Wire Materials

In AN-SOF, the physical properties of the wire, such as the metal it is made of and whether it has insulation, are defined in the Materials tab of the Draw dialog box (Fig. 1). This allows for realistic simulations that account for ohmic losses and dielectric loading.

Wire Resistivity (Metallic Losses)

You can specify the resistivity ($\rho$) in $\Omega \cdot m$ to account for real-world conductor losses. AN-SOF uses this value to compute a distributed impedance per unit length, which includes the skin effect, where current tends to flow on the outer surface of the conductor at high frequencies.

Common Metals in AN-SOF:

Material (Metals)	Resistivity [Ω m]
Aluminum (Pure)	2.65E-8
Aluminum (6061-T6)	4.01E-8
Aluminum (6063-T832)	3.25E-8
Brass	6.41E-8
Carbon Steel	1.67E-7
Constantan	4.42E-7
Copper	1.74E-8
German Silver	3.33E-7
Germanium	4.55E-7
Gold	2.44E-8
Iron	9.71E-8
Manganin	4.41E-7
Nichrome	1.00E-6
Nickel	6.90E-8
Phosphor Bronze	1.10E-7
Silver	1.59E-8
Solder	1.43E-7
Stainless Steel	9.09E-7
Stainless Steel 302	7.19E-7
Tin	1.14E-7
Tungsten	5.49E-8
Zinc	5.90E-8

• Custom: Manually enter a value for materials not listed.
• Perfect (PEC): Sets the wire as a Perfect Electrical Conductor (zero loss).

⚠️ IMPORTANT: To include these losses in your simulation, ensure the Wire Resistivity option is checked in the Settings panel of the Setup tab.

Wire Coating (Insulation)

If your antenna uses insulated wires, you can define the dielectric coating. AN-SOF assumes a circular cross-section for the coating.

Coating Parameters:

• Relative Permittivity ($\varepsilon_r$): The dielectric constant of the insulation (e.g., ~2.3 for polyethylene).
• Relative Permeability ($\mu_r$): The magnetic constant of the coating (usually 1.0 for non-magnetic insulators).
• Thickness: The physical depth of the coating layer. Set to 0 if the wire is bare.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: To account for the velocity factor and loading effects of the insulation, ensure the Wire Coating option is checked in the Settings panel of the Setup tab.

Geometry Note

For wires with non-circular cross-sections (like flat strips), AN-SOF utilizes an equivalent radius calculation to determine the metallic impedance behavior.