Variational integrators for electric circuits

Variational integrators are symplectic-momentum preserving integrators that are based on a discrete variational formulation of the underlying system. So far, variational integrators have been mainly developed and used for a wide variety of mechanical systems. In this work, we develop a variational integrator for the simulation of electric circuits. An appropriate variational formulation is presented to model the circuit from which the equations of motion are derived. Finally, a corresponding timediscrete variational formulation provides an iteration scheme for the simulation of the electric circuit. In this way, a variational integrator is constructed that gains several advantages. A comparison to standard integration techniques shows that even for simple LCR circuits a better long-time energy behavior and frequency preservation can be obtained.