Computational Electromagnetics Research Articles

Non-equilibrium plasma distribution in the wake of a slender blunted-nose cone in hypersonic flight and its effect on the radar cross section

This paper presents numerical results in hypersonic aerothermodynamics, a critical field within aerospace engineering, traditionally focusing on reentry capsules and more recently, slender hypersonic vehicles. While capsules typically undergo near-field analysis to assess heat flux and pressure distributions for Thermal Protection System sizing, slender bodies demand additional attention to wake dynamics due to plasma presence. Plasma can significantly affect the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of these vehicles, which require tracking during flight due to their maneuvering and sustained flight capability.Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics tools, we explore plasma distribution around a slender blunted cone, considering altitudes and Mach number regimes that may characterize gliding or sustained atmospheric hypersonic flight, emphasizing its impact on RCS. Our study integrates an aerothermodynamic model incorporating non-equilibrium relaxation equations for gas composition and energy. By evaluating characteristic plasma quantities, we underscore the importance of wake plasma for subsequent electromagnetic wave analysis, crucial for understanding RCS. Furthermore, we highlight the necessity for collaborative efforts between Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Electro-Magnetics (CEM) disciplines to address this challenging interdisciplinary problem.

Multi-receptive-field physics-informed neural network for complex electromagnetic media

Acquiring the electromagnetic response of intricate media at the nanoscale constitutes a pivotal phase in the design intricacies of nanophotonic apparatuses. Conventional numerical algorithms often necessitate intricate and specialized treatments to accommodate the unique properties of the medium, coupled with substantial computational time and resource demands. In recent years, the advent of deep learning technology has heralded numerous advancements in the domain of computational electromagnetics, albeit with a scarcity of solvers tailored for versatile complex media. Consequently, this study introduces an innovative multi-receptive-field physics-informed neural network (MRF-PINN) designed to tackle nano optical scattering predicaments inherent in media exhibiting dispersion, inhomogeneity, anisotropy, nonlinearity, and chirality. This framework adeptly captures electromagnetic perturbations surrounding scatterers via variable-scale receptive fields, thereby enhancing prediction precision. Within the training regimen, a scale balancing algorithm is proposed to expedite network convergence. Empirical findings demonstrate that a fully trained MRF-PINN proficiently reconstructs electromagnetic field distributions within complex nanomaterials within a mere tens of milliseconds of inference time. Such quasi real-time capabilities herald a novel approach to supplant the arduous forward calculation processes inherent in nanomaterial design workflows.

MEDEA: A New Model for Emulating Radio Antenna Beam Patterns for 21 cm Cosmology and Antenna Design Studies

In 21 cm experimental cosmology, accurate characterization of a radio telescope’s antenna beam response is essential to measure the 21 cm signal. Computational electromagnetic (CEM) simulations estimate the antenna beam pattern and frequency response by subjecting the EM model to different dependencies, or beam hyperparameters, such as soil dielectric constant or orientation with the environment. However, it is computationally expensive to search all possible parameter spaces to optimize the antenna design or accurately represent the beam to the level required for use as a systematic model in 21 cm cosmology. We therefore present the Model for Emulating Directivities and Electric fields of Antennas (MEDEA), an emulator that rapidly and accurately generates far-field radiation patterns over a large hyperparameter space. MEDEA takes a subset of beams simulated by CEM software, spatially decomposes them into coefficients on a complete, linear basis, and then interpolates them to form new beams at arbitrary hyperparameters. We test MEDEA on an analytical dipole and two numerical beams motivated by upcoming lunar lander missions, and then employ MEDEA as a model to fit mock radio spectrometer data to extract covariances on the input beam hyperparameters. We find that the interpolated beams have rms relative errors of at most 10−2 using 20 input beams or less, and that fits to mock data are able to recover the input beam hyperparameters when the model and mock are derived from the same set of beams. When a systematic bias is introduced into the mock data, extracted beam hyperparameters exhibit bias, as expected. We propose several extensions to MEDEA to potentially account for such bias.

