Automatic finite-element grid generation for motor design analysis

Abstract

General Electric Corporate Research and Development, in concert with the DC Motor and Generator Department, has developed an automatic finite-element grid generator for motor design analysis. This generator was developed to eliminate the drudgery of creating node points and elements for a user in a production design environment. The software package is a modular set of generalized finite-element model-manipulating algorithms, coupled with an application-specific routine, to automatically build and merge model sections. Most dc motor designs of 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-pole configurations can be accommodated. When a design that cannot be adequately modeled with this program is encountered, modification and editing features within the software allow alterations to the model data base. This finite-element preprocessing package is integrated with the DC Motor and Generator Department design analysis procedures.