SIMULATION DRIVEN ANTENNA DESIGN TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has published on March 2020 an update of the guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz). This white paper describes how to evaluate the compliance regarding the basis restrictions of ICNIRP by numerical field simulation with the simulation software Altair Feko.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems use electromagnetic (EM) waveform transmissions to illuminate objects, and images are created from processing reflections or echoes. SAR systems are now widely deployed to support critical remote mapping/sensing capabilities. SAR transmitters are typically installed on moving airborne or satellite platforms to operate at stand-off ranges and collect terrain data measurements. The measured data, collected from multiple passes/scans is interpreted by advanced SAR interferometry algorithms into surface terrain maps to help discriminate (detect) key landscape features, e.g., fault lines, bodies of water, forests and vegetation, glaciers, etc. Some of the most technical tasks include discriminating foliage in mapped terrains, identifying forest types, discerning tree heights, and detecting anomalies or hidden objects beneath foliage - termed the foliage penetration (FOPEN) problem. Due to the increasing interest in using higher Ku-band frequencies (12-18 GHz) for FOPEN, there is a growing need to quantify the interaction of foliage with Ku-band frequencies for consulting purposes; and to aid with enhanced technology support for applications in both the commercial and military domains. Overall, this important area remains largely unaddressed in the modeling realm today because of the required heavy model detail and substantial computational resources. This technical paper lays out a FOPEN modeling methodology that introduces a range of new innovations and contributions to address the phenomenology of Ku-band EM wave transmissions through moderate foliage. Two highly detailed computer-aided design (CAD) tree models were created using an open source tree generating software. Due the level of details of tree models, Altair HyperMesh is used for geometry editing and cleaning and then Altair Feko is used for FOPEN computational electromagnetic (CEM) behaviors at L- and Ku-band are characterized.

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has published in March 2020 an update [1] of the guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz). This white paper describes how to evaluate the compliance regarding the basis restrictions of ICNIRP by numerical field simulation with the simulation software Altair Feko™.

In a joint project MX3D, ABB, and Altair demonstrated how a 3D printed robot can be improved by using a digital twin process to achieve more precise positioning.

Electric vehicles (EV) offer the exciting possibility to meet the world’s transportation demands in an environmentally sustainable way. Mass adoption could help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, but the lithium-ion (Li-on) batteries that power them still present unique challenges to designers and engineers, primary among them to ensuring safety against battery fire. To achieve vehicle manufacturer’s ambitious adoption goals, it is necessary to improve the safety of Li-on batteries by better understanding all of the complex, interconnected aspects of their behavior across both normal and extreme duty cycles. Altair is focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of automotive battery safety issues which it has named the Altair Battery Designer project. It combines innovative design methods and tools to model and predict mechanical damage phenomena as well as thermal and electro-chemical runaway. Altair has developed an efficient way to calculate mechanical and short-term thermal response to mechanical abuses, providing accurate computational models and engineer-friendly methods to design a better battery.

Today, an e-motor cannot be developed just by looking at the motor as an isolated unit; tight requirements concerning the integration into both the complete electric or hybrid drivetrain system and perceived quality must be met. Multi-disciplinary and multiphysics optimization methodologies make it possible to design an e-motor for multiple, completely different design requirements simultaneously, thus avoiding a serial development strategy, where a larger number of design iterations are necessary to fulfill all requirements and unfavorable design compromises need to be accepted.

The project described in this paper is focused on multiphysics design of an e-motor for Porsche AG. Altair’s simulation-driven approach supports the development of e-motors using a series of optimization intensive phases building on each other. This technical paper offers insights on how the advanced drivetrain development team at Porsche AG, together with Altair, has approached the challenge of improving the total design balance in e-motor development.