Use of a spreadsheet program in electromagnetics

This paper describes how a spreadsheet program can assist electromagnetics education at the undergraduate level. Spreadsheet software has proven to be an important pedagogical tool for a variety of problems in electrical engineering education. Using the power of the 123 macros, a menu driven spreadsheet program is used to compute the solution of some electrostatic boundary value problems for an introductory-level electromagnetics course. With the on-screen numerical and visual feedback and the ease of entering data, students will be able to take a close look at the effects of varying the input data of the model problem

Use of a spreadsheet program in electromagnetics

This paper describes how a spreadsheet program can assist electromagnetics education at the undergraduate level. Spreadsheet software has proven to be an important pedagogical tool for a variety of problems in electrical engineering education. Using the power of the 123 macros, a menu driven spreadsheet program is used to compute the solution of some electrostatic boundary value problems for an introductory-level electromagnetics course. With the on-screen numerical and visual feedback and the ease of entering data, students will be able to take a close look at the effects of varying the input data of the model problem

Automation of finite element aided design of induction motors using multi-slice 2D models

Purpose – To develop a practical design tool employing a general purpose electromagnetic finite element (FE) software package to perform automated simulation and performance analysis of induction motors in a design and optimisation process. Design/methodology/approach – Recent publications identified a suitable approach in applying 2D finite-element analysis to 3D problems. This, together with other similar work carried out on brushless DC motors, set out a framework for program development. Performance of the program was validated against practical test data. Findings – Finite-element analysis-based design tools can be realistically employed within a design office environment and are capable of providing solutions within acceptable time scales. Such tools no longer require user expertise in the underlying FE modelling method. The multiple slice technique was employed to model skew in three-phase induction motors and it was established that a four-slice model provides a good balance between accuracy and speed of computation. Research limitations/implications – Program development was based on one commercial FE software package and comparison with practical test data was not exhaustive. However, the approach outlined confirms the practical application. Future work could consider alternative approaches to optimisation. Practical implications – Computing hardware and commercially available 2D FE software have developed sufficiently to enable multi-slice techniques and optimisation to be employed in the analysis and design of machines. Originality/value – This paper provides a practical illustration of how commercial electromagnetic software can be employed as a design tool, demonstrating to industry that such tools no longer need to be bespoke and can realistically be used within a design office

A finite element based tool to support the understanding of electromagnetism concepts

A significant pedagogical innovation in teaching and learning Electromagnetics in undergraduate engineering programmes is the resource to simulations, preferably interactive. A classical approach would require a vector calculus background and three-dimensional geometrical resourcefulness, typically not maturated by undergraduate students. On the other hand, interactive simulations are able to support a meaningful visual insight into the fundamental laws and concepts of electromagnetic theory. This work describes an educational tool which relies in an open source graphical user interface to finite element software, able to provide interaction, accuracy and visual interpretations of the Electromagnetics fundamental laws and classical problems, able to hasten the students’ understanding, by lessening the abstract nature of vector fields, level curves and gradient fields. This tool is to be further developed to gather a set of vast examples and typical problems, able to support a web-based training platform.This work has been supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Penerapan visual basic for application spreadsheet excel untuk simulasi konsep motor listrik tiga fasa dan aplikasinya sebagai media pembelajaran

