A Boundary Element Procedure for 3D Electromagnetic Transmission Problems with Large Conductivity

Abstract

We consider the scattering of time-periodic electromagnetic fields by metallic obstacles, or the eddy current problem. In this interface problem, different sets of Maxwell equations must be solved both in the obstacle and outside it, while the tangential components of both electric and magnetic fields are continuous across the interface. We describe an asymptotic procedure, applied for large conductivity, which reflects the skin effect in metals. The key to our method is a special integral equation procedure for the exterior boundary value problems corresponding to perfect conductors. The asymptotic procedure leads to a great reduction in complexity for the numerical solution, since it involves solving only the exterior boundary value problems. Furthermore, we introduce a FEM/BEM coupling procedure for the transmission problem and consider the implementation of Galerkin’s elements for the perfect conductor problem, and present numerical experiments.