Anywhere electric power is created, electric and magnetic fields are produced. At lower voltages and currents, the fields produced are normally of little concern. However, at high-voltage or high-current levels, the distribution of the electrical and magnetic fields must be carefully taken into account to improve equipment reliability and to protect the public and the workers.

Sylvain Gravel, a senior researcher at Hydro-Québec Research Institute (IREQ; www.hydroquebec.com), and his team analyzed the magnetic flux density near a complex configuration of distribution power lines. As this class of problems exhibits no symmetry, a full 3-D analysis model was required.

By using FARADAY, an easy-to-use 3-D eddy current solver created by Integrated Engineering Software (www.integratedsoft.com), IREQ is able to analyze the magnetic flux density values in 3-D.

“Faraday is ideally matched to the power line problems,” Gravel explains. “This is one of the best applications we've had with FARADAY. It is very well-suited for analyzing power lines because it deals with open boundary problems. Integrated Engineering Software offers both finite elements and boundary elements, enabling the user to select the right technology for a given problem.”

By using FARADAY in conjunction with an easy-to-use graphical interface, IREQ can readily view resultant magnetic fields. In addition, the geometry can be varied parametrically to obtain an optimal magnetic field configuration.