Abstrak. Penelitian ini merupakan studi yang bertujuan untuk: (1) membuat simulasi motor listrik tiga fasa dengan menggunakan Spreadsheet Excel; (2) mengetahui aplikasi Spreadsheet Excel pada media pembelajaran. Penelitian ini menggunakan VBA Spreadsheet Excel 2013 yang terdapat pada laptop. Semua tahapan penelitian dilakukan sepenuhnya di Laboratorium Komputer Pendidikan Fisika. Data hasil, terdapat beberapa hal yang menjadi catatan penting: (1) simulasi yang telah dibuat menggunakan Visual Basic for Application Spreadsheet Excel dapat menyesuaikan dengan keadaan nyata yang terjadi pada simulasi motor listrik tiga fasa dengan mengubah data parameter dan fungsi yang diasumsikan sesuai dengan keadaan yang sebenarnya, serta Macro VBA Excel sangat berguna untuk memberi tombol perintah pada cell yang datanya ingin kita ubah, sehingga dapat memberi kesan visual  pada grafik yang telah dibuat; (2) berdasarkan hasil uji simulasi dapat dikatakan bahwa pembuatan simulasi motor listrik tiga fasa sebagai media pembelajaran dengan menggunakan fitur spreadsheets dan macro VBA dalam Ms. Excel dapat digunakan untuk mensimulasikan sebuah kasus yang berkaitan dengan motor listrik tiga fasa yang diberi arus akan timbul medan magnet yang dapat memutar rotor dan dapat menganalisis perubahan posisi setiap fasa pada motor listrik tiga fasa.Kata kunci: Media pembelajaran, VBA for spreadsheet excel, simulasi motor listik tiga fasa Abstract. This research is a study that aims to: (1) simulate a three-phase electric motor using an Excel spreadsheet; (2) knowing the Excel Spreadsheet application on learning media. This study uses the VBA Excel 2013 Spreadsheet found on a laptop. All stages of research are carried out entirely in the Physics Education Computer Laboratory. The result data, several things are important notes: (1) simulations that have been made using the Visual Basic for Application Excel Spreadsheet can adjust to the real situation that occurs in the simulation of a three-phase electric motor by changing the parameter data and assumed functions according to the circumstances actually, as well as Excel VBA Macros are very useful for giving command buttons to cells whose data we want to change, so that it can give a visual impression to the graph that has been created; (2) based on the simulation test results it can be said that the manufacture of a three-phase electric motor simulation as a learning medium using the spreadsheets and macro VBA features in Ms. Excel can be used to simulate a case related to a three-phase electric motor that is given a current, a magnetic field will arise that can rotate the rotor and can analyze changes in the position of each phase in a three-phase electric motor.Keywords: learning media, VBA for excel spreadsheet, three phase electric motor simulatio

ASCR/HEP Exascale Requirements Review Report

This draft report summarizes and details the findings, results, and recommendations derived from the ASCR/HEP Exascale Requirements Review meeting held in June, 2015. The main conclusions are as follows. 1) Larger, more capable computing and data facilities are needed to support HEP science goals in all three frontiers: Energy, Intensity, and Cosmic. The expected scale of the demand at the 2025 timescale is at least two orders of magnitude -- and in some cases greater -- than that available currently. 2) The growth rate of data produced by simulations is overwhelming the current ability, of both facilities and researchers, to store and analyze it. Additional resources and new techniques for data analysis are urgently needed. 3) Data rates and volumes from HEP experimental facilities are also straining the ability to store and analyze large and complex data volumes. Appropriately configured leadership-class facilities can play a transformational role in enabling scientific discovery from these datasets. 4) A close integration of HPC simulation and data analysis will aid greatly in interpreting results from HEP experiments. Such an integration will minimize data movement and facilitate interdependent workflows. 5) Long-range planning between HEP and ASCR will be required to meet HEP's research needs. To best use ASCR HPC resources the experimental HEP program needs a) an established long-term plan for access to ASCR computational and data resources, b) an ability to map workflows onto HPC resources, c) the ability for ASCR facilities to accommodate workflows run by collaborations that can have thousands of individual members, d) to transition codes to the next-generation HPC platforms that will be available at ASCR facilities, e) to build up and train a workforce capable of developing and using simulations and analysis to support HEP scientific research on next-generation systems.Comment: 77 pages, 13 Figures; draft report, subject to further revisio

Evaluation and Analysis of Array Antennas for Passive Coherent Location (PCL) Systems

