Tube conductor mode: geometrical description

Introduction

The tube conductor mode enables a description of unidirectional conductors of variously-shaped cross-section. This cross-section, which must be defined by a series of segments, can be:

  • full, possibly rectangular
  • hollow, but with a constant layer thickness

General process

The general process of description in tube conductor mode is presented in the table below. (The stages are detailed in the following blocks).

Stage Description
1 Description of a geometric tube (by the user)
2

Automatic creation (by the Flux PEEC software) of:

  • a unidirectional conductor associated to the created geometric tube
  • terminals for this conductor
3

Possible modification (by the user) of the physical characteristics of the unidirectional conductor created automatically (material / mesh /…)

Geometric tube: definition

A geometric tube is a tubular volume defined by a neutral fiber and a cross-section profile.

The neutral fiber, which constitutes the centerline of the tube, consists of segments that make any angles, not necessarily right.

The cross-section is a surface perpendicular to the neutral fiber and is defined by a profile. This profile is a series of segments having not necessarily a right angle between them.

In the case of a full cross-section, the profile represents the outline of this cross-section; in the case of a hollow cross-section it is its centerline.

The volume of the conductor is built by the extrusion of the cross-section profile along the neutral fiber.

Geometric tube: description

The main phases of the description of a geometric tube are presented in the table below.

Stage Description
1 Creation (optional) of geometric parameters
2

Creation of tube points*: points for the definition of segments constituent of the neutral fiber
3

Creation of the profile, if the cross-section of the conductor is not rectangular:

  • choice of profile type: closed or open

    note that an open profile will necessarily have to be associated to a hollow cross-section

  • definition of the origin (or center) of a 2D local coordinate system; this point is the point to which the tube points are connected during the geometric tube creation
  • definition of the coordinates of points to build the segments defining the profile in the local coordinate system

    if the profile is closed, the Flux PEEC software automatically adds the segment to connect the last point of the list to the first one
4

Creation of a geometric tube:

  • definition of the path of the neutral fiber (starting from the tube points)
  • choice of the cross-section type: rectangular, full or hollow
    • in the case of rectangular cross-section, definition of its width and height
    • in the case of full cross-section, use of the profile created previously during stage 3
    • in the case of hollow cross-section, use of the profile created previously during stage 3 and definition of the layer thickness

      note that the previously created profile is situated in the middle of the layer
5

Automatic creation (by the Flux PEEC software):

  • of a unidirectional conductor associated to the created geometric tube
  • of electric terminals for the conductor

* A tube point is compulsorily associated with a geometric tube. It cannot be used for the description of a geometry constructed by assimilation.