Eddy Current Analysis for 3-d Problems Using the Boundary Element Method

A modified boundary integral equation/boundary element method (BIE/BEM) is being developed for eddy current problems in three dimensions. Maxwell’s equations governing the eddy current problems are formulated in two sets of BIE’s, one for the electric field and the other for the magnetic field. These BIE’s involve both the field and the normal derivative of the field, for both exterior (air) and interior (metal) regions. In addition to the usual set of interface conditions involving only the field, a set of interface conditions involving the normal derivatives of the field is derived by applying Maxwell’s equations near the interface. The present approach represents a departure from the existing BIE formulation for eddy current problems (see, e.g. [1-3]) in which normal derivatives of the field do not explicitly appear. However, the approach here draws heavily on the authors’ experience and success with and code development for ultrasonic scattering