Femto-Laser Processed Metasurface With Fano Response: Applications to a High Performance Refractometric Sensor

The practical development of compact modern nanophotonic devices relies on the availability of fast and low-cost fabrication techniques applicable to a wide variety of materials and designs. We have engraved a split grating geometry on stainless steel using femtosecond laser processing. This structure serves as a template to fabricate efficient plasmonic sensors, where a thick gold layer is grown conformally on it. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images confirm the generation of the split laser-induced periodic spatial structures. The optical reflectance of our sensors shows two dips corresponding to the excitation of surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) at two different wavelengths. Furthermore, the asymmetric shape of these spectral responses reveals a strong and narrow Fano resonance. Our computational electromagnetism models accurately reproduce the reflectivity of the fabricated structure. The spectral responses of both the simulated and fabricated structures are fitted to the Fano model that coherently combines the narrow SPRs with the broad continuum background caused by diffraction. The parameters extracted from the fitting, such as the resonance wavelengths and line widths, are used to evaluate the performance of our device as a refractometric sensor for liquids. The maximum sensitivity and figure of merit are 880 nm/RIU and 80 RIU−1, respectively. Besides the compact design of our sensing device, its performance exceeds the theoretical maximum sensitivity of a classical Kretschmann setup.

Research on Radar Target Detection Based on the Electromagnetic Scattering Imaging Algorithm and the YOLO Network

In this paper, the radar imaging technology based on the time-domain (TD) electromagnetic scattering algorithm is used to generate image datasets quickly and apply them to target detection research. Considering that radar images are different from optical images, this paper proposes an improved strategy for the traditional You Only Look Once (YOLO)v3 network to improve target detection accuracy on radar images. The speckle noise in radar images can cover the real information of a target image and increase the difficulty of target detection. The attention mechanisms are added to the traditional YOLOv3 network to strengthen the weight of the target region. By comparing the target detection accuracy under different attention mechanisms, an attention module with higher detection accuracy is obtained. The validity of the proposed detection network is verified on a simulation dataset, a measured real dataset, and a mixed dataset. This paper is about an interdisciplinary study of computational electromagnetics, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence. Experiments verify that the proposed composite network has better detection performance.

Computational Electromagnetics and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society: Seventy-five years of shared history, part 1

Computational Electromagnetics and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society: Seventy-five years of shared history, part 1

Relativistic beam loading, recoil-reduction, and residual-wake acceleration with a covariant retarded-potential integrator

An algorithm is demonstrated that performs first-principles tracking of relativistic charged-particles. A covariant approach is used which relies on retarded vector potentials for trajectory integration instead of performing electromagnetic field calculations. When accounting for retardation effects, the peak vector potential and corresponding Lorentz force in the direction of travel increase asymptotically for high-β particles. This produces a very strong field distribution at small angles from the particle’s direction of travel, which can result in considerable change in momentum when approaching a conducting or charged object. We study these dynamics using protons and electrons at relativistic energies passing through apertures in conducting surfaces, where substantial energy shifts are observed for particles passing within roughly 10μm of the aperture boundary.We also simulate breaking a test particle’s line of sight with a conductor or other charged body. After this instant, the test particle continues to accelerate due to residual fields, but no longer produces an opposing force on any charged or conducting object; thus any recoil on the enclosing structure is effectively reduced. In this test, a 1% energy gain is observed for an 85MeV electron traversing its reflected wake after having conducting plate in its path screened by a dielectric object.We then incorporate a micro-scale dielectric laser acceleration (DLA) device into our simulations. Compared with a 2 mm DLA on its own, we find a factor of two increase in energy gain when adding a series of conducting-surface choppers.

