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A fundamental extension for a recently introduced numerical scheme for the time-domain solution of Maxwell’s equations on tetrahedral meshes is introduced: the algorithm is here shown to be able to handle materials with finite electric resistivity, without losing any of its amenable properties. A theoretic stability analysis, valid for the extended algorithm, is presented for the first time, and a Courant–Friedrich–Lewy sufficient condition on the maximum time step allowed for the scheme to be stable is derived analytically. This result is completely novel for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-like approaches on tetrahedral grids. Finally, the accuracy of the extended algorithm is tested with respect to the well-known implicit finite-element method scheme on tetrahedral grids, to the canonical FDTD scheme on Cartesian orthogonal grids, and to a commercial code implementing FDTD with staircasing mitigation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently introduced time-domain method for the numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations on unstructured grids is reformulated in a novel way, with the aim of implementation on graphical processing units (GPUs). Numerical tests show that the GPU implementation of the resulting scheme yields correct results, while also offering an order of magnitude in speedup and still preserving all of the main properties of the original finite-difference time-domain algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first introduces a simplified construction of the constitutive matrices for general polyhedral meshes. These constitutive matrices are geometrically defined by means of simple closed-form expressions involving the geometric elements of the primal and dual meshes. Then, we solve for the first time the Maxwell’s eigenvalue problem on general polyhedral meshes. In particular, we analyze the convergence of the eigenvalues when the mesh is adaptively refined by using the subgridding technique together with the constitutive inconsistency as error indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency-domain wave propagation problem is notoriously difficult to solve through iterative methods because it leads to a symmetric but indefinite linear system. For this reason, direct methods are usually employed at the expense of great memory usage. Convergence of iterative methods, however, could be obtained by regularizing the wave equation. We introduce such regularization in discrete geometric approach framework on polyhedral grids. Moreover, we extend the regularization to the impedance boundary condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, reformulating the mathematical description of physical laws in an algebraic form using tools from algebraic topology gained popularity in computational physics. Physical variables are defined as fluxes or circulations on oriented geometric elements of a pair of dual interlocked cell complexes, while physical laws are expressed in a metric-free fashion with incidence matrices. The metric and the material information are encoded in the discrete counterpart of the constitutive laws of materials, also referred to as constitutive or material matrices. The stability and consistency of the method is guaranteed by precise properties (symmetry, positive definiteness, consistency) that material matrices have to fulfill. The main advantage of this approach is that material matrices, even for arbitrary star-shaped polyhedral elements, can be geometrically defined, by simple closed-form expressions, in terms of the geometric elements of the primal and dual grids. That is why this original technique may be considered as a "Discrete Geometric Approach" (DGA) to computational physics. This paper first details the set of vector basis functions associated with the edges and faces of a polyhedral primal grid or of a dual grid. Then, it extends the construction of constitutive matrices for bianisotropic media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electromagnetic wave propagation problem can be formulated according to a pair of complementary formulations, called the e -formulation and the h -formulation. The two formulations are linked to each other by Maxwell’s curl equations, and, in the continuous setting, they are perfectly equivalent in describing the wave propagation phenomenon. However, this is not true in the discrete setting, where the two formulations, in general, give different solutions. In the past decades, complementary formulations were widely studied for static problems and eddy-current problems, where they were exploited as error estimators for adaptive refinement schemes. Moreover, the so-called bilateral energy bounds arise for some problems whether theoretically or at least numerically. However, to the best of our knowledge, little attention has been given to complementarity in the wave propagation problems. In this paper, we propose an adaptive refinement scheme using the constitutive error as an estimator, and then, we investigate the behavior in terms of bilateral energy bounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel discrete model for cell membranes and electrodes contact impedances alternative to the widely used finite elements. The finite element approach can be considered as a tool for constructing finite dimensional systems of equations that approximate the specific electroquasistatic biological problem on the discrete level. Although the finite element technique is explained typically in terms of variational or weighted-residual approaches, another, less familiar way is available to reformulate geometrically the same physical problem. This approach, referred to as discrete geometric approach, allows a direct link between geometry and the degrees of freedom describing the specific biological problem. It is straightforward to implement in any finite element open software and it assures a correct modeling of voltages and currents playing a fundamental role in a biological problem. The validation has been performed, as a first step, against analytical solutions; then, we considered impedance measurements regarding erythrocytes in whole blood flowing in microchannels at high shear rates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims at comparing the pseudospectral method and discrete geometric approach for modeling quantization effects in nanoscale devices. To this purpose, we implemented a simulation tool, based on both methods, to solve a self-consistent Schrödinger–Poisson coupled problem for a 2-D electron carrier confinement according to the effective mass approximation model (suitable for FinFETs and nanowire FETs). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The time independent Schrödinger equation stems from quantum theory axioms as a partial differential equation. This work aims at providing a novel discrete geometric formulation of this equation in terms of integral variables associated with precise geometric elements of a pair of three-dimensional interlocked grids, one of them based on tetrahedra. We will deduce, in a purely geometric way, a computationally efficient discrete counterpart of the time independent Schrödinger equation in terms of a standard symmetric eigenvalue problem. Moreover boundary and interface conditions together with non homogeneity and anisotropy of the media involved are accounted for in a straightforward manner. This approach yields to a sensible computational advantage with respect to the finite element method, where a generalized eigenvalue problem has to be solved instead. Such a modeling tool can be used for analyzing a number of quantum phenomena in modern nano-structured devices, where the accounting of the real 3D geometry is a crucial issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By exploiting the geometric structure behind Maxwell’s equations, the so called discrete geometric approach allows to translate the physical laws of electromagnetism into discrete relations, involving circulations and fluxes associated with the geometric elements of a pair of interlocked grids: the primal grid and the dual grid. To form a finite dimensional system of equations, discrete counterparts of the constitutive relations must be introduced in addition. They are referred to as constitutive matrices which must comply with precise properties (symmetry, positive definiteness, consistency) in order to guarantee the stability and consistency of the overall finite dimensional system of equations. The aim of this work is to introduce a general and efficient set of vector functions associated with the edges and faces of a polyhedral primal grids or of a dual grid obtained from the barycentric subdivision of the boundary of the primal grid; these vector functions comply with precise specifications which allow to construct stable and consistent discrete constitutive equations for the discrete geometric approach in the framework of an energetic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present an automatic and general technique, suitable with the A-X geometric eddy-current formulation, to impose sources over massive conductors of any shape. For this purpose, the localized source approach is used, which does not require the solutions of steady-state conduction problems in the preprocessing stage. Nevertheless, this approach needs a thick cut in each active conductor, which is usually found "by hand." In this paper, an automatic and general algorithm to compute such thick cuts is introduced. Some benchmark problems are presented to demonstrate the generality and the robustness of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A perturbation method for the T - Ω geometric formulation to solve eddy-current problems is introduced. The proposed formulation is applied to the feasibility design of a nondestructive evaluation device suitable to detect "long" longitudinal flaws in hot steel bars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a 3-D time-domain eddy-current A formulation based on the discrete geometric approach (DGA) over unstructured and nonorthogonal hexahedral dual grids. The resulting differential algebraic system of equation, solved by means of a singly-diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta (SDIRK) variable step-size solver, leads to very accurate results at reduced computational costs, as shown by numerical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]