ [(𝜎1 − 𝜎2 )2 + (𝜎2 − 𝜎3 )2 + (𝜎3 − 𝜎1 )2 ]
2

where 1, 2 and 3 denote the principal stresses in descending order.

 Tresca criterion (maximum shear):
σe = 1  3;
 Mohr-Coulomb criterion:
σe = 1  3,
where  =  / ;
 and  denote tensile and compressive allowable stress.
 Drucker-Prager criterion:
2
√𝜒 − 𝜒 1 1 − √𝜒
𝜎𝑒 = (1 + √𝜒)𝜎𝑖 − 𝜎̅ + ( 𝜎̅)
1 + √𝜒 [𝜎− ] 1 + √𝜒
 Coupled Problems 247

where

1 𝜎1 + 𝜎2 + 𝜎3
σ𝑖 = √ [(𝜎1 − 𝜎2 )2 + (𝜎2 − 𝜎3 )2 + (𝜎3 − 𝜎1 )2 ]; 𝜎̅ =
2 3

 Tsai-Hill failure index for orthotropic materials:

𝜎12 𝜎1 𝜎2 𝜎22 𝜏122
𝐶𝑡ℎ = − + +
𝑋12 𝑋12 𝑋22 𝑆12
2

where 1, 2 and 12 are computed stresses in the material directions
and,
X1 = X1T if 1>0; X1 = X1C if 1<0
X2 = X2T if 2>0; X2 = X2C if 2<0
S12 = S12+ if 12>0; S12 = S12- if 12<0
where X1T, X2T, X1C, X2C, S12+ and S12- are tensile, compressive and
shear allowable stresses.
Integral quantities:
 Total force acting on a particular volume

𝐅 = ∮ (𝜎 ∙ 𝐧)𝑑𝑠
𝑆

where σ is the stress tensor.

The integral is evaluated over the boundary of the volume, and n
denotes the vector of the outward unit normal.
 Total torque of the forces acting on a particular volume
1
𝐓= ∮ [𝐫 × (𝜎 ∙ 𝐧)]𝑑𝑠
2 𝑆
where r is a radius vector of the point of integration.
The torque vector is parallel to z-axis in the planar case, and is
identically equal to zero in the axisymmetric one. The torque is
considered relative to the origin of the coordinate system. The torque
relative to any other arbitrary point can be obtained by adding extra
term of F  r0, where F is the total force and r0 is the radius vector of
the point.

Coupled Problems
QuickField is capable of importing loads (distributed sources) calculated
in some problem into the problem of another type. Following coupling
types are supported:
248 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

 Heat transfer caused by Joule heat generated in the transient or AC

magnetic problem, or DC or AC conduction problem.
 Thermal stresses based on a calculated temperature distribution.
 Stress analysis of the system loaded by magnetic of electric forces.
 Electrical conductivity depending on temperature.
 A special case of coupling allows for importing of the field
distribution in some steady state or transient problem into another
transient problem as its initial state. This applies to transient magnetic
and transient heat transfer analysis.
In addition to imported loads, you can define any other loads and
boundary conditions, similar to non-coupled problem.
You can combine several coupling types in one problem. E.g., after
calculating currents distribution, electrostatic and magnetic fields as
separate problems based on the same model file, you can calculate
temperature distribution from Joule heat and then find stresses caused by
temperature and magnetic and electric forces at once. However, such
problems are rather rare.
Further we will call the problem, from which the data are being loaded,
the source problem, and the problem, which imports the data, the target
problem.
There are several rules to follow with coupled problems:
 Both source and target problem must share a single model file.
 Both problems must use the same formulation (plane or
axisymmetric).
 Source problem must be up-to-date when solving the target problem.

Note. In spite of the requirement that coupled problems must use the same
model file, the geometrical region for the problems need not coincide, i.e.
some subregions those are in use in one problem, could be excluded from
consideration in the other one.

