Coupling of finite element and moment methods for electromagneticscattering from inhomogeneous objects

A hybrid formulation which combines the method of moments (MM) with the finite element method (FEM) to solve electromagnetic scattering and/or absorption problems involving inhomogeneous media is discussed. The basic technique is to apply the equivalence principle and transform the original problem into interior and exterior problems, which are coupled on the exterior dielectric body surface through the continuities of the tangential electric field and magnetic field. The interior problem involving inhomogeneous medium is solved by the FEM, and the exterior problem is solved by the MM. The coupling of the interior and exterior problems on their common surface results in a matrix equation for the equivalent current sources for the interior and exterior problems. Combining advantages of both methods allows complicated inhomogeneous problems with arbitrary geometry to be treated in a straightforward manner. The validity and accuracy of the formulation are checked by two-dimensional numerical results, which are compared with the exact eigenfunction solution, the unimoment solution, and Richmond's pure moment solution     

The field feedback formulation for electromagnetic scattering computations

A new procedure is described for the solution of electromagnetic scattering problems in unbounded regions. Using this technique a spatial region enclosing the scatterer is initially decoupled from the exterior region and the fields therein are considered as the solution of an interior Dirichlet boundary value problem. The interior region solution is then recoupled to the unbounded exterior region by use of the equivalence principle. Such a process can be symbolically represented as a simple feedback system. The formulation is demonstrated for the case of plane wave scattering by finite metallic circular cylinders. A finite element solution of the interior problem is utilized in this example in conjunction with a field representation using a special case of coupled azimuthal potentials.     

An integral equation for electromagnetic scattering from homogeneous dielectric bodies

A single surface integral equation for problems involving electromagnetic scattering from homogeneous dielectric bodies illuminated by time-harmonic sources is developed via the equivalence principle. The equation is formulated in terms of an equivalent electric current defined at the body surface. When allowed to radiate in a homogeneous medium having the material parameters of the exterior medium of the original problem, the electric current solution to the integral equation produces the correct scattered electric and magnetic fields external to the body.     

A hybrid FD-MoM technique for predicting shielding effectiveness of metallic enclosures with apertures

In this paper, a hybrid technique combining the finite-difference (FD) method and the method of moments (MoM) in the frequency domain is proposed to predict the shielding effectiveness of rectangular conducting enclosures with apertures under external illumination. The interior and exterior regions of the enclosure are analyzed separately by employing the field equivalence principle. Internal electromagnetic fields are discretized using the (FD) method, while external fields are formulated by the MoM. Enforcement of continuity of the tangential magnetic field over the aperture surface gives the desired equation to solve for electromagnetic fields everywhere. Numerical results for the shielding effectiveness of a rectangular cavity with apertures calculated by the new hybrid technique are presented and validated by comparing with experimental data.     

Moment method analysis of the magnetic shielding factor of aconducting TM shield at ELF

This paper presents an integral equation and method of moments (MoM) solution to the problem of TM transmission by a metallic conducting shield at extremely low frequencies (ELF). In order to accurately compute the total fields interior to the shield, equivalent problems are formulated which avoid the numerically difficult problem of computing the total fields as the sum of the incident plus scattered fields. In particular, the total electric field on the interior surface of the shield is obtained by a volume current equivalent problem, and then the total magnetic field interior to the shield is formulated in terms of equivalent magnetic surface currents flowing on the interior surface of the shield replaced by a perfect conductor     

Dipole antenna coaxially mounted on a conducting cylinder

The problem of a cylindrical dipole antenna symmetrically mounted on a conducting coaxial cylinder is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical approach is based on the Fourier transform solution for thin wire antennas, equivalence and image principles, point matching, and numerical optimization. The basic idea is that the modified dipole structure can be replaced by an equivalent system (as far as exterior fields are concerned) consisting of a simple perfectly conducting rod excited by an array of magnetic ring sources. The coefficients of these sources are then adjusted to match boundary conditions on the cylindrical modification surface. For the locations of the match points and sources, three gauges involving weighted integrals of the tangential electric fields are used to optimize the solution. Good agreements between measurement and theory have been obtained for the input admittances, resonance properties, and radiation patterns. Results are also presented for a dipole on a sphere to contrast effects due to change in modification shape.     

