Analysis of magneto-thermal coupled problem involving moving eddy-current conductors

In this paper, 3-D finite element analysis of a magneto-thermal coupled problem with moving conductors is presented. For improved accuracy and due to the different character of the approximated unknown variables, two appropriate solution spaces are considered: a vectorial space using first-order, edge-based finite elements for analysis of the vectorial characteristics of the magnetic field and eddy-current distributions; and a scalar space using first-order nodal finite elements for the non-linear analysis of thermal field distribution. Separate 3-D mesh divisions are developed for accurate eddy-current and thermal field analysis. Time-dependent thermal field distribution is obtained using the Crank-Nicolson recurrence formula, and a moving conductor with eddy-current flow is considered using appropriate step division for the nature of the coupling process. The mathematical background, analyzed models and obtained results compared with measured results are presented.