Discussion Closed This discussion was created more than 6 months ago and has been closed. To start a new discussion with a link back to this one, click here.

Electric Field in a Three Phase PILC Cable Won't Solve

Please login with a confirmed email address before reporting spam

Hi

I am brand new to comsol, and I've set up a simplified model of a PILC cable consisting of a lead sheath, three copper conductors and an insulating material. The insulator is a material that I created with the correct elec permativity. I am trying to solve this in the stationary domain for now, but eventually want to use the time domain to see how things change during one AC cycle.

If I set the insulator to have a conductivity of 0, the error when solved reads
"There are 3314 void equations (empty rows in matrix) for the variable comp1.V2...... "
When I set the conductivity to something like 0.0001S/m I get
"Failed to find a solution. The relative error (7.6) is greater than the relative tolerance."
I'm guessing this is due to current conservation or boundary conditions ???

I am having problems with the following:
1) How to set up the AC source in the cable, I can't find where to set the values of Current and Voltage for the three phases.
2) How to get the model to solve and plot an electric field.

In case it makes a difference, the lead I used also had some red X's next to it when I first used it, so I just set those numbers to arbitrary values.

I have attached my model to make it easier to see any problems...
Thanks in advance for any help!


4 Replies Last Post Jun 9, 2015, 9:50 a.m. EDT
Edgar J. Kaiser Certified Consultant

Please login with a confirmed email address before reporting spam

Posted: 9 years ago Jun 9, 2015, 9:03 a.m. EDT
Robbie,

you have to set a potential to the wires and ground to sheath.

For an AC study you can use a frequency domain study in case the ac voltage is harmonic. You can enter complex values to take the phase shift into account.

I am attaching the modified model.

Cheers
Edgar

--
Edgar J. Kaiser
emPhys Physical Technology
www.emphys.com
Robbie, you have to set a potential to the wires and ground to sheath. For an AC study you can use a frequency domain study in case the ac voltage is harmonic. You can enter complex values to take the phase shift into account. I am attaching the modified model. Cheers Edgar -- Edgar J. Kaiser emPhys Physical Technology http://www.emphys.com


Please login with a confirmed email address before reporting spam

Posted: 9 years ago Jun 9, 2015, 9:29 a.m. EDT
Hi,

Thankyou for the help!

I have tried setting the potential and ground as you said but now it gives me another error:
Undefined variable.
- Variable: mef.normB
- Geometry: geom1
- Domains: 6, 7, 8
Failed to evaluate expression.
- Expression: mef.normB
- Plot: surf1 (Surface)

Unfortunately I cannot open your model, it says "model created with a later version of COMSOL." I'm running 5.0, would you be able to attach it so that I can open it ??

Many Thanks
Robbie
Hi, Thankyou for the help! I have tried setting the potential and ground as you said but now it gives me another error: Undefined variable. - Variable: mef.normB - Geometry: geom1 - Domains: 6, 7, 8 Failed to evaluate expression. - Expression: mef.normB - Plot: surf1 (Surface) Unfortunately I cannot open your model, it says "model created with a later version of COMSOL." I'm running 5.0, would you be able to attach it so that I can open it ?? Many Thanks Robbie

Edgar J. Kaiser Certified Consultant

Please login with a confirmed email address before reporting spam

Posted: 9 years ago Jun 9, 2015, 9:44 a.m. EDT

You should mention the version you are using to avoid that. I saw this error too. It comes from postprocessing. Just delete the magnetic flux density plot. I am wondering where it came from since ec doesn't calculate magnetic fields.
--
Edgar J. Kaiser
emPhys Physical Technology
www.emphys.com
You should mention the version you are using to avoid that. I saw this error too. It comes from postprocessing. Just delete the magnetic flux density plot. I am wondering where it came from since ec doesn't calculate magnetic fields. -- Edgar J. Kaiser emPhys Physical Technology http://www.emphys.com

Please login with a confirmed email address before reporting spam

Posted: 9 years ago Jun 9, 2015, 9:50 a.m. EDT
Awesome -- it works now!!!

The error might have come from an earlier stage when I had selected mef instead of ec, and it kept the plot even after i had deleted that section. For the records, I did have the version in the list of Topics, but I guess it was silly to assume someone would check there. I'll include it specifically next time.

Thank you again,
Robbie
Awesome -- it works now!!! The error might have come from an earlier stage when I had selected mef instead of ec, and it kept the plot even after i had deleted that section. For the records, I did have the version in the list of Topics, but I guess it was silly to assume someone would check there. I'll include it specifically next time. Thank you again, Robbie

Note that while COMSOL employees may participate in the discussion forum, COMSOL® software users who are on-subscription should submit their questions via the Support Center for a more comprehensive response from the Technical Support team.