Fast Simulation of Large-Scale Cable Systems by Hybridization of MTL, MNA and FDTD Methods

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid approach to the frequency and time domain simulation of complex cable systems with arbitrary linear or linearized circuits at terminations. Depending on the type of cables to be investigated, either FDTD/MNA or MTL/MNA approach can be recommended. In FDTD/MNA scheme 1D-FDTD method is applied to solve the transient response of a cable system, which is then used together with circuits of termination devices to simulate the complete network by modified nodal analysis (MNA). In the second scheme, MTL theory is used to extract equivalent circuit models of cables. All extracted equivalent circuits are then merged with termination devices and solved using specialized MNA-based circuit solver. Both methods are speed-oriented, provide accurate results and can be used for fast simulation of large-scale cable systems. Validation of the proposed methods is performed by comparison with measurements of high voltage shielded cable test setup. Two application examples demonstrate the potential of the proposed approaches for simulation of large-scale cable systems - automotive harness and office wiring network.