Importing Joule Heat to Heat Transfer Problem

While importing data from DC or AC conduction problem to heat transfer
problem, heat sources due to Joule law are assumed in all subregions
included into consideration in both source and target problems. In
transient or AC magnetic problems, Joule heat is generated in all
conductors. When importing Joule heat from transient magnetic problem
into transient heat transfer, both processes are assumed to run
synchronously. With this feature, you can simulate time-dependent heat
distribution arising from time-dependent electric current distribution
(including eddy currents) in a magnetic device.
 Coupled Problems 249

Importing Temperature Field to Stress Analysis

Problem
While calculating thermal stresses, initial strains are assumed in all
subregions, which are included into consideration in both problems and
possess nonzero value of thermal expansion coefficient (or at least one of
its components in anisotropic case). While importing the temperature
distribution from the transient problem, you can choose the moment of
time, the state at which you wish to import.

Importing Magnetic Forces to Stress Analysis

Problem
While importing magnetic force to stress analysis problem:
 Body force is assumed in all subregions included into consideration in
both source and target problems, if those subregions have nonlinear
magnetic properties and/or current density is defined (Lorentz force).
 Surface force is assumed at the boundaries separating subregions with
different magnetic properties, boundaries with surface current, or
outward boundaries in sense of magnetic problem. The surface force
is also generated in the cases, when only one subregion, say, to the
left of the boundary is active in sense of magnetic problem, and only
the subregion to the right of it is active in stress analysis problem.
While importing the magnetic forces from the transient problem, you
choose the moment of time, the state at which you wish to import.

Importing Electric Forces to Stress Analysis

Problem
While importing electric force to stress analysis problem:
 Body force is assumed for all subregions included into consideration
in both source and target problems and carrying distributed charge
density.
 Surface force is assumed at the boundaries separating subregions with
different permittivity, boundaries with surface charge, or outward
boundaries in sense of electric problem. The surface force is also
generated in the cases, when only one subregion, say, to the left of the
boundary is active in sense of electric problem, and only the
subregion to the right of it is active in stress analysis problem.
250 Chapter 11 Theoretical Description

Importing Magnetic State to DC or AC Magnetic

Problem
QuickField is able to remember the magnetic state of the media in the
source problem for further use in target problems, where it is necessary to
take into account the actual magnetic saturation.
Quantity, transferred from DC Magnetic problem is the value of magnetic
permeability, calculated in every finite element of the source problem.
 In non-linear materials the remembered value of magnetic
permeability is calculated using the magnetic flux density in the
source problem;
 In linear materials the remembered value of magnetic permeability is
taken from the corresponding block label properties of the source
problem.
Target problem will become linear, and the magnetic permeability values
entered into the target problem description will be ignored and replaced by
imported data. Magnetic state remembering is equivalent to the working
point fixation for magnetic system. This gives the possibility to calculate
the differential mutual and self-inductances of multi-coil system in the
target problems, by calculating the magnetic flux induced by current in
only one of coils at time.

Importing Temperature Field to AC Magnetic

Problem
QuickField allows importing the calculated temperature field into a
problem of AC magnetics. This temperature field may be then used for
calculating the values of the electrical conductivity for materials where the
conductivity is temperature-dependent.
 251

Index

field view presentations 185

.
finite element mesh 187
integral values 183, 200
local values 183, 199
.m3d (model) files 27
objects hiding 186
result analysis 183
2 results 184
results window 183
2D and 3D problems 165 results, colored surfaces 189
results, isosurface plot 191

3
results, scatter plot 190
results, vector plot 189
slice plot 196
3D
solving 182
2D sketch 164
XY plot 197
extrusion 164, 166, 168
geometry model 167
import 166
level 168, 169
A
level, add 170 ac conduction 232
level, change 170 AC conduction 22
level, remove 170 data for 76
problem 163 ac magnetic 113, 219
problem definition 166, 167 AC magnetic 20
view manipulation 175, 186 data for 67
workflow 163 adaptive meshing 104
3D model add-in 160
boundary conditions 182 analysis capabilities 18
camera 176 animation 115
cutting by plane 179 attraction distance 39
import 171 axisymmetric problem 207, 209, 215, 216,
labels 179 222
mesh spacing 180
object hiding 178
object selection 177 B
view 171, 172
background grid 57
zooming 176
beam of charged particles 154
3D problem
B-H curve 18, 19, 64, 208, 214
cut plane 192, 194
block 37, 207
cut plane normal direction 193
and dc conduction data 74
electric charge 201
and electric charge 226
electric force 201
and electric current 208, 214
energy of electric field 201
and electric data 78
field calculator 183
and electrostatic data 72
field presentation modes 184
252 Index