Shifted-frequency internal equivalence

The shifted frequency internal equivalence (SFIE) theorem involving inhomogeneous regions is introduced and proven. For a lossless inhomogeneous region using a vector Green's theorem and potential formulation, it is shown that the frequency-domain electromagnetic field at frequency ω inside the region can be obtained using a set of equivalent volume and surface currents radiating in free space and at the different frequency ω₀. The equivalent currents thus obtained are functions of the two frequencies, electric- and magnetic-volume-type sources of the original problem, material parameters, and the original field phasors at ω, and they only exist inside the region and on its boundary. A direct application of this equivalence is that it can be used to construct an internal equivalence at a shifted frequency for electromagnetic scattering problems if data are needed in a band of frequency. ω₀ can be kept constant while the incident field frequency changes and, as a result, full computation of fields at each different frequency for volume-type equivalent sources can be avoided     

Analysis of Finite Conductivity Cylindrical Conductors Excited by Axially-Independent TM Electromagnetic Field

A method is presented for the analysis of a system of cylindrical conductors, of large but finite conductivity, situated in a uniform dielectric and excited by an axially-independent TM electromagnetic field. The analysis is based on separating the space into the region exterior to the conductors and regions interior to the conductors, placing equivalent electric and magnetic currents on the boundary surfaces, applying the boundary conditions for the tangential fields and, hence, obtaining a system of coupled integral equations. Due to the special geometry and the chosen excitation, the problem treated is a two-dimensional one. The distribution of the unknowm surface currents is approximated by pulses, and the amplitudes of these pulses are determined by a point-matching technique. This method is applied to the problem of determining the inductance and resistance of two-wire transmission lines.     

A new numerical approach to the calculation of electromagnetic scattering properties of two-dimensional bodies of arbitrary cross section

A new method is introduced for formulating the scattering problem in which the scattered fields (and the interior fields in the case of a dielectric scatterer) are represented in an expansion in terms of free-space modal wave functions in cylindrical coordinates, the coefficients of which are the unknowns. The boundary conditions are satisfied using either an analytic continuation procedure, in which the far-field pattern (in Fourier series form) is continued into the near field and the boundary conditions are applied at the surface of the scatterer; or the completeness of the modal wave functions, to approximately represent the fields in the interior and exterior regions of the scatterer directly. The methods were applied to the scattering of two-dimensional cylindrical scatterers of arbitrary cross section and only the TM polarization of the excitation is considered. The solution for the coefficients of the modal wave functions are obtained by inversion of a matrix which depends only on the shape and material of the scatterer. The methods are illustrated using perfectly conducting square and elliptic cylinders and elliptic dielectric cylinders. A solution to the problem of multiple scattering by two conducting scatterers is also obtained using only the matrices characterizing each of the single scatterers. As an example, the method is illustrated by application to a two-body configuration.     

Computation of TM and TE modes in waveguides based on a surfaceintegral formulation

The surface integral formulation is used for the computation of TM and TE modes propagating in dielectric loaded waveguides. This formulation makes use of the surface equivalence principle whereby the field at any point internal or external to the waveguide can be expressed in terms of equivalent surface currents. This procedure reduces the original problem into a set of integro-differential equations which is then reduced to a matrix equation using the method of moments. The solution of this matrix equation provides the propagation characteristics of the waveguide and the equivalent surface currents existing on the waveguide walls. The equivalent surface currents can be used to compute the fields at all points, both inside and outside the waveguide. The surface integral method has been used to compute the propagation characteristics of waves propagating in dielectric loaded waveguides. The computed results agree very well with analytical and published data. A method that can be used to remove spurious modes is illustrated     

