Grid/Surface Attributes

The Attributes page is part of the Draw dialog box for various wire grids and solid surface types. As shown in Fig. 1, this example illustrates the Attributes page for the Plate, but note that all grids and surfaces share the same Attributes page.

To select between a wire grid or a solid surface, refer to the “Cross-Section” field below. Wire grids consist of wires with a specified circular cross-section, leaving gaps between them, while solid surfaces use flat wires whose width is automatically adjusted to cover the surface without gaps.

On the Attributes page, you can set the following parameters:

Number of Facets

Each grid or surface consists of a specific number of facets. For instance, the plate shown here has a 10×10 arrangement of facets, while the disc here has 6×12 facets. Each facet is a quadrilateral formed by four wires, with each wire divided into segments.

For solid surfaces, the wires are essentially flat strips that cover the entire surface. In the AN-SOF workspace, only the strip axes are displayed. During the simulation process, an unknown current is determined for each wire segment.

You have the flexibility to individually edit any curved or straight wire that comprises a grid or surface. Refer to Modifying a Wire for details on editing individual wires. If you need to make mass edits to the wires that make up a grid or surface, please refer to Modifying a Grid/Surface.

In the case of a Patch, setting the number of facets to 0x0 results in an automatic calculation. The calculation considers 10 segments per wavelength along each side of the patch, with the wavelength corresponding to the highest frequency defined.

Segments per Wire

This parameter determines the number of segments for each wire within the grid/surface. If “Segments per Wire” is set to zero, each wire will be automatically divided into segments, with the calculation based on a default value of 10 segments per wavelength.

Please note that the Patch type does not offer the option to specify “Segments per Wire” since its facets are composed of one-segment wires and the number of facets can be automatically computed by setting 0x0 facets.

Cross-Section

To define a wire grid, choose a Circular cross-section and set the radius of the wires comprising the grid, as shown in Fig. 1 on the left. Wire grids cannot have infinitesimally thin wires, so the cross-section radius “a” must be greater than zero.

To define a solid surface, select either the Flat or Rectangular cross-section for the wires that constitute the surface, as shown in Fig. 1 on the right. These wires are essentially flat strips that completely cover the surface. With the ‘Rectangular’ cross-section option, you can specify the thickness of the solid surface.