Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.

Electric Impedance Sensor

Introduction
Electric impedance measurements are used for imaging and detection. The
applications range from nondestructive testing and geophysical imaging to medical
imaging. One example is to monitor the respiratory function of babies in neonatal
intensive care. The frequency ranges from less than 1 Hz to about 1 GHz depending
on the application.
This model simulates a single electrode placed on a conducting block with an air filled
cavity inside. The block is connected to ground on the lower face and on the sides. The
analysis shows how the lateral position of the cavity affects the impedance.

Figure 1: The electrode is placed on a conducting block with an air-filled cylindrical cavity
inside.

Model Definition
In the AC/DC Module you solve the problem using the time-harmonic version of the
Electric Currents physics. This physics is useful for the modeling of AC problems when
inductive effects are negligible. Sufficient requirements for this are that the geometry
is much smaller than the wavelength and that the skin depth is large compared to the
size of the geometry. The skin depth, , is given by

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where is the angular frequency, is the permeability, and is the conductivity. This
model uses nonmagnetic materials with a frequency of 1 MHz and a typical electrical
conductivity of 1 mS/m, giving a skin depth of about 15 m. The size of the geometry
is about 1 m.
DOMAIN EQUATIONS

When induction is neglected, the electric field is curl free and can be assigned a scalar
potential, V. The equation of continuity for the conduction and displacement currents
then becomes
( ( + j r 0 ) V ) = 0
where 0 is the permittivity of free space, and r is the relative permittivity. The electric
field E and displacement D are obtained from the gradient of V:
E = V
D = 0 r E
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Ground potential boundary conditions are applied on the lower and vertical edges of
the domain. The upper edge is set to insulation except at the electrode, where a
uniformly distributed current source of 1 A is applied.
n J = Jn

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Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the real part of the calculated impedance, that is the resistance, and the
impedance phase angle as functions of the air cavity coordinate. When the cavity passes
under the electrode, a sharp peak appears in the resistance value.

Figure 2: Real part and phase angle for the impedance as functions of air cavity
coordinate. The peaks occur when the cavity is beneath the electrode.

Model Library path: ACDC_Module/Resistive_Devices/impedance_sensor

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.
NEW

1 In the New window, click the Model Wizard button.

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MODEL WIZARD

1 In the Model Wizard window, click the 2D button.

2 In the Select physics tree, select AC/DC>Electric Currents (ec).
3 Click the Add button.
4 Click the Study button.
5 In the tree, select Preset Studies>Frequency Domain.
6 Click the Done button.
GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters
1 On the Home toolbar, click Parameters.
2 In the Parameters settings window, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:
Name

Expression

Description

sig_bulk

1[mS/m]

Bulk conductivity

eps_r_bulk

Relative permittivity in bulk

y0

-0.1[m]

y-position of cavity center

r0

0.09[m]

Cavity radius

x0

x-position of cavity center

The parametric solver will sweep on the parameter x0 over a list of values, so it must
be declared in this table. The value assigned here is not important.
GEOMETRY 1

Rectangle 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 right-click Geometry 1 and choose
Rectangle.
2 In the Rectangle settings window, locate the Size section.
3 In the Height edit field, type 0.5.
4 Locate the Position section. In the x edit field, type -0.5.
5 In the y edit field, type -0.5.

Point 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Geometry 1 and choose Point.

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2 In the Point settings window, locate the Point section.

3 In the x edit field, type -0.01.

Point 2
1 Right-click Geometry 1 and choose Point.
2 In the Point settings window, locate the Point section.
3 In the x edit field, type 0.01.
4 Click the Build All button.

This concludes the geometry session. Note that in order to avoid having to change the
geometry for every different position of the cavity, you have drawn both the
conducting block and the cavity as one homogeneous rectangle. The position and the
extension of the cavity will be described by coordinate-dependent properties.
Now proceed to setting up the material properties. The expression
(((x-x0)^2+(y-y0)^2)>r0^2) is a comparison, evaluating to 1 (for TRUE) inside the
cavity and 0 (for FALSE) outside the cavity. The following settings will give you air
properties inside the cavity (centered in (x0,y0) and with a radius of r0), and the
properties of the conducting block outside it.

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ELECTRIC CURRENTS

Current Conservation 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Current Conservation 1.
2 In the Current Conservation settings window, locate the Conduction Current section.
3 From the list, choose User defined. In the associated edit field, type
sig_bulk*(((x-x0)^2+(y-y0)^2)>r0^2).

4 Locate the Electric Field section. From the r list, choose User defined. In the

associated edit field, type 1+(eps_r_bulk-1)*(((x-x0)^2+(y-y0)^2)>r0^2).

Terminal 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Terminal.
2 Select Boundary 4 only. This is the short boundary between the two points on the

upper surface of the model geometry. You may need to zoom in a little to be able
to pick it.
3 In the Terminal settings window, locate the Terminal section.
4 In the I0 edit field, type 1.

Ground 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Ground.
2 Select Boundaries 1, 2, and 6 only. These are the bottom boundary and the two

vertical ones.
MESH 1

Because the cavity has no physical boundaries, you cannot count on the mesh to
resolve its shape. To get good results, you need a relatively fine mesh.

Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 right-click Mesh 1 and choose Free
Triangular.
2 Under Mesh 1, click on Size.
3 In the Element Size section, click the Custom button.
4 Locate the Element Size Parameters section. In the Maximum element size edit field,

type 0.01.
5 In the Model Builder window, right-click Mesh 1 and choose Build All.

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STUDY 1

Specify the operating frequency for the study and activate the parametric solver to set
up the sweep on the parameter x0.

Step 1: Frequency Domain

1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Frequency Domain.
2 In the Frequency Domain settings window, locate the Study Settings section.
3 In the Frequencies edit field, type 1[MHz].
4 Click to expand the Study extensions section. Locate the Study Extensions section.

Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.

5 Click Add.
6 In the table, enter the following settings:
Auxiliary parameter

Parameter value list

x0

range(-0.5,0.01,0.5)

7 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.

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RESULTS

Electric Potential (ec)

The default plot shows the electric potential distribution for the left-most position of
the cavity. Try making a logarithmic plot of the current distribution.
1 In the Model Builder window, click Electric Potential (ec).
2 In the 2D Plot Group settings window, locate the Data section.
3 From the Parameter value (x0) list, choose 0.
4 In the Model Builder window, expand the Electric Potential (ec) node, then click
Surface 1.
5 In the Surface settings window, locate the Expression section.
6 In the Expression edit field, type 20*log10(root.comp1.ec.normJ).
7 Click to expand the Range section. Select the Manual color range check box.
8 In the Minimum edit field, type -35.
9 In the Maximum edit field, type 35.

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10 On the 2D plot group toolbar, click Plot.

The impedance is defined as the ratio of voltage to total current at the electrode, and
is automatically computed by the Terminal feature. Since the terminal name is 1 (the
default), the variable containing the terminal impedance is called ec.Z11. You can plot
its value as a function of the position of the cavity x0.

1D Plot Group 2
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 On the 1D plot group toolbar, click Global.
3 In the Global settings window, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of

the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Electric

Currents>Terminals>Impedance (ec.Z11). Confirm by double clicking or pressing

Enter.
4 On the 1D Plot Group 2 toolbar, click Plot.

You have now plotted the absolute value of the impedance. You can also see the phase
angle:

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5 Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter the following settings:
Expression

Unit

Description

arg(ec.Z11)

deg

Impedance phase angle

6 On the 1D Plot Group 2 toolbar, click Plot.

Finish the modeling session by saving a representative model thumbnail: from the File
menu, choose Save Model Thumbnail.

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