Electromagnetic scattering from arbitrary shaped conducting bodiescoated with lossy materials of arbitrary thickness

A simple and efficient numerical technique is presented to solve the electromagnetic scattering problem of coated conducting bodies of arbitrary shape. The surface equivalence principle is used to formulate the problem in terms of a set of coupled integral equations involving equivalent electric and magnetic surface currents which represent boundary fields. The conducting structures and the dielectric materials are modeled by planar triangular patches, and the method of moments is used to solve the integral equations. Numerical results for scattering cross sections are given for various structures and compared with other available data. These results are proved accurate by a number of representative examples     

Single integral equation for electromagnetic scattering bythree-dimensional homogeneous dielectric objects

A single integral equation formulation for electromagnetic scattering by three-dimensional (3-D) homogeneous dielectric objects is developed. In this formulation, a single effective electric current on the surface S of a dielectric object is used to generate the scattered fields in the interior region. The equivalent electric and magnetic currents for the exterior region are obtained by enforcing the continuity of the tangential fields across S. A single integral equation for the effective electric current is obtained by enforcing the vanishing of the total field due to the exterior equivalent currents inside S. The single integral equation is solved by the method of moments. Numerical results for a dielectric sphere obtained with this method are in good agreement with the exact results. Furthermore, the convergence speed of the iterative solution of the matrix equation in this formulation is significantly greater than that of the coupled integral equations formulation     

Transmission through dielectric-filled slots in a conductingcylindrical shell of arbitrary cross section: TE case

A simple moment solution is summarized for the problem of electromagnetic transmission through dielectric-filled slots in a conducting cylindrical shell of arbitrary cross section. The system is excited by a plane-wave polarized transverse electric (TE) to the axis of the shell. The equivalence principle is used to replace the shell and the dielectric by equivalent electric and magnetic surface currents radiating into an unbounded medium. Two different sets of coupled integral equations involving the surface currents are obtained by enforcing the boundary conditions on the tangential components of the total electric and magnetic fields. The method of moments is used to solve the integral equations. Pulses are used for both expansion and testing functions. Special attention is paid to circular and rectangular shells. Results for shell surface current, the internal field, and the aperture field are presented. For the case of air dielectric filling, the results computed using the electric field and/or the magnetic field formulation are in very good agreement with published data. In general, it is observed that the effect of filling a slot with a dielectric is not predictable from a simple theory     

A hybrid symmetric FEM/MOM formulation applied to scattering byinhomogeneous bodies of revolution

A new symmetric formulation of the hybrid finite element method (HFEM) is described which combines elements of the electric field integral equation (EFIE) and the magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) for the exterior region along with the finite element solution for the interior region. The formulation is applied to scattering by inhomogeneous bodies of revolution. To avoid spurious modes in the interior region a combination of vector and nodal based finite elements are used. Integral equations in the exterior region are used to enforce the Sommerfeld radiation condition by matching both the tangential electric and magnetic fields between interior and exterior regions. Results from this symmetric formulation as well as formulations based solely on the EFIE or MFIE are compared to exact series solutions and integral equation solutions for a number of examples. The behaviors of the symmetric, EFIE, and MFIE solutions are examined at potential resonant frequencies of the interior and exterior regions, demonstrating the advantage of this symmetric formulation     

A sheet impedance approximation for electrically thick materialshields

This paper describes a simple extension of the sheet impedance concept to treat electromagnetic (EM) shields that may be thick in terms of material shield wavelengths. For magnetic shields, a simple relation between the equivalent electric and magnetic currents representing the shield is obtained, and the electric current is found as the solution of a single surface integral equation that is shown to be a simple perturbation of that for a perfect electric conducting (PEC) surface. Finally, it is shown that the computation of the small interior fields of good shields requires the use of the proper PEC interior equivalent problem     

Coupling finite element and integral equation solutions usingdecoupled boundary meshes [electromagnetic scattering]

