Generating an Iso-Surface Contour for a Given Field Value

Description

This recipe generates a geometry entry called an IsoSurface which represents the surface upon which a selected scalar field quantity has a single value. This surface can be displayed, or used in later operations (to plot other quantities upon, etc.).

Usage Examples

This calculation could be used to locate regions of excessive field magnitudes for voltage breakdown or ohmic heating analysis. It could also be used to generate a desired isosurface to be used as an integration surface for another quantity.

Prerequisites

You should plot of the field quantity of interest to determine the isovalue to use. Isovalues should be entered in MKS units (e.g., V/m, A/m) unless the problem is an eigen solution, in which case all field values are normalized to a peak of 1.0.

Calculator Operation	Resulting Stack Display (top entry only unless noted)
Quantity>E	CVc : <Ex, Ey, Ez> (IsoSurfaces for other quantities can also be created; E used as example.)
Smooth	CVc : Smooth(<Ex,Ey,Ez>) (as this routine generates a surface geometry object, data smoothing is recommended)
Function>Phase	Scl : Phase
Complex>AtPhase	Vec : AtPhase(Smooth(<Ex,Ey,Ez>),Phase)
Scal>ScalarX	Scl : ScalarX(AtPhase(Smooth(<Ex,...
Add... Type: E_x OK	E_x: ScalarX(AtPhase(Smooth<Ex,… (E_x is used here as an example; you can apply other quantity)
Done	{exit field calculator window}
Highlight the geometry	{Scalar Plot in the geometry displayed}
HFSS>Fields>Plot Fields>Named Expression Select E_x	(E-field x-component value in *v/m)*
HFSS>Fields>Modify Plot Attribute… Select the plot OK Scale tab: Num. Division: 1 Use Limits: 100 (as an example) Plots tab IsoValSurface checked Apply	{IsoSurface contour is displayed}