Production-Grade Electromagnetic Digital Twins for Predictive Insights, Cost Efficiency, and Design Accuracy
Digital twins are revolutionizing electromagnetic simulation by enabling real-time monitoring, providing predictive insights, improving design accuracy for faster development, increasing cost efficiency, and reducing risk.
The origin of the digital twin concept can be traced to NASA’s Apollo missions in the 1960s, where engineers used physical replicas of spacecraft systems for troubleshooting purposes. In 2022, Electro Magnetic Applications Inc. (EMA) supported NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Lockheed Martin to create a full complex model digital twin of the Artemis Orion space vehicle. This digital twin came into use when the vessel was struck by lightning that same year.
“EMA having built this complex model of the entire rocket, we were able to predict, based on this lightning strike, exactly what stress affected on-board electronics,” said EMA Co-CEO Tim McDonald. “In fact, the team simulated every possible lightning strike.”
Fig. 1. A lightning strike was recorded at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the evening of April 2, 2022. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft were undergoing a prelaunch test called a “wet dress rehearsal” at the pad for the Artemis I mission. The lightning strike was recorded by cameras stationed at the pad and mobile launcher using a special filter called a “clear day frame,” which provides an overlay of the raw frame on a reference image. Courtesy: NASA.
The term “digital twin” first appeared in the late 1990s and gained formal recognition in 2002. Digital twins remained a specialized concept until advances in IoT, big data, and cloud computing during the 2010s made real-time synchronization feasible.
Today digital twins are mainstream, with the market projected to exceed $110 billion by 2028. They are widely used for simulation, predictive analysis, and real-time monitoring in industries such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and urban planning.
“Really any automobile can benefit from a full vehicle digital twin,” McDonald said.
This introduction to digital twins will explore:
- Foundation of digital twin technology
- Impacts of digital twins
- How EMA develops digital twins
Foundation of Digital Twin Technology
Fig. 2. Three key components of digital twin modeling.
A digital twin is a virtual model that represents a physical object or system, using real-time data to accurately mirror its behavior, performance and operating conditions.
Three key components that form the foundation of digital twins: the physical asset, virtual model, and data integration and connectivity. Together, these elements enable dynamic, accurate, and actionable electromagnetic simulations.
The physical asset serves as the real-world object or system that the digital twin mirrors, such as the aircraft, vehicle or electronic device. This anchors the digital twin, ensuring that the virtual model corresponds to an actual physical entity. Without the physical asset, the twin would merely function as a generic simulation.
The next component is a detailed 3D model that replicates the geometry, material properties, and electromagnetic characteristics of the physical system. This model allows engineers to conduct precise electromagnetic simulations for emissions, susceptibility, and radio frequency interactions. It also provides a visual and analytical interface for design validation and optimization.
Finally, the data and connectivity layer integrates real-time sensor data and simulation results, maintaining synchronization between the physical asset and the simulation. This integration supports predictive analysis, real-time monitoring, and close-loop control, enhancing performance and reliability.
Impact of Digital Twins on Product Design and Lifecycle Management
Digital twins deliver measurable benefits across industries by providing:
Predictive Maintenance: Identify potential failures before they occur, reducing downtime and costs.
Design Optimization: Validate concepts virtually, accelerating innovation and reducing prototyping expenses.
Lifecycle Management: Keep models updated as systems evolve, ensuring long-term reliability.
Risk Reduction: Simulate scenarios to mitigate hazards before real-world implementation.
Advanced Vehicle Electromagnetic Modeling
To create production-ready, full-vehicle digital twins, EMA starts with Ansys EMC Plus, a tool specifically developed to address extreme geometric complexity.
EMC Plus uses two different solvers:
- Finite-Difference, Time-Domain (FDTD) which models key structures
- MHARNESS which applies multi-conductor transmission line theory to integrate cables into the structure
This powerful combination makes EMC Plus the only tool on the market capable of modeling thousands of conductors in a single simulation.
Full vehicles typically contain hundreds or even thousands of cables, all of which must be incorporated into the CAD model for a complete digital twin. Electrical wiring interconnects system diagrams display cables in two dimensions, while 3D database software organizes this data. EMC Plus excels by merging the 2D diagrams with the 3D routing in the CAD, enabling designs to track cables in three dimensions. The different representations are shown below in Figure 3.
Fig. 3. Different ways cables can be represented.
“Being able to fuse two disparate pieces of data is a key capability of our tool,” McDonald said. “What is unique about our approach is the ability to scale up to every single cable in a vehicle. If you have 10 cables in a vehicle that is a good R&D electromagnetic model, but you cannot do production level electromagnetics.”
Achieving Full Vehicle EMC Compliance with Digital Twin and EMC Plus Technology
McDonald notes that automotive complex models are the fastest growing market for EMA.
“If you do not pass your vehicle level EMC requirements, you cannot sell it,” he explains. “You do not want to go into that EMC test with any risk at all. The only solution is full vehicle EMC simulation.”
By using a digital twin, you can ensure your vehicle meets OEM EMC requirements. Examples are shown in Figure 4. The key is to begin this process early, well before development starts. Delaying this step can lead to major schedule setbacks and increased costs.
Fig. 4. OEM EMC requirements that can be addressed using digital twins.
To create a production-ready digital twin, the CAD model is then simplified in a way that retains all of the electrical characteristics and is merged with cable conductors, Figure 5.
Fig. 5. Sample electric vehicle.
The merging process starts by importing cables. For instance, you can export a Zuken harness as a .kbl file, import it into EMC Plus, and add it to your model, Figure 6. The .kbl file describes the wiring interconnect, and when combined with CAD files for the structures, allows you to build a single, self-consistent electromagnetic model with hundreds or thousands of cables within EMC Plus. EMC Plus supports dozens of file types including Ansys Electronics Database, AutoCAD, SpaceClaim, and other ECAD.
Fig. 6. Import process of a Zuken file into Ansys EMC Plus.
This digital twin can run all of your electromagnetic environments.
You can analyze this model for radiated emissions, radiated immunity, conducted emissions, conducted immunity, radio frequency (RF) compatibility, lightning effects, and even the effects of magnetic fields on the human body. The results of this model can be seen in Figure 7.
“If you want to include all of the cables in your models, you really don’t have a choice, EMC Plus is the only tool that is going to be able to get all of those cables from the vehicle into one self-consistent model,” McDonald emphasizes.
Accelerating Innovation with Digital Twin Services
Digital twins serve a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics. In the Solving Electromagnetic Challenges session “Production-Grade, Full-Vehicle Electromagnetic Services,” McDonald explores these applications in greater detail. You can watch the session on-demand by clicking here.
Getting started is easy. Simply contact EMA at this link. You will need to provide your digital design files, wiring diagrams, and material properties descriptions. Depending on project complexity, a digital twin will be delivered in a few weeks.
We look forward to learning about your projects and supporting your goals. Reach out to us today!
