Efficient calculation of the self magnetic field, self-force, and self-inductance for electromagnetic coils

TL;DR

This paper introduces novel, non-singular integral methods for efficiently calculating self magnetic fields, forces, and inductance in electromagnetic coils, improving accuracy and computational speed especially for thin coils.

Contribution

The authors develop rigorous, reduced-dimension integral formulae for self quantities in coils, valid at low aspect ratios, with analytical evaluation of sharp features for enhanced efficiency.

Findings

Good agreement with full finite-thickness calculations

Accurate self-force computation with as few as 12 grid points

Methods applicable to complex non-planar coils like stellarators

Abstract

The design of electromagnetic coils may require evaluation of several quantities that are challenging to compute numerically. These quantities include Lorentz forces, which may be a limiting factor due to stresses; the internal magnetic field, which is relevant for determining stress as well as a superconducting coil's proximity to its quench limit; and the inductance, which determines stored magnetic energy and dynamics. When computing the effect on one coil due to the current in another, these quantities can often be approximated quickly by treating the coils as infinitesimally thin. When computing the effect on a coil due to its own current (e.g., self-force or self-inductance), evaluation is difficult due to the presence of a singularity; coils cannot be treated as infinitesimally thin as each quantity diverges at zero conductor width. Here, we present novel and well-behaved methods for evaluating these quantities using non-singular integral formulae of reduced dimensions. These formulae are determined rigorously by dividing the domain of integration of the magnetic vector potential into two regions, exploiting appropriate approximations in each region, and expanding in high aspect ratio. Our formulae show good agreement to full finite-thickness calculations even at low aspect ratio, both analytically for a torus and numerically for a non-planar coil of a stellarator fusion device, the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX). Because the integrands of these formulae develop fine structure as the minor radius becomes infinitely thin, we also develop a method of evaluating the self-force and self-inductance with even greater efficiency by integrating this sharp feature analytically. We demonstrate with this method that the self-force can be accurately computed for the HSX coil with as few as 12 grid points.