MagTetris: A simulator for fast magnetic field and force calculation for permanent magnet array designs

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Engineering
• Computational Science

Background:

• Accurate and efficient magnetic field (B-field) and force calculations are crucial for designing permanent magnet arrays (PMAs).
• Existing simulation methods, such as finite-element method (FEM), can be computationally intensive, limiting design flexibility and speed.
• The development of novel computational tools is needed to accelerate the design process for advanced magnetic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce "MagTetris," a novel simulator for fast B-field and force calculations of arbitrary permanent magnet array (PMA) configurations.
• To develop and validate an accelerated calculation method for PMAs, enabling simultaneous consideration of B-field and force.
• To enhance the design process for PMAs, particularly for applications like portable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Main Methods:

• Developed an accelerated calculation method for B-fields of PMAs based on the current model of permanent magnets.
• Extended the accelerated method to calculate magnetic forces acting on magnets within an array.
• Implemented the method in a simulator named "MagTetris" for cuboid and arc-shaped magnets.

Main Results:

• "MagTetris" achieves calculation speeds at least 500 times faster than FEM-based software with comparable accuracy.
• The simulator demonstrates a >50% calculation speed improvement over the Magpylib freeware in Python.
• Validated the simulator's accuracy through numerical simulations and experimental results.

Conclusions:

• "MagTetris" provides a highly efficient and accurate solution for PMA design and analysis.
• The simulator's simple data structure facilitates easy migration to other programming languages.
• Accelerated PMA design using "MagTetris" can drive innovation in compact, high-performance portable MRI systems.