Mortar Thin Shell Approximation for Analysis of Superconducting Accelerator Magnets

TL;DR

This paper introduces a mortar thin shell approximation method that combines mortar techniques with thin shell approximations to improve finite element analysis of superconducting accelerator magnets, allowing independent discretizations and reducing mesh complexity.

Contribution

The paper develops a novel mortar TSA formulation that enables independent discretizations on either side of the interface, improving flexibility and accuracy in thermal modeling of superconducting magnets.

Findings

Method verified against reference FE solutions.

Allows non-conforming meshes across the interface.

Enhances efficiency in thermal analysis of magnets.

Abstract

Thin layers can lead to unfavorable meshes in a finite element (FE) analysis. Thin shell approximations (TSAs) avoid this issue by removing the need for a mesh of the thin layer while approximating the physics across the layer by an interface condition. Typically, a TSA requires the mesh of both sides of the TSA interface to be conforming. To alleviate this requirement, we propose to combine mortar methods and TSAs for solving the heat equation. The mortar TSA method's formulation is derived and enables an independent discretization of the subdomains on the two sides of the TSA depending on their accuracy requirements. The method is verified by comparison with a reference FE solution of a thermal model problem of a simplified superconducting accelerator magnet.