1.4. Summary of Electromagnetic Elements

The program includes a variety of elements you can use to model electromagnetic phenomena. Table 1.5: List of Electromagnetic Elements summarizes them briefly. For detailed descriptions of the elements and their characteristics (DOFs, KEYOPT options, inputs and outputs, etc.), see the Element Reference.

Not all elements listed in the table below apply to every type of electromagnetic analysis described in this manual. To see which elements apply to a particular analysis type, read the chapter(s) discussing that analysis type.

All 3D electrical circuit elements require that you specify the solenoidal current density to obtain a solution, or to perform any postprocessing operations.

Table 1.5: List of Electromagnetic Elements

ElementDim.Element TypeNo. of NodesShapeDOFs[1] and Other Features
SOURC36 3DCurrent source3n/aNo DOF; coil, bar, and arc shape primitives
SOLID96 3DMagnetic solid scalar8BrickMAG; reduced, difference, general potential formulations
SOLID236 3DLow-frequency edge20BrickAZ (edge), AZ (edge)-VOLT
SOLID237 3DLow-frequency edge10TetAZ (edge), AZ (edge)-VOLT
CIRCU124 1DCircuit2–6LineVOLT, CURR; resistor, capacitor, inductor, current source, voltage source, mutual inductor, controlled source
CIRCU125 1DDiode2LineVOLT
PLANE121 2DElectrostatic solid8QuadVOLT
SOLID122 3DElectrostatic solid20BrickVOLT
SOLID123 3DElectrostatic solid10TetVOLT
INFIN110 2DInfinite solid8QuadAZ, VOLT, TEMP
INFIN47 3DInfinite boundary4QuadMAG, TEMP
INFIN111 3DInfinite solid20BrickMAG, AZ, VOLT, TEMP
LINK68 3DThermoelectric bar2LineTEMP-VOLT
SHELL157 3DThermoelectric shell4QuadTEMP-VOLT
PLANE13 2DCoupled solid4QuadUX, UY, TEMP, AZ UX-UY-VOLT
SOLID5 3DCoupled solid8BrickUX-UY-UZ-TEMP-VOLT-MAG; TEMP-VOLT-MAG UX-UY-UZ; TEMP, VOLT, MAG
SOLID98 3DCoupled tetrahedral10TetUX-UY-UZ-TEMP-VOLT-MAG; TEMP-VOLT-MAG UX-UY-UZ; TEMP, VOLT, MAG
CONTA172 2DSurface-to-surface contact3n/aAZ,VOLT
CONTA174 3DSurface-to-surface contact8n/aMAG,VOLT
CONTA175 2D 3DNode-to-surface contact1n/aAZ, MAG,VOLT
TARGE169 2DTarget segmentn/an/an/a
TARGE170 3DTarget segmentn/an/an/a
PLANE230 2DElectric solid8QuadVOLT
SOLID231 3DElectric solid20BrickVOLT
SOLID232 3DElectric solid10TetVOLT

  1. Degrees of freedom available depend on an element's KEYOPT settings.