Current

The Current Probe allows the easy computation of bulk electric current through or on large structures of extended geometry such as an aircraft fuselage. Many bulk current responses can be computed over a variety of structures. This includes currents on single geometric lines.

Defining a current probe

Click Current within the Probes section under the EMA3D tab in the ribbon.
Alternatively, right click Probes in the Simulation Tree. Select Current from the pop-up menu.
The current probe computes the integrated net current flux through each probe integration/measurement location in the normal direction chosen. The normal direction can be changed within the Properties panel. The time properties can also be adjusted in the Properties panel. These properties should be adjusted prior to finalizing the probe. The meaning of each property can be found in the table at the bottom of this page.
Two options for setting the probe will appear in the top left of the model window.
The top, default option can be selected to define the integration boundaries of the current probe using a drag box with directional arrows. To adjust the size and position of the boxed region for the probe drag the red, blue, and green directional arrows. Alternatively, coordinates of the probe can also be entered manually in the Properties panel. The box can be any dimension (i.e., point, plane, or box).
Click OK to create the probe. A series of blue points, lines, or planes will appear indicating the current probe integration/measurement locations and integration direction.
Current probes can also be set to encompass structures. To set a current probe using this method, click on the Select Body tool in the top left of the model window and then select a component in the structure tree or directly in the model window. The structure will be highlighted when hovered over.
The directional arrows can now be used to further refine the probe. Click OK to create the probe. A series of points, lines, or planes will appear indicating the current probe integration/measurement locations and integration direction.
The probe should now be visible in the model window and should be added to the Simulation Tree under the Probes node as Bulk Current.
The probe can be edited at any time by right clicking it in the Simulation Tree and selecting Edit from the pop-up menu.
To visualize the Current Probe results, see here.

Current Probe Properties

Entry	Meaning
Normal direction	The direction (X, Y, Z) along which the Current Probe computes the integrated net current flux
Skip Factor	The number of lattice cells in the perpendicular direction between each integration/measurement surface
Minimum [mm]	The minimum values (X, Y, Z) for the probe boundaries
Maximum [mm]	The maximum values (X, Y, Z) for the probe boundaries
Start [s]	The time the probe starts recording data. The default start time matches the simulation start time. Start can be changed only if the field Match Domain is set to False (White text indicates field set to False, blue text indicates field set to True)
Step [s]	To which domain to match the probe time step: Domain matches the probe time step to the FDTD domain time step Frequency sets the probe time step such that it captures up to the highest supported frequency of the domain (this time step is coarser than the Domain time step and results in smaller files) False allows the user to set the probe time step value manually
End [s]	The time the probe stops recording data. The default end time matches the simulation end time. End can be changed only if the field Match Domain is set to False (White text indicates field set to False, blue text indicates field set to True)

Other Resources

Click here for technical information.