Isotropic / anisotropic materials

Introduction

The studied materials can be isotropic or anisotropic. In other words, the magnetic behavior of the material is as follows:

  • independent of the direction of the applied field (isotropic material)
  • dependent on the direction of the applied field (anisotropic material)

These two cases are presented in the following sections.

Isotropic materials

Isotropic materials are characterized by a law independent of the direction of the applied field.

The and vectors are always collinear.

The dependence between and is a scalar relationship, which is written as: D= ε .E

Anisotropic materials

Anisotropic materials are characterized by a law, which is dependent on the direction of the applied field.

The and vectors are not collinear.

The dependence between and is a vector relationship, which is written as:

with ε permittivity tensor:

… in Flux

The model provided in Flux is a simplified model.

The vector dependence between and which is written as: can therefore be expressed in the form of three curves: Dx(Ex), Dy(Ey), Dz(Ez)

The permittivity tensor is then written: