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ENEA - Fusion division

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You are in: Home » Research Activities » Electric & Electronic Eng. » Finite Element anlyses

FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSES of Electromagnetic Fields

Since 1990 the FUS-ING Section has been studying time-dependent electromagnetic fields, also with the use of the ANSYSİ finite-element code. The main activity concerns the calculation of electromagnetic and thermal-mechanic quantities in systems having mutually coupled coils, in both steady-state and transient regimes.
The following activities regard applications in the field of thermonuclear research:

  1. Studies on FTU tokamak heating.
  2. Studies on the effect induced on plasma-position control by eddy currents in the inductor coils near the plasma. For this work, the 14-coil system of IGNITOR has been simulated in detail.
  3. In the framework of the ITER project, an in-vessel viewing system has been developed. The target is scanned over a 360° solid angle by a laser beam directed through a quartz prism coated with a few microns of gold. The braking effect on the prism movements, induced by the ITER magnetic field (5 T), has been studied to dimension the movement system of the prism.
  4. For the PROTO-SPHERE experiment, the influence of eddy currents on the poloidal magnetic field has been analysed.

The electromagnetic calculation and finite-element analysis systems developed with the Community contributions in the framework of the European Fusion Programme on Controlled Thermonuclear Research have also been applied in industry.
One main application is the study and optimisation of the design and operation parameters of an electric induction furnace, part of an innovative process (In-Line Strip Production or ISP) for fabricating thin coils in special steel at the ARVEDI steelworks at Cremona.
The activity involved studying the heat-diffusion process inside thin slabs while they pass through the series of the different sections of the furnace.

3-D model of a laminated steel plate3-D model of a laminated steel plate.
Click on image for explanation and animated film of heat diffusion process !

The instrument made it possible to link together the various production parameters (type, thickness and speed of the slab; number of windings and number of modules and their position in the furnace; current intensity and frequency of the furnace coils), while taking into account the passive magnetic elements present in the system. The results of the simulation were in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements.

 

[Click on image for explanation and animated film of heat diffusion process !]

This activity has been officially recognised by the European Community as an industrial spin-off from nuclear fusion research.
To increase the capacity of the code, a direct line has been set up with the experts at ANSYSİ Inc. Global Headquarters at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA. This has also enabled ANSYSİ to improve some of the circuit elements used in the simulation.