Spectral Control by Silver Nanoparticle-Based Metasurfaces for Mitigation of UV Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells are considered to be one of the most promising solar cell designs in terms of photovoltaic efficiency. However, their practical deployment is strongly affected by their short lifetimes, mostly caused by environmental conditions and UV degradation. In this contribution, we present a metasurface made of silver nanoparticles used as a UV filter on a perovskite solar cell. The UV-blocking layer was fabricated and morphologically and compositionally analyzed. Its optical response, in terms of optical transmission, was also experimentally measured. These results were compared with simulations made through the use of a well-proven computational electromagnetism model. After analyzing the discrepancies between the experimental and simulated results and checking those obtained from electron beam microscopy and electron dispersion spectroscopy, we could see that a residue from fabrication, sodium citrate, strongly modified the optical response of the system, generating a redshift of about 50 nm. Then, we proposed and simulated the optical behavior of core-shell nanoparticles made of silver and silica. The calculated spectral absorption at the active perovskite layer shows how the appropriate selection of the geometrical parameters of these core-shell particles is able to tune the absorption at the active layer by removing a significant portion of the UV band and reducing the absorption of the active layer from 90% to 5% at a resonance wavelength of 403 nm.

Directional picoantenna behavior of tunnel junctions formed by an atomic-scale surface defect.

Plasmonic nanoantennas have attracted much attention lately, among other reasons because of the directionality of light emitted by fluorophores coupled to their localized surface plasmon resonances. Plasmonic picocavities, i.e., cavities with mode volumes below 1 nm3, could act as enhanced antennas due to their extreme field confinement, but the directionality on their emission is difficult to control. In this work, we show that the plasmonic picocavity formed between the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and a metal surface with a monoatomic step shows directional emission profiles and, thus, can be considered as a realization of a picoantenna. Electromagnetic calculations demonstrate that the observed directionality arises from the reshaping and tilting of the surface charges induced at the scanning tip due to the atomic step. Our results pave the way to exploiting picoantennas as an efficient way for the far-field probing and control of light-matter interactions below the nanoscale.

Electron spins from a molecular perspective: an interview with Song Gao.

Spin chemistry has emerged as an interdisciplinary field that focuses on electron spins in molecules and related applications in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and information science. It will play a crucial role in technological innovations. The chemistry of spins is deeply related to the essence of chemical bonds, chemical catalysis, enzyme catalysis, optical and electromagnetic properties, quantum computation and quantum precision measurements. The related research is intersectional, cutting-edge and has a wide range of application prospects. National Science Review (NSR) recently interviewed Prof. Song Gao to discuss spin chemistry. Prof. Gao is a renowned inorganic chemist and an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is the president of Sun Yat-sen University and the founder of the Spin-X Institute of South China University of Technology. He is recognized as a leader in coordination chemistry and molecular magnetism, and has strong academic influence. Since 2008, he has served on the International Advisory Committee of International Conference on Molecule-Based Magnets, and organized and chaired its 2010 conference. Prof. Gao's primary research topics include molecular nanomagnets; the relationship between geometric structures, electronic structures and magnetism of molecules; and the spin states and reactivity of molecules.

Calculation of AC loss using 2D homogenization method for HTS synchronous condenser rotor and validation

Compared with low-temperature superconductors, second-generation high-temperature superconducting materials offer higher current densities and temperature margins, which provide a boost to the development of superconducting condenser towards large capacity and light weight. In this paper, a 3D-to-2D dimensionality reduction and simplification method is proposed to address the problem of massive computation of 3D finite element model during the optimization of superconducting condenser rotor performance parameters. This method splits the pole based on the geometric characteristics of the rotor pole, establishes a 2D simplified model of each part of the pole after splitting, and uses the simplified model to calculate the key physical quantities such as the magnetic field, AC loss, temperature change, etc., during the excitation process of the superconducting condenser rotor. This method effectively reduces the computational complexity of the model and improves the efficiency of the calculation and iterative optimization of the magnet pole parameters. In order to verify the correctness of the electromagnetic calculation results of the simplified model, the rotor magnet model was assembled to carry out experiments in liquid nitrogen bath, and the experimental results were in good agreement with the calculation results.

Electromagnetic forces and their finite element computation

AbstractThis paper introduces the concepts of differential geometry that are necessary to establish a systematic definition for electromagnetic forces by means of a natural thermodynamic approach. It is shown that standard electromagnetic force formulae used in finite element computational electromagnetism are particular instances of that general approach. Finally, the paper offers a complete conceptual framework, as well as a mathematical toolbox, to derive electromagnetic force formulae for multi‐physics finite element models with complex materials.

