Abaqus/Standard offers several analysis procedures to model piezoelectric, electrical conduction, and electromagnetic phenomena. The distinct electrical phenomena modeled by these procedures is described first, followed by a brief overview of each procedure.
Piezoelectric effect is the electromechanical interaction exhibited by some materials. This coupled electrostatic-structural response is modeled using piezoelectric analysis in Abaqus/Standard. In this procedure the electric potential is a degree of freedom and its conjugate is the electric charge.
Coupled thermal-electrical conduction, with or without structural coupling, is modeled using electrical procedures. In these procedures the electric potential is a degree of freedom and its conjugate is the electric current. While transient effects are ignored in electrical conduction, thus making it steady state, thermal fields can be modeled either as transient or steady state.
Electromagnetic analysis is used to model the full coupling between time-varying electric and magnetic fields by solving Maxwell's equations. In such an analysis the magnetic vector potential is a degree of freedom and its conjugate is the surface current.
The following electrostatic analysis procedure is available in Abaqus/Standard:
Piezoelectric analysis: In a piezoelectric material an electric potential gradient causes straining, while stress causes an electric potential in the material (“Piezoelectric analysis,” Section 6.7.2). This coupling is provided by defining the piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients of a material and can be used in natural frequency extraction, transient dynamic analysis, both linear and nonlinear static stress analysis, and steady-state dynamic analysis procedures. In all procedures, including nonlinear statics and dynamics, the piezoelectric behavior is always assumed to be linear.
The following electrical conduction analyses procedures are available in Abaqus/Standard:
Coupled thermal-electrical analysis: The electric potential and temperature fields can be solved simultaneously by performing a coupled thermal-electrical analysis (“Coupled thermal-electrical analysis,” Section 6.7.3). In these problems the energy dissipated by an electrical current flowing through a conductor is converted into thermal energy, and the electrical conductivity can, in turn, be temperature dependent. Thermal loads can be applied, but deformation of the structure is not considered. Coupled thermal-electrical problems can be linear or nonlinear.
Fully coupled thermal-electrical-structural analysis: A coupled thermal-electrical-structural analysis is used to solve simultaneously for the stress/displacement, the electric potential, and the temperature fields. A coupled analysis is used when the thermal, electrical, and mechanical solutions affect each other strongly. An example of such a process is resistance spot welding, where two or more metal parts are joined by fusion at discrete points at the material interface. The fusion is caused by heat generated due to the current flow at the contact points, which depends on the pressure applied at these points. These problems can be transient or steady state and linear or nonlinear. Cavity radiation effects cannot be included in a fully coupled thermal-electrical-structural analysis. See “Fully coupled thermal-electrical-structural analysis,” Section 6.7.4, for more details.
The following electromagnetic analysis procedure is available in Abaqus/Standard:
Eddy current analysis: In this analysis magnetic vector potential is solved for, from which both electric and magnetic fields are computed in the entire domain. For example, eddy currents induced in a workpiece that is in the vicinity of a source of excitation (such as a coil carrying alternating current) can be modeled. An eddy current analysis can be steady state or time harmonic, and the procedure supports linear electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability material properties. See “Time-harmonic eddy current analysis,” Section 6.7.5, for more details.