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Common formulations of the eddy current problem involve either vector or scalar potentials, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. An impasse arises when using scalar potential-based formulations in the presence of conductors with non-trivial topology. A remedy is to augment the approximation spaces with generators of the first cohomology group. Most existing algorithms for this require a special, e.g., hierarchical, finite element basis construction. Using insights from de Rham complex approximation with splines, we show that additional conditions are here unnecessary. Spanning tree techniques can be adapted to operate on a hexahedral mesh resulting from isomorphisms between spline spaces of differential forms and de Rham complexes on an auxiliary control mesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, isogeometric mortaring is used for the simulation of a six-pole permanent magnet synchronous machine. Isogeometric mortaring is especially well suited for the efficient computation of rotating electric machines, as it allows for an exact geometry representation for arbitrary rotation angles without the need for remeshing. The appropriate B-spline spaces needed for the solution of Maxwell’s equations and the corresponding mortar spaces are introduced. Unlike classical finite-element methods (FEMs), their construction is straightforward in the isogeometric case. The torque in the machine is computed using two different methods, that is, Arkkio’s method and using the Lagrange multipliers from the mortaring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cell method (CM) or discrete geometric approach (DGA) in the time domain, already introduced by Codecasa et al. in 2008 for the coupled Ampere–Maxwell and Faraday equations, is here recast as a Galerkin Method similar to the finite-element method (FEM). In particular, it is shown to be a mixed method comprising an explicit scheme and two discontinuous Galerkin (DG) FEM spaces formulated on dual meshes, in which each of the two function spaces provides a continuous numerical flux choice for its dual mesh counterpart. The implemented version is shown to compare favorably in terms of accuracy and efficiency with respect to the classic conforming FEM scheme using Whitney elements. When tested on the same tetrahedral mesh, the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) condition for the proposed approach is a factor of 2 less restrictive on the time step with respect to the curl-conforming FEM scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two ways of solving eddy current problems with an edge element $h$ -conforming formulation in the case of non-simply-connected conductors: first employs a “fake” artificial conductivity in part of the insulator. Second uses the cohomology theory to define a scalar magnetic potential in the whole insulator. This contribution provides, for the first time, a thorough comparison between these methods. We concentrate on the accuracy and computational effort required to solve a problem using both of the two methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution addresses the exploitation of cyclic symmetry in boundary integral formulations for eddy current problems formulated with a magnetic scalar potential. The novelty of the contribution is how to rigorously treat non-simply connected conductors. In particular, a general algorithm to compute a set of suitable cohomology generators is introduced. The algorithm is purely combinatorial and exhibits a linear-time worst-case complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental extension for a recently introduced numerical scheme for the time-domain solution of Maxwell’s equations on tetrahedral meshes is introduced: the algorithm is here shown to be able to handle materials with finite electric resistivity, without losing any of its amenable properties. A theoretic stability analysis, valid for the extended algorithm, is presented for the first time, and a Courant–Friedrich–Lewy sufficient condition on the maximum time step allowed for the scheme to be stable is derived analytically. This result is completely novel for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-like approaches on tetrahedral grids. Finally, the accuracy of the extended algorithm is tested with respect to the well-known implicit finite-element method scheme on tetrahedral grids, to the canonical FDTD scheme on Cartesian orthogonal grids, and to a commercial code implementing FDTD with staircasing mitigation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently introduced time-domain method for the numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations on unstructured grids is reformulated in a novel way, with the aim of implementation on graphical processing units (GPUs). Numerical tests show that the GPU implementation of the resulting scheme yields correct results, while also offering an order of magnitude in speedup and still preserving all of the main properties of the original finite-difference time-domain algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving eddy current problems formulated by using a magnetic scalar potential in the insulator requires a topological pre-processing to find the so-called first cohomology basis of the insulating region, which may be very time-consuming for challenging industrially driven problems. The physics-inspired Dłotko–Specogna (DS) algorithm was shown to be superior to alternatives in performing such a topological pre-processing. Yet, the DS algorithm is particularly fast when it produces as output not a regular cohomology basis but a so-called lazy one, which contains the regular one but it keeps also some additional redundant elements. Having a regular basis may be advantageous over the lazy basis if a technique to produce it would take about the same time as the computation of a lazy basis. In the literature, such a technique is missing. This paper covers this gap by introducing modifications to the DS algorithm to compute a regular basis of the first cohomology group in practically the same time as the generation of a lazy cohomology basis. The speedup