Cobham Technical Services has extended the multiphysics capabilities of the well-known Opera-3D finite element software for electromagnetic design with a new solver that can be used to analyse natural vibration modes.
The tool is expected to prove particularly useful for electrical machine developers, who can employ it to investigate and minimise forces that might cause oscillations close to the natural frequencies of the equipment and thereby avoid excessive vibration or collisions between rotating and stationary parts.
By capturing such mechanical vibration in conjunction with electromagnetic modelling, and thermal performance if required, the integrated 3D (three-dimensional) tool suite can greatly reduce the complexity and timescales of design projects.
One of the key benefits of this capability is a further reduction in the need to create physical prototypes to explore the behaviour of a proposed design concept.
With the greater understanding of new designs that more thorough simulation brings, it can be possible to reduce the real-world prototyping phase to a few iterations. This can take months out of design cycles – along with the associated high costs.
