Altair® Flux® 2023.1 Release Highlights
Altair EmployeeLet’s have a look at the key features and improvements of Altair® Flux® 2023.1
What if you could let the software guide you towards optimal shapes of your electromagnetic devices without any need of parametrization of the geometry? This was already possible by using free-shape optimization. Flux 2023.1 version provides another step in local sensivity based optimization methods by letting you try topology optimization. Furthermore, you can run a multiphysics optimization by setting electromagnetic performance objective, while considering structural constraints. Definitely a very new way to find innovative designs! But there is more to this version …
STREAMLINED FLUX WORKFLOWS in SIMLAB
So many new features are coming into the SimLab interface to help you go further and faster with your electromagnetic designs ! Let’s go through a few of them.
When modeling electric machines, you can now consider skewed geometries in a very efficient manner by using the 2,5D technique provided by Flux. It can be applied to continuous or step skewing. The change between 2D and skewed models can be done in a very few clicks. From there, you can for example compute forces and send them as loads for vibration and acoustic analysis. Quite easily then, you can look at the impact of the skewing on NVH. Dedicated post-processings like maxwell pressure and spatial order plots have also been added to help you to do so.
Streamlined NVH study of a skewed synchronous machine in SimLab
ACCELERATED POWER BUSBARS RLC COMPUTATIONS
To compute the parasitics of power busbars, SimLab includes a specific module that has been recently introduced, based on the PEEC method, and that extracts RLC values in a very efficient way. In the 2023.1 version, a “model order reduction” option has been added to expedite multiple frequency analysis. It allows a definition of a high number of frequency steps for better interpolation of results within a frequency range.
Extracting the impedance of power busbars with accelerated multi-frequency analysis
WHAT ABOUT TRYING THE NEW TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION CAPABILITIES ?
With many advances in additive manufacturing existing and to come, it is a good time to look into innovative shapes for electric motors and try to gain power or torque density. Starting from a uniform block of iron, topology optimization is able to determine an optimal distribution of air and iron to minimize weight and torque ripples, while keeping the average torque to the required value and also making sure mechanical stress is kept low enough. This is available in beta mode in the new version. The mechanical stress can also be considered when using free shape optimization.
Optimizing a Synchronous reluctance machine using shape and topology optimization
When running such optimizations, manufacturability of the design is not ensured and should be checked by the designer. Local manual smoothings are usually necessary before getting to a feasible design, but these methods provides very good directions to the engineer with almost no initial assumption on the shapes to be used and no need for complex parameterizations.
AND ALSO
- New improvements of Flux eMotor Toolbox (FeMT)
- Ability to preview Flux Skew geometries before solving and add sensors.
- New tutorials, examples and macros
Discover these improvements in more detail by looking at the Release Notes of Altair® Flux® 2023.1
You can also find the full documentation online:
Altair® Flux® can be downloaded on the Altair One Marketplace (with your account) here.
Enjoy Altair® Flux® 2023.1 version!
If you want to know more about Altair® FluxMotor® and its new features, look at the Release Notes.
Yann Le Floch - VP – Program Manager Flux®
Vincent Leconte - Senior Director Electrification Solutions