17.6.2.28.2.3. Current Excitation for Solid Source Conductors

This feature allows you to apply a current to a solid source conductor or stranded source conductor body. Use this feature when you know the amount of current in the conductor.

To apply a current excitation to a conductor body, right-click the Conductor object under the Magnetostatic environment object in the tree whose Conductor Type is set to Solid, and select Current from the Insert drop-down menu, or click the Current option on the Context tab. A positive current applied to a face flows into the conductor body. A negative current applied to a face flows out of the conductor body. For a stranded source conductor, positive current is determined by the y-direction of a local coordinate system assigned to each solid body segment that makes up the conductor.

You define the current by magnitude and phase angle in the Details pane, according to the equation below.

I = Iocos(ωt+ϕ)

Io is the magnitude of the current (input value Current), ω is the frequency, and ϕ is the phase angle. For a static analysis, ωt = 0.


Note:  Current excitations may only be applied to a face of a solid source conductor body at symmetry planes. An excitation must be accompanied by a ground potential set at another termination point of the conductor body on another symmetry plane. No current may be applied to a conductor body face that is interior to the model domain. The symmetry plane on which the current excitation is applied must also have a magnetic flux-parallel boundary condition.


An applied current to a conductor face will calculate and distribute the current within the conductor body. A ground potential (voltage = 0) must be applied to a termination point of the conductor body.

Both the applied current and voltage constraints must be applied at a symmetry plane.