Workshop 7-1: HFSS-IE

ANSYS HFSS for Antenna Design

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. May 5, 2016 Release 2016.0

HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Blade Antenna
• This example is intended to show you how to setup, simulate, and analyze airplane mounted plane antenna, using the ANSYS
Electronics Desktop HFSS-IE Design Environment. All necessary geometry is already imported in the project
Blade_Antenna.aedt. To reduce the size of the simulation design, finite size ground plane is used instead of the whole airplane
geometry.

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HFSS: Getting Started
• Launching ANSYS Electronics Desktop 2016
• To access ANSYS Electronics Desktop, click the Microsoft Start button,
• Select Programs > ANSYS Electromagnetics > ANSYS Electromagnetics Suite 17.0. Select ANSYS Electronics Desktop 2016

• Setting Tool Options

• Note: In order to follow the steps outlined in this example, verify that the following tool options are set :
• Select the menu item Tools > Options > General Options…
• Expand the HFSS-IE Branch
• Left Mouse Click Boundary Assignment
• Use Wizards for data input when creating new boundaries:  Checked
• Duplicate boundaries/mesh operations with geometry:  Checked

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HFSS: Getting Started
• Setting Tool Options (Continued)
• Expand the 3D Modeler Branch
• Left Mouse Click
– Drawing: Automatically cover closed polylines:  Checked
– Drawing: Edit properties of new primitives:  Checked
– Rendering: Set Default Transparency to 0.7
– History Tree: Select last command on object/submodel select:  Checked

• Click the OK button

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 HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Opening a Project
• To open a project:
– Select the menu item File > Open.
– Browse to the appropriate directory and choose Blade_Antenna.aedt file
– Click the Open button
– Expand Blade_Antenna line in Project Manager Window
– Click and expand IEDesign1 design line

• Set Model Units

• Select the menu item Modeler > Units
– Select Units: in
– Click the OK button

• To fit the view:

– Select the menu item View > Fit All > Active View. Or press the CTRL+D key

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Expand Modeler Design Tree
• Note 4 Sheets grouped under “Unassigned” section of Sheets

• Assign Perfect E Boundary conditions

• Select Antenna, Wing and Airplane_bot from the Sheets section of the Modeler Tree
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Boundaries > Assign > Perfect E
– Click the OK button
• Note that the sheets are grouped under “PerfectE” section of Sheets

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna

• Assign Excitations
• Select port from the Sheets section of the Modeler Tree
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Excitations > Assign > Lumped Port
– Port Name: 1
– Conductor: Wing
– Use as Reference:  Checked
– Highlight Selected conductors:  Checked
– Click the OK button
• Note new entries under Boundaries and Excitations in Project Manager Window

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Creating an Analysis Setup
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE> Analysis Setup > Add Solution Setup
– Click the General tab:
• Solution Frequency: 550 MHz
• Maximum Number of Passes: 9
• Maximum Delta S: 0.02
– Click the Options tab:
• Do Lambda Refinement:  Checked
• Use Default Value: not checked
• Lambda Target: 0.1
• Minimum number of passes: 3
• Minimum Converged Passes: 2

Note:
1) default (Auto) settings are used

2) For better efficiency, depending

on the complexity of the geometry
HFSS-IE chooses an appropriate
solver (ACA or MLFMM)

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Adding a Frequency Sweep
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Analysis Setup > Add Frequency Sweep
– Select Solution Setup: Setup1
– Click the OK button
• Edit Frequency Sweep Window:
– Sweep Name: Sweep1
– Sweep Type: Interpolating
– Frequency Setup Type: Linear Step
• Start: 300 MHz
• Stop: 700 MHz
• Step: 2 MHz
– Click the OK button

• Save Project
• Select the menu item File > Save As
– Filename: Blade_Antenna
– Click the Save button

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna

• HPC Setup
• Select the menu item Tools > Options > HPC and Analysis Options
– Design Type: HFSS-IE
– Select the Active Configuration: Local
– Click the Edit button
– Analysis Configuration Dialog
• Click the Use Automatics Settings
– Name: localhost
– Cores: 4
• Click the OK button

Note: The ANSYS training computers are typically configured with a single
quad core processor. The configuration shown here will use 4 cores for
multi-threading during the adaptive solution process and then distribute the
frequency sweep points.

