Design of electrical machines by the finite element method using distributed computing

Electrical machines play an essential part in the lives of all of us: in power generation, in transport, in industry and in our homes. They have been in a recognizable form for about a century. Yet the advances in new materials, computation methods and computer facilities have contributed to an explosion of new electrical machines. To keep up with the more stringent design requirements of industry, the design of electrical machines turns to computer aided design. In this paper, a visual and interactive approach for electrical machine design is described which incorporates both electromagnetic calculation and visual evaluation. Moreover, a distributed computing environment for the design of electrical machines is proposed and implemented. Applications of the proposed approach for synchronous generators, induction motors and permanent magnet motors are described.