and heat source 239 conductivity

and heat transfer data 79 electric 19, 20, 22, 65, 67, 68, 76, 109,
and magnetic data 63 230, 248, 250, See also resistivity:
and mesh 54 electric, See also resistivity: electric
and stress analysis data 81 temperature dependent 29, 74
copying 41 thermal 24, 80, 85, 110, 238
excluding from analysis 65, 72, 74, 76, temperature dependent 80
78, 79, 82 very high 240
labeling 52 conductivity, electric 74
boundary conductor
inner 207 connected in series 65, 69, 209, 214, 221
outward 207 electric 20
boundary condition 61, 209, 215, 222, 227, floating 227
230, 233, 236, 239 isolated See conductor: floating
constant potential 227, 229, 231, 234, contour
236 editing 124
constant temperature 240 convection 81, 240
convection 240 coordinates
Dirichlet 19, 20, 21, 23, 209, 210, 215, Cartesian 33
216, 222, 223, 227, 230, 231, 233, polar 33
236 copying
displacement 83, 84, 245 pictures 59, 158
elastic support 246 core loss 224
electric potential 227, 230, 233, 236 coupled problems 247
heat flux 239 coupling 29
known temperature 239 electro-structural 22, 23, 249
Neumann 19, 20, 21, 23, 208, 209, 210, electro-thermal 20, 21, 22, 23, 248
214, 216, 221, 222, 226, 227, 231, initial magnetic state 20
233, 236, 239 initial thermal state 24
periodic 84 magneto-structural 19, 20, 21, 249
radiation 240 remembering magnetic state 19
zero flux 210, 216, 222 remembering the magnetic state 250
thermo-structural 24, 83, 249

C
creating
circuit 98
edge 39
CAD systems 58
label 63
calculated quantities 106
model 38
calculator 115, 119
problem 28
capacitance 21, 119, 122
vertex 39
calculation 229
criterion
wizard 122
Drucker-Prager 83, 110, 246
capacitance matrix 160
Hill 83
charge
Mohr-Coulomb 83, 110, 246
electric 21, 122, 128, 226, 228, 229
Tresca 110, 246
circuit 97
Tsai-Hill 110, 247
element 98
von Mises 110, 246
coefficient
current 128, 208, 221
of convection 240
active 109, 234, 237
of emissivity 240
alternating 20, 22, 219, 232
of polarization 220
apparent 109, 234, 237
of thermal expansion 244, 245
density 19, 21, 22, 63, 65, 67, 108, 208,
coercive force See force: coercive
220, 230
coil
density, units of 33
spiral 209, 215, 221
density, volume 220
color legend 153
eddy 20, 106, 107, 213, 217, 220, 223
color map 111
electric 22, 213, 220
 Index 253

reactive 109, 234, 237 and electric charge 226

source 20, 106, 107, 213, 217, 220, 222, and electric current 230, 233, 235
223 and electric data 78
surface 210, 216, 222 and electrostatic data 73
time-dependent 19 and heat source 239
total 20, 65, 106, 107, 217, 223 and heat transfer data 81
volume 208, 214 and magnetic data 66
curve and stress analysis data 83
editing 85 copying 41
creating 39, 40

