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news release:
Vector Fields Launches
Software For Modeling Superconductor Quenching
Aurora, IL, January 8, 2007: Electromagnetic specialist
Vector Fields has
released a software tool for modeling the quenching process in superconducting
materials.Available
as part of the company's Opera CAE software suite for low frequency
electromagnetic simulation, the new QUENCH tool provides developers of
superconducting equipment such as MRI/NMR (magnetic resonance imaging/nuclear
magnetic resonance) scanners with a means of developing and optimizing designs.
Understanding the quenching process is critical for these application areas,
because superconducting magnets typically operate close to their critical
current.
Previously, users have
developed their own simulators using general purpose multi-physics modeling
software. Or, they have employed empirical techniques to optimize designs, which
typically forces the inclusion of large safety margins.
QUENCH is a tool that runs
simulations on a standard PC platform. Developed in conjunction with two of the
world's developers of superconducting magnets, the accuracy of the algorithms at
the heart of the QUENCH model have been verified by comparing results against
measurements of real-world coils. The execution speed of the software allows
many simulations to run in minutes: a four-coil MRI magnet assembly will execute
in around 10 minutes, for instance.
Incorporated in QUENCH is
tight coupling between the electromagnetic and thermal modeling processes, which
exchange data in real-time as the simulation steps forward. The results can be
post-processed to provide users with clear views and analyses of quench
propagation and eddy current effects as the material heats up and becomes
resistive, including displays of the voltages between coil layers, and
temperature gradients.
QUENCH runs as a module
within the Opera package. The software provides a design-model-optimize
toolchain to speed the design of products and systems incorporating
electromagnetic materials.
In the latest iteration of
the software, the 3-D geometric modeling kernel has been enhanced to support
quench-related applications. Among the enhancements are a means of entering a
material's non-linear properties including critical current density
characteristics, and tools for drawing and specifying the coil magnets used in
superconducting equipment. Protection circuitry may also be incorporated into
models. Mechanical designs may also be imported from other CAD packages.
The makes allows users to
perform 'what if' investigations, and the user interface allows models to be
fully parameterized. Parametric models can also be combined with optimization
tools that allow users to set design goals for multiple parameters
simultaneously, with the software automatically finding the best solution to
fine-tune user-defined characteristics.
QUENCH is available
immediately for use on Windows platforms.
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