Comparison of 3-D and 2-D models of a soft magnetic composite material

In this article, we compare 3-D finite element models of a soft magnetic composite (SMC) material to 2-D models, obtained by slicing some 2-D intersections of the 3-D geometries, in terms of magnetization curves and losses. A 3-D nonlinear static model, providing computational B-H curves, is compared to two 2-D models, one with the magnetic field parallel to the 2-D plane, and the other with the magnetic field perpendicular to the 2-D plane. We find that the 2-D models provide largely inconsistent results with the 3-D model. A 3-D time-harmonic model, providing computational effective permeabilities and losses, is compared to two 2-D models, one with the magnetic field parallel to the 2-D plane, and the other with the magnetic field perpendicular to the 2-D plane. We find that the 2-D models provide largely inconsistent results with the 3-D model, with an exception of the computational losses of the 2-D model, with the magnetic field perpendicular to the plane, almost agreeing with the computational losses provided by the 3-D model. However, the computational permeabilities do not match in these two models. This article proposes to be very critical before publishing 2-D models of SMC materials without a proper justification by symmetry.