Discussion Forum

Hi!

I have been trying to model an electromagnet in 3D that is flat and coiled like a spiral on a 2D plane (so the coils get smaller as they progress towards the center of the 2D structure). It would seem the best way to do this would be to use a numerical coil, however, the width of the wires is so small as compared to the rest of the model that I get errors. I was able to get a model to run well by using a linear muilticoil as a boundary instead of a volume, and setting one side of my boundary on the boundary of the 3D volume -I've attached an example. I am unsure whether this is the best way to model what I am looking for - in part because the linear settings say that the reference endes must be straight (which they're not) and in part because it's unclear what it is doing with the extra coils when I change the number of coils. I am hoping that it is taking the number of coils and the wire thickness and winding them in a 2D plane such that current would be flowing in from somewhere on the outside of the boundary and then out from a central point, but I'm not convinced this is the case since it says for linear coils the current must originate and terminate at exterior boundaries. Is this an appropriate way to model this type of coil, or must I go back to my error-filled numerical coil?

Thanks!