Terahertz wide-band wide-angle absorber and polarization converter based on VO2 metamaterial

In this study, a Terahertz wide-band wide-angle absorber and polarization converter based on VO2 metamaterial is proposed. The device is simulated by using full-wave electromagnetic computing software CST. The device functions as a wide-band absorber while VO2 is in the metallic mode. In the 1.82 THz to 4.27 THz band, the absorption efficiency exceeds 90% and the relative bandwidth reaches 81.4%. The absorption mechanism is analyzed bying equivalent circuit theory. Additionally, the absorber can work at large polarization angle and incident angle. While VO2 is in the insulated mode, the design can convert the incident y-polarized terahertz wave into the x-polarized state and realize the transformation of linear polarization. Polarization conversion efficiency (PCR) exceeds 90% in the band of 1.57 THz to 3.82 THz, with a relative bandwidth of 83.5%. The device also supports large incidence angle tolerances. These results show that the disigned metamaterial device has potential applications in absorption, polarization conversion and imaging.

Study on microstructure characterization of steel using on multi-frequency electromagnetic detection and FE simulation calculation

Microstructures dominate mechanical properties of steel materials. Monitoring and controlling microstructure variations are important for high-quality steel productions. In this study, the multi-frequency electromagnetic technology is used to effectively characterize changes of steel microstructures. Steel samples with individual micro- components are obtained using different heat treatments and are measured using a self-designed multi-frequency electromagnetic system. Micro- and Macro- FE models are developed to discuss electromagnetic responses on steel microstructures with different phases, grain size and grain boundaries. The relative permeability of different steel microstructures are calculated and discussed. Results show that the low frequency inductance will increase with the increase of ferrite grain size and ferrite fraction. The relative permeability of single ferrite grain boundary is determined to be 165 and the orientation of grain boundary can influence the relative permeability of steel microstructures.

Manufactured solutions for an electromagnetic slot model

The accurate modeling of electromagnetic penetration is an important topic in computational electromagnetics. Electromagnetic penetration occurs through intentional or inadvertent openings in an otherwise closed electromagnetic scatterer, which prevent the contents from being fully shielded from external fields. To efficiently model electromagnetic penetration, aperture or slot models can be used with surface integral equations to solve Maxwell's equations. A necessary step towards establishing the credibility of these models is to assess the correctness of the implementation of the underlying numerical methods through code verification. Surface integral equations and slot models yield multiple interacting sources of numerical error and other challenges, which render traditional code-verification approaches ineffective. In this paper, we provide approaches to separately measure the numerical errors arising from these different error sources for the method-of-moments implementation of the electric-field integral equation with a slot model. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches for a variety of cases.

Effect of heating and bending on localized critical current in 2G HTS tapes with non-contact trapped field measurements

Current-voltage measurement (I–V curve) is a typical method to identify the critical current (Ic) of second-generation high-temperature superconducting tapes (2G HTS tapes). However, it is difficult to characterize the local Ic of 2G HTS tape on the millimeter (mm) scale due to the set spacing of the voltage electrodes (several centimeters), so non-contact trapped field distribution measurements have been used to define local defects in Y–Ba–Cu–O bulks and 2G HTS tapes, especially for the quality analysis for long lengths of 2G HTS tapes. In order to discuss the possible degradation of 2G HTS tape during heating and bending (both important parameters in joining process), this study used both trapped field measurement and I–V measurement to characterize the effect of heating (190 °C–230 °C) and bending (radius = 3.75 mm–22.35 mm) processes on the degradation of 2G HTS tape Ic. In addition, according to electromagnetic calculations, the local Ic (within a few millimeters) of the 2G HTS tape can be obtained from the flux density and distribution of the trapped magnetic field. Comparing the two sets of Ic measurements showed very good agreement. This study demonstrates the accuracy of optimized heating and bending parameters as well as spatial position and local Ic values of processed 2G HTS tape through non-contact trapped field measurements.