D
deleting 42
direction of 245
labeling 52
data
editing
ac conduction 76
circuit 100
ac magnetics 67
contour 124
dc conduction 74
curve 85
electrostatics 72
formula 86
heat transfer 79
label data 63
magnetostatics 63
model 37–60
stress analysis 81
problem 28
transient electric 77
electric
transient magnetics 63
boundary condition 227, 230
dc conduction 230
electric conductivity 74, 235
DC conduction 22
electric motor 18, 19, 20
data for 74
electric permittivity 21, 72, 76, 78, 108, 109,
dcf(dc conduction data) files 27
226, 228, 232, 234, 235, 237
dec(ac conduction data) files 27
electrostatic analysis 21, 226
deformed shape 111
data for 72
des (electrostatic data) files 27
emissivity coefficient 240
describing
emitter 154
geometry 38
energy
dhe (ac magnetic data) files 27
of deformation 110
dht (steady-state and transient heat transfer
of electric field 21, 108, 122, 229
data) files 27
of magnetic field 19, 20, 21, 106, 108,
dielectric constant See electric permittivity
120, 212, 217, 218, 223, 224
displacement 25, 110, 113, 242, 246
exporting
boundary condition 83, 84
DXF file 58
components 242
pictures 59
prescribed 25
units of 33
dms (magnetostatic and transient magnetic
data) files 27
F
dsa (stress analysis data) files 27 field 52
dtv (transient electric data) files 27 electric 213, 235
DXF file electric, transient 23
export 58 lines 111
import 58 local data 116
magnetic 208, 210, 213, 216, 217, 222

E
magnetic, uniform external 19, 21, 209,
215, 222
picture 111, 114
edge 37, 38, 207, 210, 223
presentation methods 111
and ac conduction data 77
source 38, 52, 61, 128, 207, 208, 214,
and ac magnetic data 71
221, 226, 230, 233, 235
and boundary condition 209, 215, 222,
film coefficient See coefficient: of convection
227, 230, 233, 236, 239, 245
floating conductor 21
and dc conduction data 75
254 Index

flux temperatures to stress analysis 249

density 18, 19, 20, 21, 85, 106, 107, inductance 19, 20, 21, 119, 120, 225
208, 209, 211, 215, 217, 220, 222, calculation 212
223 wizard 120
function 211 induction
lines 111 of electric field 108, 109, 227, 228
linkage 18, 19, 20, 121, 128, 212, 218 remanent 210, 217
thermal 24, 81, 128, 241 inductor 20
boundary condition 239 installing QuickField 11
density 239 autorun 11
force 128 integral quantities 127, 211, 218, 223, 228,
centrifugal 245 232, 234, 237, 241, 247
coercive 63, 208, 210, 214, 216 intensity
electric 21, 22, 25, 29, 228, 235, 237, of electric field 108, 109, 226, 231, 234,
249 237
Lorentz 108, 223, 249 of electric field, gradient of 108, 109
magnetic 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 29, 211, of magnetic field 18, 19, 20, 85, 106,
218, 225 107, 209, 211, 216, 217, 222, 223
Maxwell 224 isotherm 111
formula

J
editing 86
frequency 219, 221
angular 219, 232
Joule heat 20, 106, 132, 134, 217, 218, 223,
224, 232, See power: losses
G
geometric objects L
copying 41
label 37, 38, 103
moving 41
assigning data to 63
selecting 40
assigning to geometric objects 52
geometry
copying data 96
describing 38
deleting data 96
editing data 63
H renaming 96
legend 153
hardware requirements 11 loading See also field source
heat AC magnetic analysis 21
specific 24 DC conduction analysis 22
heat flow 110 electrostatic analysis 21
heat transfer 20, 21, 24, 238 force 25, 245
coupling 29 heat transfer analysis 24
data for 79 magnetostatic analysis 19
transient 24 pressure 25, 245
thermal 25, 82, 114, 244

