[FEMM] Development Release

[David Meeker <dmeeker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've put up a new development version of femm on the web, this time in 
the Files area associated with the mailing list:
http://femm.foster-miller.net/files.htm

Substantive changes since the last Development Release include:

* A somewhat better notion of "circuits" has been implemented for magnetic
 problems.  The "circuit" properties now allow the user to specify either
 series-connected or parallel connected regions.  In addition,
 series-connected regions can also be assigned a number of turns, so that
 the modeling of multi-turn coils is simplfied.  The number of turns for a
 region is specified at the block label level (e.g. like the way that
 magnetization direction is specified.) In the postprocessor, the program
 calculates the voltage drop, flux link, etc. for each "circuit".  A new
 button has been added to the postprocessor toolbar to make it easier to
 see the circuit results.

* The DXF import has been improved.  The import routine is now more savvy
 about identifying and automatically resolving potential DXF import
 problems. Since it was pointed out to me that most DXF problems involve
 endpoints of lines that don't meet, all "orphaned" lines are displayed
 after the DXF import so that the user can inspect for possible problems.
 Multiply defined regions are also noted in the postprocessor, which is
 also a common symptom of DXF import errors.

* Density plot of J has been added to the density plot choices for DC
 magnetics problems.

* An extra "problem definition" attibute has been added to allow the user to
 specify the minimum angle constraint used by Triangle when meshing a
 geometry.  The value of this constraint was previously hard-coded.
 Occasionally, a geometries with sharp angles can arise that require the
 minimum angle constraint to be reduced for proper meshing.

* A "log plot" button has been added to the BH curve definition dialog that
 points the entered BH curve with H on a log scale.  The log plot can make
 it easier to visualize the curve at low values of H.

* Extra functionality has been added to the Materials Library that makes it
 possible to import material definitions from either another input file or
 alternate versions of the materials library.

* An extra block integral has been added to magnetic problems for
 calculating moment of inertia.

* A preference has been added to the magnetics postprocessor so that Hc is
 subtracted from what FEMM usually reports a H inside permanent magnets,
 conforming to the "classic" way of thinking about flux inside magnets.

--
David Meeker
Senior Engineer
Foster-Miller, Inc.
350 Second Avenue
Waltham, MA 02451-1196
781-684-4070
781-890-3489 (fax)
dmeeker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
http://femm.foster-miller.com