Research on reliable coverage planning of substation based on equipment service level

Abstract 5G network can meet the multi-type service access needs of substations and promote the intelligent upgrade and transformation of power grids. The layout of buildings and electrical equipment in substations, as well as electromagnetic interference, will have a greater impact on 5G signal coverage. In this paper, a three-dimensional simulation model of the substation is first established, and basic parameters of base station planning are determined. Then, a safety function considering equipment service level and an electromagnetic interference calculation method are defined. Finally, a coverage planning algorithm based on electrical equipment service level and received power quality is proposed to improve the reliability of service access and ensure the safe and stable operation of the system. Simulation results show that the algorithm is effective and reliable.

Surrogate-based integrated design optimization for aerodynamic/stealth performance enhancements

The shape optimization considering both aerodynamic and radar stealth performances has been a considerable attention area for next-generation aircraft, with challenges involving balancing design contradictions and improving optimization efficiency. This paper develops a surrogate-based integrated design optimization method coupling Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) for aerodynamic/stealth performance enhancements. The topology-based 3D hexahedral mesh generation and 2D triangular mesh generation with adaptive refinement provide efficient preprocessing for CFD/CEM solvers. The surrogate-based optimization algorithm with parallel infill-sampling strategy and adaptive design space expansion is employed to search the global optimum and improve optimization efficiency while filtering out numerical noise. The Weighted Sum method is employed to address design contradictions in different disciplines. Optimizations considering aerodynamic, stealth, and aerodynamic/stealth performance of a flying wing aircraft are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the developed method. The optimization results indicate that exclusive consideration of a singular discipline leads to a significant deterioration in the performance of the other discipline. Balanced performance is achieved through coupling optimization. The numerical noise in the stealth discipline is markedly higher than in the aerodynamics discipline. The results demonstrate that the developed method is capable of addressing aerodynamic/stealth design optimization problems and significantly reducing the number of CFD/CEM evaluations while maintaining global optimization effectiveness.

Domain Decomposition and Model Order Reduction for Electromagnetic Field Simulations in Carbon Fiber Composite Materials

The computation of the electric field in composite materials at the microscopic scale results in an immense number of degrees of freedom. Consequently, this often leads to prohibitively long computation times and extensive memory requirements, making direct computation impractical. In this study, one employs an innovative approach that integrates domain decomposition and model order reduction to retain local information while significantly reducing computation time. Domain decomposition allows for the division of the computational domain into smaller, more manageable subdomains, enabling parallel processing and reducing the overall complexity of the problem. Model order reduction further enhances this by approximating the solution in a lower-dimensional subspace, thereby minimising the number of unknown variables that need to be computed. Comparative analysis between the results obtained from the reduced model and those from direct resolution demonstrates that our method not only reduces computation time but also maintains accuracy. The new method effectively captures the essential characteristics of the electric field distribution in composite materials, ensuring that the local phenomena are accurately represented. This study provides a contribution to the field of computational electromagnetics by presenting a feasible solution to the challenges posed by the high computational demands of simulating composite materials at the microscopic scale. The proposed methodology offers a promising direction for future research and practical applications, enabling more efficient and accurate simulations of complex material systems.

Electromagnetic properties of coal using microstrip and an algorithm based on the Nicolson-Ross-Weir method

The work implements an experimental methodology to find the dielectric parameters: electrical permittivity, effective permittivity, magnetic permeability, conductivity, absorption coefficient, impedance, and loss tangent of bituminous coal from the municipality of Morcá and Tópaga belonging to the Sogamoso-Jericó sub-basin of the Guaduas formation, one of the most important coal reserves in Colombia. The methodology, known for its efficiency, includes constructing a microstrip-type circuit, measuring scattering parameters or S-parameters at frequencies between 300 kHz and 1 GHz with a vector network analyzer, and extracting electromagnetic properties using the Nicolson-Ross-Weir algorithm. The implemented algorithm allowed us to see the behavior of the coal in a fraction of the ultra-high frequency band and to find quickly and easily the approximate values of the parameters as a function of frequency, which are very important for investigations in mathematical modeling and computational electromagnetics. The results show that the real and imaginary components of the relative dielectric permittivity decrease with increasing frequency, and the absorption coefficient and the loss tangent of the coal increase as a function of frequency, indicating that the coal behaves as a dissipative dielectric.