Wire Materials

In AN-SOF, the physical properties of the wire, such as the metal it is made of and whether it has insulation or a magneto-dielectric coating, 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 sheaths.

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 ohmic losses in your simulation, ensure the Wire Resistivity option is checked in the Settings panel of the Setup tab.

📝 Note:

Since a wire can be defined as having a non-circular cross-section (square, rectangular, elliptical, etc.), and because the distributed impedance per unit length of the wire varies according to its cross-section, the ohmic losses will differ depending on the cross-section chosen.

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.

The coating material for the wires can be more complex than a simple dielectric insulator. In the “Materials” tab, there is a drop-down menu containing a list of dielectric (insulating) materials, as well as magneto-dielectric materials. These materials can include both magnetic and dielectric loss tangents.

When a “Custom” coating is selected for the wire, you can enter the conductivity instead of the loss tangent.

⚠️ 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.