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FUJI ELECTRIC JOURNAL 2003 Vol.76-No.4
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Simulation Technology |
Fuji Electric's Efforts in the Field of Simulation Technology
Yujiro Kitaide
Computer-based simulations are actively used in the manufacturing industry as a design tool to develop new and unconventional product concepts and to realize them instantaneously. Computer simulations are performed during the stages of product development and system analysis to gain an advance understanding of phenomena. This paper gives an overview of the trends of simulation technology and Fuji Electric's efforts in this field.
Simulation Technology for Distributed Power Supplies
Hiroshi Kojima, Yosuke Nakanishi
Simulation technology for electrical power systems, including distributed power supplies, is important for promoting the adoption of distributed power supplies while maintaining the stable operation of electrical power systems. This paper describes the issues involved in linking distributed power supplies within an electrical power distribution system, and introduces modeling technology and example analyses of distributed power supplies used in the simulations.
Parallel 3-D Electromagnetic Computation for a Transformer
Satoshi Matsumoto, Kiyoshi Fujii
Technical computation is an indispensable technique for product design and development. The application of parallel computing is extremely effective in meeting the needs for faster and larger-scale technical computations. Parallel computing-based electromagnetic analysis software has been developed and applied to the analysis of transformers. This paper presents examples of this analysis, the results of which are in good agreement with actual phenomena. Largescale electromagnetic analysis enables the total behavior of a subject to be observed, and is therefore useful in the design and development of transformers.
Computer Simulation of Molded-case Circuit Breaker Interruption
Toshiyuki Onchi, Masaru Isozaki, Masayoshi Wada
This paper describes the simulation of interrupted 3-phase shortcircuit current for analysis of the interrupted performance of a moldedcase circuit breaker (MCCB). This simulation technique makes it possible to analyze 3-phase interrupting phenomena by performing sequential analyses of an electrical circuit model based on the arc voltage and equations of motion due to the electromagnetic repulsive force acting upon the MCCB's moveable contact. Use of this simulation technique to perform analyses enables the advance estimation and evaluation of interrupting performance under arbitrary circuit conditions.
Mixed Device and Circuit Simulation Technology
Yasushi Abe, Koji Maruyama
In the field of power electronics, advances in semiconductor device technology have driven the trends toward miniaturization, lower price and higher performance of power converters. Fuji Electric is studying simulator-based circuit design techniques in order to realize such power converters with even superior performance, and within a short turn around time from conception to development. Application of ISE Integrated Systems Engineering's ISE-TCAD simulator, which allows for mixed device and circuit simulation, was studied. This paper presents the results of using that simulator to analyze several actual examples of circuits containing high-voltage IGBTs.
Fluid Flow Simulation Technology for Vending Machine
Hirohisa Arai
As part of Fuji Electric's measures to help curb global warming, we decreased the power consumption of our automated vending machines by approximately 59% by year 2001, and are making efforts to conserve energy even further. Automated vending machines use fans to circulate air to heat or cool beverages, and the behavior of this air flow influences the power consumption. However, the internal construction of an automated vending machine is complex and previous attempts to experimentally determine the flow were only able to provide a rough understanding. This paper describes a thermal flow simulator that has been developed for use in automated vending machines and which enables flow behavior to be understood by building a database of fan characteristics observed by a stereo PIV system.
Dynamic Analysis of Can Behavior in Vending Machine's Rack
Takanori Yamada, Kazuya Nakayama
In order to optimize the design of automated vending machines, technology has been developed to simulate the behavior of cans falling in a storage compartment (rack). Kinematic analysis simulation technology is employed to analyzeŠ±uantitatively and within a short amount of timeŠ“he rolling and rebounding behavior and orientation of can which are hollow bodies that encapsulate a liquid. We modeled the products and passageway components inside the machine as rigid bodies and analyzed their 3-dimensional behavior. The good agreement between the analysis results and actual behavior confirmed the suitability of this analysis method. This method enables the falling behavior of can to be estimated quantitatively based on the design drawings, and thereby enhances development efficiency.
Simulation Technology for Optimum Structural Design
Masayoshi Sakata, Kota Matsumoto
While responding to requests for shorter development times, higher product quality, enhanced performance and cost reduction, optimum structures must be designed within certain constraints and limited time. Under these circumstances, optimal design technology that uses a computer to determine the optimal structure is being promoted to ease the burden on the designers. This paper presents several examples of optimum structural design, the optimum design of cooling fins used in power electronics and the optimization of conditions for the injection molding of plastic.
Numerical Simulation Technology for Lubricant Flow on HDD Media
Mineo Oka
The lubricant on HDD media has an important role in determining abrasion resistance and impact resistance, and its flow characteristics affect the spin-off characteristics and recovery process. When selecting lubricants, it is important that they be cataloged according to flow characteristics using the simplest possible parameters. Previous research used diffusion coefficients that assumed the initial lubricant thickness to be a step function. That assumption, however, led to the problem of overestimation of the diffusion coefficient because the initial distribution is not actually a step function. This paper describes a new method for accurately computing the diffusion coefficient by combining experimentally measured data and numerical computation, and presents an example application. Calculated values agree well with experimentally measured results.
Material Design Simulation by First-principles Calculations
Yoshinori Konishi, Michio Ohsawa, Yoshiyuki Yonezawa
Perovskite-type transition metal oxides have such versatile properties that there is a great chance of finding new materials which are useful for thin film device applications. Fuji Electric is developing new materials in order to differentiate our products from those of our competitors. We search for new materials by performing material design simulations using first-principles calculations. Combinatorial methods, which enable high-throughput synthesis and screening, have been used to study the conditions for synthesizing new materials. This paper describes an example of our efforts in developing new ferroelectric materials.
