Finite Element Boundary Element Analysis Of Conformal Microstrip Antennas

The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Coverage of the Finite Element Analysis and Modeling of Antennas and Arrays Aimed at researchers as well as practical engineers—and packed with over 200 illustrations including twenty-two color plates—Finite Element Analysis of Antennas and Arrays presents: Time- and frequency-domain formulations and mesh truncation techniques Antenna source modeling and parameter calculation Modeling of complex materials and fine geometrical details Analysis and modeling of narrowband and broadband antennas Analysis and modeling of infinite and finite phased-array antennas Analysis and modeling of antenna and platform interactions Recognizing the strengths of other numerical methods, this book goes beyond the finite element method and covers hybrid techniques that combine the finite element method with the finite difference time-domain method, the method of moments, and the high-frequency asymptotic methods to efficiently deal with a variety of complex antenna problems. Complemented with numerous examples, this cutting-edge resource fully demonstrates the power and capabilities of the finite element analysis and its many practical applications.

Integral equation methods have generally been the workhorse for antenna and scattering computations. In the case of antennas, they continue to be the prominent computational approach, but for scattering applications the requirement for large-scale computations has turned researchers' attention to near neighbor methods such as the finite element method, which has low O(N) storage requirements and is readily adaptable in modeling complex geometrical features and material inhomogeneities. In this paper, we review three hybrid finite element methods for simulating composite scatterers, conformal microstrip antennas, and finite periodic arrays. Specifically, we discuss the finite element method and its application to electromagnetic problems when combined with the boundary integral, absorbing boundary conditions, and artificial absorbers for terminating the mesh. Particular attention is given to large-scale simulations, methods, and solvers for achieving low memory requirements and code performance on parallel computing architectures. Volakis, J. L. and Chatterjee, A. and Gong, J. Unspecified Center NCA2-653...

Conformal antenna arrays offer many cost and weight advantages over conventional antenna systems. In the past, antenna designers have had to resort to expensive measurements in order to develop a conformal array design. This is due to the lack of rigorous mathematical models for conformal antenna arrays, and as a result the design of conformal arrays is primarily based on planar antenna design concepts. Recently, we have found the finite element-boundary integral method to be very successful in modeling large planar arrays of arbitrary composition in a metallic plane. Herewith we shall extend this formulation for conformal arrays on large metallic cylinders. In this we develop the mathematical formulation. In particular we discuss the finite element equations, the shape elements, and the boundary integral evaluation, and it is shown how this formulation can be applied with minimal computation and memory requirements. The implementation shall be discussed in a later report. Kempel, Leo C. and Volakis, John L. and Woo, Alex C. and Yu, C. Long Unspecified Center NCA2-543...

Conformal antenna arrays offer many cost and weight advantages over conventional antenna systems. However, due to a lack of rigorous mathematical models for conformal antenna arrays, antenna designers resort to measurement and planar antenna concepts for designing non-planar conformal antennas. Recently, we have found the finite element-boundary integral method to be very successful in modeling large planar arrays of arbitrary composition in a metallic plane. We extend this formulation to conformal arrays on large metallic cylinders. In this report, we develop the mathematical formulation. In particular, we discuss the shape functions, the resulting finite elements and the boundary integral equations, and the solution of the conformal finite element-boundary integral system. Some validation results are presented and we further show how this formulation can be applied with minimal computational and memory resources. Kempel, Leo C. and Volakis, John L. Unspecified Center NCA2-653...