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Model Validation
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Validation Check
• Click the Close button
– Note: to view any errors or warning messages, look at the Message Manager window

• Analyze
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Analyze All
– Note: to monitor the progress of solution, look at the Progress window
Analyze All

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Create Terminal S-Parameter Plot
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Results > Create Solution Data Report > Rectangular Plot
– Solution: Setup1: Sweep1
– Category: S Parameter
– Quantity: St(Antenna_T1, Antenna_T1)
– Function: dB
– Click the New Report button
– Click the Close button

Note: To see convergence and other information about solution,

select the menu item HFSS-IE > Results > Solution Data and click
Convergence and Profile tabs

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Adding a Single Frequency point at resonace
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Analysis Setup > Add Frequency Sweep
– Select Solution Setup: Setup1
– Click the OK button
• Edit Frequency Sweep Window:
– Sweep Name: Freq_490MHz
– Sweep Type: Discrete
– Frequency Setup Type: SinglePoint
• Single: 490 MHz
– 3D Fields Save Options
• Save Fields: checked
– Click the OK button

• Save Project Note: Because our solution frequency was 550 MHz
• Select the menu item File > Save and we applied an interpolating frequency sweep,
we can only plot fields at 550 MHz. To be able to
• Analyze plot fields at other frequency points, we can create a
discrete sweep with the points of interest. Unlike
• In Project Manager Window
the interpolating sweep, the discrete sweep allows
– Right click on Freq_490MHz line us to save fields at every solved frequency point.
– Select the menu item Analyze

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HFSS-IE: Blade Antenna
• Create a Radiation Setup for 2D Radiation Pattern
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Radiation > Insert Far Field Setup > Infinite Sphere
– Infinite Sphere Tab
• Name: 2D
• Phi: (Start: 0, Stop: 90, Step Size: 90)
• Theta: (Start: -180, Stop: 180, Step Size: 1)
– Click the OK button

• Create a Radiation Setup for 3D Radiation Pattern

• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Radiation > Insert Far Field Setup > Infinite Sphere
– Infinite Sphere Tab
• Name: 3D
• Phi: (Start: 0, Stop: 360, Step Size: 2)
• Theta: (Start: 0, Stop: 180, Step Size: 2)
– Click the OK button

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HFSS-IE: Results
• Create Current Plot
• Select the menu item Edit > Select All
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Fields> Fields > J >Mag_J
– Solution: Setup1: Freq_490MHz
– Frequency: 0.49GHz
– Phase: 0deg
– Quantity: Mag_J
– Click the Done button

Log Scale
• Change the Plot Scale to Log
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Fields > Modify Plot Attributes
– In the Select Plot Folder Window, Click the OK button
– J-Fields Window:
• Click the Scale tab
– Scale: Log
• If real time mode is not checked, click the Apply button.
– Click the Close button
• To Animate the field plot:
– Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Fields> Animate
• Click the OK button

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HFSS-IE: Results
• Create 2D Far Field Pattern
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Results > Create Far Fields Report > Radiation Pattern
– Solution: Setup1: Freq_490MHz
– Geometry: 2D
– Primary Sweep: Theta
– Category: Realized Gain
– Quantity: RealizedGainTotal
– Function: dB
– Click the New Report button
• Click the Close button

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HFSS-IE: Results
• Create 3D Far Field Pattern
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Results > Create Far Fields Report > 3D Polar Plot
– Solution: Setup1: Freq_490MHz
– Geometry: 3D
– Primary Sweep: Phi
– Secondary Sweep: Theta
– Category: Directivity
– Quantity: DirTotal
– Function: dB
– Click the New Report button
• Click the Close button

Extra: To overlay 3D radiation pattern with geometry, select the

menu item HFSS-IE > Fields> Fields > Radiation Fields. Play with
Transparency and Scale to get the picture close to one on slide 2.

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HFSS-IE: Radiation Pattern Overlay
• Overlay of 2D Radiation Patterns and 3D Polar plot over the 3D
Geometry
• Under Results > Select the plot Radiation Pattern 1 and plot only for phi = 0deg
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Fields > Fields > Radiation Field
– Select Radiation Pattern 1. Click the Apply button
– This will plot the pattern on the Geometry.
– Repeat the same procedure for phi = 90 deg.
– Select the 3D polar plot 1. Click the Apply button

3D polar plot

Phi = 0 deg Phi = 90 deg

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HFSS-IE: Antenna Parameters Overlay
• Overlay of Antenna Parameters Overlay
• Under Project Manager > Right Click on Radiation > Insert Far Field Setup > Antenna Parameter
Overlay…
– Select all the parameters (Max U, Peak Directivity (dB), Peak Gain (dB)…..Decay Factor
– Press OK.
• Select the menu item HFSS-IE > Fields > Fields > Radiation Field
– Select Antenna Parameter Overlay 1. Click the Apply button
• This will Overlay the Antenna Parameters in the 3D Modeler Gui
2
1

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