A method is outlined for calculating scattered fields from inhomogeneous penetrable objects using a coupled finite element-integral equation solution. The finite element equation can efficiently model fields in penetrable and inhomogeneous regions, while the integral equation exactly models fields on the finite element mesh boundary and in the exterior region. By decoupling the interior finite element and exterior integral equation meshes, considerable flexibility is found in both the number of field expansion points as well as their density. Only the nonmetal portions of the object need be modeled using a finite element expansion; exterior perfect conducting surfaces are modeled using an integral equation with a single unknown field since E _tan is identically zero on these surfaces. Numerical convergence, accuracy, and stability at interior resonant frequencies are studied in detail     

Inward-looking and outward-looking formulations for scattering frompenetrable objects

A number of approaches for solving the problem of scattering from two-dimensional penetrable objects using the finite-element method or other differential-equation-based solutions are reviewed. Different ways of joining the numerical solution on a finite domain to a field representation that satisfies the Sommerfield radiation condition in the infinite exterior domain are also reviewed within the paradigm of the equivalence principle of electromagnetics. Depending on the region where the solution is deduced first in an inherently sequential process, these approaches can often be classified as either inward-looking or outward-looking. Although inward-looking formulations may exhibit computational advantages, outward-looking formulations appear preferable for electrically large domains because of internal resonance difficulties that may arise when solving the isolated interior problem first in an inward-looking formulation     

Electromagnetic scattering from a chiral cylinder of arbitrarycross section

A simple moment solution is presented to the problem of electromagnetic scattering from a homogeneous chiral cylinder of arbitrary cross-section. The cylinder is assumed to be illuminated by either a TE or a TM wave. The surface equivalence principle is used to replace the cylinder by equivalent and magnetic-surface currents. These currents radiating in unbounded external medium produce the correct scattered field outside. When radiating in an unbounded chiral medium, they produce the correct total internal field. By enforcing the continuity of the tangential components of the total electric field on the surface of the cylinder, a set of coupled integral equations is obtained for the equivalent surface currents. Unlike a regular dielectric, the chiral scatterer produces both copolarized and cross-polarized scattered fields. Hence, both the electric and magnetic current each have a longitudinal and a circumferential component. These four components of the currents are obtained by using the method of moments (MoM) to solve the coupled set of integral equations. Pulses are used as expansion functions and point matching is used. The Green's dyads are used to develop explicit expressions for the electric field produced by two-dimensional surface currents radiating in an unbounded chiral medium. Some of the advantages and limitations of the method are discussed. The computed results include the internal field and the bistatic and monostatic echo widths. The results for a circular cylinder are in very good agreement with the exact eigenfunction solution     

Image solution for Poisson's equation in wedge geometry

The Poisson's equation for a dielectric wedge is solved by deriving a static image that corresponds to the potential contribution of the wedge. The problem is studied mainly in three dimensions but the solution for the analog two-dimensional problem is also provided. It appears that the use of image sources provides numerically a simple and efficient method to compute the potential inside and outside the wedge. Image sources for the exterior and interior regions consist of a line charge that decays exponentially as a function of complex angle and a set of point charges that can be interpreted as reflection or transmission images of a dielectric plane. All known closed-form solutions in terms of elementary functions are derived for an electrically and magnetically conducting half plane     

Hybrid FDTD-MPIE method for the simulation of locally inhomogeneous multilayer LTCC structure

A new hybrid finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and mixed potential integral equation (MPIE) method is proposed for the modeling of multilayer planar circuits with locally inhomogeneous objects. By using equivalence principle, the original problem can be decomposed into two kinds of regions. The FDTD method is employed to model the locally inhomogeneous objects and construct an interaction matrix to be used in the subsequent model coupling procedure. The MPIE method with less singular kernels is applied to model the layered structure with possible perfect electric conductors. The FDTD model and the MPIE model are coupled together by enforcing the continuity of the tangential electric and magnetic fields on the equivalent surface using a Galerkin testing procedure. Numerical results are presented to validate the proposed hybrid FDTD-MPIE method.