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Simulation Setup

Palace simulations are configured through JSON files. PalaceToolkit provides helpers to generate these configs and launch Palace from Python.

Running Palace

from palacetoolkit.simulation import run_palace

run_palace("config.json", num_procs=4)

This calls Palace via the Apptainer container pointed to by the PALACE_SIF environment variable.

Generating a config from entities

After meshing with the Entity pipeline, you can auto-generate a Palace JSON config:

from palacetoolkit.simulation import generate_palace_config_from_entities

config = generate_palace_config_from_entities(
    entity_defs=[
        {"name": "conductor",  "boundary_type": "pec"},
        {"name": "dielectric", "boundary_type": "dielectric", "eps_r": 2.1},
        {"name": "port_in",    "boundary_type": "lumped_port", "R": 50, "Direction": "+Z"},
    ],
    pg_map=pg_map,          # dict mapping physical group names → tags
    mesh_file="model.msh",
    output_file="config.json",
    freq_min=1.0,
    freq_max=10.0,
    freq_step=0.5,
)

Boundary types

Type Description Extra keys
"pec" Perfect electric conductor surface. —
"dielectric" Volumetric material. eps_r, mu_r, loss_tan
"lumped_port" Lumped port excitation. R, Direction, Excitation
"waveport" Wave port excitation. Mode, Excitation

Surfaces present in the mesh but not listed in entity_defs are automatically treated as absorbing boundary conditions.

Solver types

Palace supports several solver types, selected in the config JSON:

  • Driven — frequency-domain sweep (S-parameters, impedance).
  • Eigenmode — resonant frequencies, Q-factors, and field patterns.
  • Transient — time-domain simulation of pulse propagation.
  • Electrostatic / Magnetostatic — static field solutions.

Config structure

A typical Palace JSON config has these top-level keys:

{
  "Problem": { "Type": "Driven" },
  "Model": { "Mesh": "model.msh", "L0": 1e-3 },
  "Domains": { "Materials": [...] },
  "Boundaries": { "PEC": {...}, "LumpedPort": [...], "Absorbing": {...} },
  "Solver": { "Driven": { "MinFreq": 1.0, "MaxFreq": 10.0, "FreqStep": 0.5 } }
}

Refer to the Palace documentation for the full specification.