Computer-aided education for magnetostatics

The authors present a computer-aided education (CAE) package allowing the visualization of the magnetostatic field in and around the magnetic circuit of a double-U shaped contactor. The modeling of this device is performed by solving, in real-time, a nonlinear finite-element problem. The implementation of this method is optimized greatly in order to allow the animation of field patterns in real-time in reaction to any user interaction. An evaluation of the improvements brought by this technique to the learning capabilities of students is presented.