Developing professional 3D FEM software from scratch requires years of effort and significant resources, which may not be economically viable. For major commercial vendors, magnetics is only one part of a broader portfolio, so their tools tend to be more general-purpose. Leveraging leading open-source tools saves time and cost, making affordable custom solutions feasible.
Open-source simulation tools used in TRAFOLO
Solver
The most critical component of every simulation software is the solver. This is where the magic happens, and the input turns into output. TRAFOLO uses open-source multiphysics simulation software ElmerFEM.
ElmerFEM is developed by CSC (Finland) in collaboration with Finnish universities, research institutions, and industry partners. In recent years, its 3D electromagnetic capabilities have been significantly advanced through projects focused on the design of electric machines and transformers, including collaborations with companies such as ABB, Kone, and AQ Trafotek.
For magnetic component modeling, ElmerFEM offers several key advantages: dedicated winding models (stranded, foil, and solid conductors), core loss models, small air-gap modeling capabilities, and support for circuit coupling with L, R, and C components. In addition, it features strong parallelization, allowing efficient simulation of large-scale problems on multi-core systems or in cloud environments.
Post-processing
The final step in any simulation workflow is post-processing. For this purpose, TRAFOLO uses ParaView, an advanced open-source visualization tool developed by Kitware in collaboration with leading U.S. national laboratories, including Sandia and Los Alamos.
ParaView supports a wide range of data formats and provides powerful tools for analyzing and visualizing simulation results. It is specifically optimized for handling large datasets. For HPC and cloud-based workflows, ParaView enables client-server operation, where data storage and processing are performed on the server side.