Lecture
Wednesday 13:00 - 14:30
Electromagnetic modeling describes the calculation, shaping, and control of electromagnetic fields in order to develop electromagnetic systems with the desired electrical properties. These can be components such as antennas, resonators, filters, etc. However, they can also form a more complex electromagnetic system when embedded in a larger environment (e.g., an antenna in a radio system within a car with other radio systems or a functional electromagnetic implant in the human body).
Within physics, electromagnetic field theory is fully described and can be mathematically described for all macroscopic electromagnetic processes by Maxwell's four equations. From this, all phenomena (e.g., wave propagation) can also be analytically derived and understood. However, concrete analytical calculation is only possible for geometrically simple arrangements with reasonable effort (cf. your experience from ET2 and TET).
Parallel to increasing requirements and higher integration density in electromagnetic systems, computer-oriented numerical solution methods are therefore being developed. These have now been implemented in commercial software for electromagnetic modeling, so that their use has established an industry standard in the development of current and future systems. Efficient electromagnetic modeling therefore already enables the mastery of immense complexity in electromagnetic systems and reduces the number of redesigns in the development process.
In order to use electromagnetic modeling software efficiently for complex problems, a fundamental understanding of the methods used is required. This is the key to selecting a method appropriate to the problem, efficient modeling, and ultimately validating the results without waiting for the results of a test setup.
The lecture will cover, among other things
- phenomenological descriptions of wave propagation effects,
- discussions of the basics of numerical electromagnetic modeling,
- fundamentals of the most important methods
- Moment Method – MoM,
- Finite Element Method – FEM,
- Finite Difference Time Domain – FDTD
are discussed,
- their areas of application, advantages and disadvantages, and hybridization concepts are discussed
- simple method implementations are carried out in MATLAB with the aim of testing the applicability yourself
- principles for efficient electromagnetic modeling are discussed using commercial software based on current problems and investigated by the students themselves
The aim of the lecture is to
- explain how electromagnetic field calculations are used in engineering practice to develop complex systems,
- show how numerical methods (some of which are familiar from the lecture ‘Numerical Mathematics’) are applied to electrical engineering problems,
- provide a sound introduction to electromagnetic modelling, which is now an established method in many areas of engineering.
Structure of the course:
2 lectures + 1 tutorial + 1 seminar
However, practical modules are also embedded in the lecture, so that there are topic-specific overlaps between the lecture and the tutorial. After classic calculation exercises, implementation and modelling tasks using proprietary and commercial software will be increasingly incorporated into the course of the lecture. Smaller task packages are to be completed by the students themselves as part of a term paper.
Context in the curriculum:
This lecture is a new version of the lecture ‘Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves’ and replaces it. It is part of the elective and compulsory elective area of the B.Sc. and M.Sc. ETIT programmes. It is aimed at students whoare interested in the calculation of electromagnetic fields and the development of electromagnetic systems, would like to better understand how the abstract methods of the lecture ‘Numerical Mathematics’ are implemented and applied in an electrical engineering context.
Exercise
Wednesday 14:45 - 15:30