of this modified DS algorithm with respect to the best alternative reaches more than two orders of magnitudes on challenging benchmark problems. This demonstrates the potential impact of the proposed contribution in the low-frequency computational electromagnetics community and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents in detail the extension of the T-Ω formulation for eddy currents based on higher-order hierarchical basis functions so that it can automatically deal with conductors of arbitrary topology. To this aim, we supplement the classical hierarchical basis functions with nonlocal basis functions spanning the first de Rham cohomology group of the insulating region. Such nonlocal basis functions may be efficiently and automatically found in negligible time with the recently introduced Dłotko–Specogna (DS) algorithm. The approach presented in this paper merges techniques together which to some extent already existed in literature but they were never grouped together and tested as a single unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a numerical method named mixed high order (MHO) to obtain high order of convergence for electrostatic problems solved on general polyhedral meshes. The method, based on high-order local reconstructions of differential operators from face and cell degrees of freedom, exhibits a moderate computational cost thanks to hybridization and static condensation that eliminate cell unknowns. After surveying the method, we assess its effectiveness for 3-D problems by comparing, for the first time in literature, its performances with classical conforming finite elements. Moreover, we emphasize the algebraic equivalence of MHO in the lowest order with the analog formulation obtained with the discrete geometric approach or the finite-integration technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When solving eddy-current problems containing topologically non-trivial conductors with formulations using the magnetic scalar potential in the insulators, cohomology generators are necessary to obtain a well-defined problem. The Dłotko–Specogna (DS) algorithm is a simple and efficient tool to compute the lazy generators of the first cohomology group of the insulator that can be used in such potential design. This paper introduces an upgrade in the DS algorithm that speeds up the execution for very complicated geometries. Moreover, this paper provides, for the first time, a detailed comparison of computational resources needed for the topological pre-processing by our toolbox and by the tool to compute a standard cohomology basis available in the mesh generator GMSH. In addition, we make our implementation of DS algorithm available for download on request for non-profit use as a Topoprocessor package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient boundary integral formulations based on stream functions for solving eddy current problems in thin conductors, which are modeled by the orientable combinatorial two-manifold with boundary, need generators of the first relative cohomology group to make the problem well defined. The state-of-the-art technique is to compute directly the relative cohomology generators with a combinatorial algorithm having linear worst-case complexity. In this paper, we propose to compute the relative cohomology generators from the homology generators, introducing a novel and general algorithm whose running time is again linear in the worst case. The advantage is that one may use an off-the-shelf software to compute the homology generators and implement only a simple and cheap procedure to obtain the required relative cohomology generators. Although the presented applications relate to ac power systems, the proposed technique is of general interest, and may be used for other applications in computational science and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a technique to efficiently compute optimal cuts required to solve 3-D eddy current problems by magnetic scalar potential formulations. By optimal cuts, we mean the representatives of (co)homology generators with minimum support among the ones with a prescribed boundary. In this paper, we obtain them by starting from the minimal (co)homology generators of the combinatorial two-manifold representing the interface between conducting and insulating regions. Optimal generators are useful because they reduce the fill-in of the sparse matrix and ease human-guided basis selection. In addition, provided that the mesh is refined enough to allow it, they are not self-intersecting. The proposed technique is based on a novel graph-theoretic algorithm to solve a maximum circulation network flow problem in unweighted graphs that typically runs in linear time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper and the companion work present the results of a comparative study between the tunnel-FETs (TFETs) and conventional MOSFETs for ultralow power digital circuits targeting a V\rm{DD} below 500 mV. For this purpose, we employed numerical TCAD simulations, as well as mixed device–circuit and lookup-table simulations using either the SENTAURUS or the Verilog-A environment. In particular, in this paper, we explore the device–circuit interaction in n- and p-type TFETs, and propose a design leading to a good tradeoff between the current leakage and transistor imbalance at ultralow V\rm{DD} , as required in ultralow voltage systems. Then, we systematically compare the $I_{{{\rm OFF}}}$ , $I_{{{\rm ON}}}$ , effective capacitance, OFF-state and ON-state stacking factors for TFETs, SOI, and bulk MOSFETs in a wide range of V\rm{DD} . These results allow us to infer preliminary indications about the amenability for an aggressive voltage scaling of TFETs compared with MOSFETs, which will be further developed in the companion paper. We also report simulation results for the sensitivity of the transistors to the variation of some key device parameters. Even these process variation results set the stage for a more thorough investigation addressed in the companion paper about the limits imposed by process variability to voltage scaling for either TFETs or MOSFETs circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]