Material Overview (LF)

In CST EM STUDIO several different material properties are considered to allow realistic modeling of practical simulation problems. The two basic materials available are PEC (Perfect Electrically Conducting material) and Vacuum. Other more complex materials can be defined in the Material Parameters dialog. Each material is distinguished by its unique name and can be visualized in a selectable color and transparency.

Linear Material

For linear behavior, the dielectric and magnetic material parameters determine the ratio of the electric field and flux density and of the magnetic field and flux density, respectively:

and

The material properties can be defined either as normal, describing isotropic media, or with consideration of anisotropic behavior. Please note that anisotropic behavior can be simulated only with hexahedral solvers.

Nonlinear Material

For magnetostatic and time-domain calculations, nonlinear materials can be defined by a function of the flux density B over the magnetic field H.

This yields to a curve describing the permeability over the magnetic field strength.

Nonlinear Electric Conductivity

Similarly to the aforementioned nonlinear magnetic permeability, also the nonlinear electric conductivity can be defined for the tetrahedral-based stationary currents solver. This characteristic can be defined by a function of the electric field E over the current density J:

This yields to a curve describing the electric conductivity over the electric field strength:

The nonlinear electric conductivity can be defined by setting the material type to normal and switching to the Conductivity tab of the Material Parameters dialog.

Temperature Dependent Materials

Another material type supported by the tetrahedral-based stationary currents solver is the temperature dependent material, whose electric conductivity can depend on an externally computed temperature distribution. The following plot demonstrates the temperature dependency of electric conductivity of copper:

The temperature distribution may be computed by the stationary thermal solver and imported using the Field Import dialog.

Weight density

Besides the mentioned electric and magnetic material properties also the density value can be defined.