I
local field data 116
copying to clipboard 116
impedance 20, 21, 119, 124, 225, See also
inductance
wizard 124
M
importing magnetic permeability 19, 20, 63, 64, 65, 67,
data 29 68, 106, 107, 108, 208, 210, 211, 214, 217,
DXF file 58 218, 220, 223
electric forces to stress analysis 249 magnetostatic analysis 18, 208
Joule heat to heat transfer analysis 248 data for 63
magnetic forces to stress analysis 249 manipulating
 Index 255

objects 40 coefficient of 220

material linear 220
isotropic 25, 243, 244 potential
orthotropic 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, electric 108, 109, 226, 228, 229, 230,
25, 110, 243, 244, 247 231
memory 104 magnetic 19, 20, 21, 106, 208, 213, 220
mesh 38, 103 power
building 53 active 234, 237
deleting 54 apparent 234, 237
density 39, 53 losses 20, 21, 22, 24, 29, 107, 108, 109,
nonuniform 53 223, 224, 234, 237
refinement 104 reactive 234, 237
spacing 37, 38, 53, 56 Poynting vector 108, 223, 224
visibility 54, 56 pressure 25, 83
visibility options 56 hydrostatic 245
mod (model) files 27 printing
model pictures 60, 157
creating 38 X-Y plots 157
editing 34, 37–60 problem
geometry 37 creating 28
plane of 207 database 27
printing 60 description 27
three-dimensional 163 editing 28
view options 56 solving 103
three-dimensional \t 163

O
properties window
problem 18, 34
objects
manipulating 40
ohmic losses See power: losses
R
radiation 81, 240

P
res (results) files 27
resistivity
electric 22, 23, 108, 232
particle 154
particles trajectory 154
password 13
pbm (problem description) files 27
S
peak value 219, 232 selecting
periodic boundary conditions 84 circuit elements 99
permanent magnet 18, 19, 63, 208, 210, 213, geometric objects 40
214, 216, 217, 221 vertices 54
equivalent current 210, 216 serial conductor 69
phase angle 219, 232 shear modulus 244
physical quantities 211, 217, 223, 231, 234, solenoid 18, 20
237 source
heat transfer 241 thermal 21, 22, 23, 239, 240
stress analysis 246 specific heat 239
picture spiral coil 215
copying 59, 158 Stephan-Boltsman constant 240
exporting 59 strain 110
printing 157 components 242
picture, of the field 112 plane 25, 207
plane strain See strain: plane thermal 25, 243, 244
plane stress 246, See stress: plane stress 110, 113
Poisson's ratio 244 allowable 110, 246
polarization axisymmetric problem 241
256 Index

components 242 and ac magnetic data 71

plane 25, 207 and boundary condition 209, 215, 222,
principal 25, 110, 112, 246 230, 233, 236, 239, 245
tensor 112 and dc conduction data 75
thermal 24 and electric charge 226
von Mises 110, 246 and electric current 230, 233, 235
stress analysis 19, 20, 21, 24, 81, 113, 207, and electric data 79
241 and electrostatic data 73
coupling 29 and heat source 239
data for 81 and heat transfer data 81
presentation methods 111 and magnetic data 67
with imported loads 248, 249 and mesh spacing 39, 53, 54
superconductor 19, 20, 21, 210, 216, 222, and stress analysis data 84
223 copying 41
creating 39, 40

T
deleting 42
labeling 52
voltage 20, 21, 22, 67, 214, 221, See
tables
potential: electric
in postprocessor 114, 148
volume power 79
versus time 152
temperature 24, 29, 80, 85, 110, 238
ambient, for convection 240
ambient, for radiation 240
W
curve 80 window
difference 114 document 17
terminology 17, 37 problem 17
three-dimensional problem See 3D:problem tools 18
torque 128 wizard 119
of electric forces 21, 22, 228, 235, 237 capacitance 22, 122
of magnetic forces 18, 19, 20, 211, 218, impedance 21, 124
224, 225 inductance 19, 21, 120
transformer 19

X
transient analysis
electric 235
transient analysis
X-Y plot 114, 126
heat transfer 24
copying 158
data for 79
printing 157
initial condition 29
versus time 150
magnetic 19, 29, 213
data for 63
plot versus time 150
time layer selecting 114
Y
timing 31, 32 Young's modulus 244
Young's modulus 82

U
units of length 33
Z
zooming 56, 114

V
vertex 37, 38, 207, 208, 221
and ac conduction data 77