Passive Coherent Location (PCL) systems use a special form of a radar receiver that exploits the ambient radiation in the environment to detect and track targets. Typical transmissions of opportunity that might be exploited include television and FM radiobroadcasts. PCL implies the use of a non-radar electromagnetic sources of illumination, such as commercial radio or television broadcasts also referred as transmitters of opportunity. The use of such illumination sources means that the receiver needs to process waveforms that are not designed for radar purposes. As a consequence, the receivers for PCL systems must be much more customized than traditional receivers, in order to obtain the most appropriate and best signal. Since antennas are the eyes of the receivers, processing of an incoming signal starts with the antennas. Yet, because PCL system is non-traditional, there has not been much work done in the evaluation of the antennas, even though PCL systems have some demanding constraints on the antenna system. During this research various array antenna designs will be studied by their radiation patterns, gain factors, input impedances, power efficiencies and other features by simulating these arrays in the computer environment. The goal is to show the better performance of the array antennas compared to traditional Yagi-Uda antennas that are currently used for PCL systems

Spreadsheet Implementations for Solving Boundary-Value Problems in Electromagnetics

Electromagnetics is arguably one of the most challenging courses in any electrical engineering curriculum. A solid foundation in vector calculus and a good intuition based on physical grounds are the normal requirements for a student to successfully complete this course. This paper presents a simple, yet powerful approach to introducing boundary-value problems arising in electrostatics. The principles of electrostatics find numerous applications such as electrostatic machines, lightning rods, gas purification, food purification, laser printers, and crop spraying, to name a few. This paper focuses on the use of spreadsheets for solving electrostatic boundary-value problems. Sample problems that introduce the finite difference and the finite element methods are presented. The geometries included in the problems are sufficiently nontrivial for hand calculation or analytical solution, but reasonably manageable using spreadsheets. Although specialized software is available for this purpose, oftentimes such sophistication tends to obscure the mathematical underpinnings of the solution methods. Spreadsheets offer a transparent alternative − perhaps proximate to hand calculation − for students to better appreciate the numerical methods for solving boundary-value problems

Development of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral

To operate effectively in today’s workforce engineers need to have a muti-disciplinary perspective along with substantial disciplinary depth. This broad perspective cannot be achieved by merely taking 2 or 3 engineering courses outside of the major, but rather will require a radical change in the way we educate engineers. The faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of New Haven have developed a new approach: the Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral. This curricular model provides the needed mix of breadth and depth, along with the desired professional skills, by providing carefully crafted, well-coordinated curricular experiences in the first two years. The Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral is a four semester sequence of engineering courses, matched closely with the development of students’ mathematical sophistication and analytical capabilities and integrated with coursework in the sciences. Students develop a conceptual understanding of engineering basics in a series of courses which stress practical applications of these principles. Topics in these courses include electrical circuits, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, material balances, properties of materials, structural mechanics and thermodynamics. Unlike the traditional approach, however, each of the foundation courses includes a mix of these topics, presented in a variety of disciplinary contexts. A solid background is developed by touching key concepts at several points along the spiral in different courses, adding depth and sophistication at each pass. Each foundation course also stresses the development of several essential skills, such as problem-solving, oral and written communication, the design process, teamwork, project management, computer analysis methods, laboratory investigation, data analysis and model development. Students go on to build substantial depth in some of the foundation areas, while other topics may not be further developed, depending on their chosen discipline. Thus the foundation courses serve both as the basis for depth in disciplinary study and as part of the broad multidisciplinary background. This paper will discuss the design and pedagogical philosophy of the Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral and describe several of the novel courses in the program

Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Analysis of a Leaky Traveling Wave MicroStrip Antenna

This thesis provides the groundwork that will enable the development of a lightweight, inexpensive, aerodynamic, and broadband antenna. Whether for radar or communication, an antenna with these properties would be a force multiplier for the smaller, limited payload air vehicles the United States Air Force will pursue in the coming years. Several microstrip antennas using the first higher order mode were simulated with the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. The propagation constant of each antenna was extracted from the resulting field distribution for comparison with a transverse resonance approximation, measured far-field patterns, and other simulated antennas. Variations of the geometry were explored to investigate field propagation, improve the far-field pattern, and improve bandwidth. A simplified fabrication method was demonstrated that shortens production time and improves the far-field pattern