1

REFORMULATION OF THE NOVEL SCALED BOUNDARY FINITE ELEMENT

METHOD FOR COMPUTATIONAL ELECTROMAGNETICS
V. S. Prasanna Rajan
Dept. of Electrical & Electronics Engg., BITS, Pilani, Rajasthan 333031, INDIA
Email: vsprajan@yahoo.com
Abstract: The scaled boundary finite-element method is a novel semi-analytical
method jointly developed by Chongmin Song and John P. Wolf to solve problems
in elastodynamics and allied problems in civil engineering. This novel method is
reformulated recently for problems in electromagnetics. In this paper, the
reformulation of the novel method for the case of metallic cavity structures is
explained. The closeness of the values obtained by the novel method with those
obtained from theoretical analysis is depicted numerically in the form of a table.
Key words: Computational Electromagnetics, Scaled boundary finite element method, Vector
finite element method, Cavity structures.
1. Introduction: The vector finite element method is one of the most successful and popular
methods for electromagnetic analysis [1-8]. In spite of the success of the method, some key aspects
with regard to its implementation are worth noting. When the method is employed to solve a
problem, the finite element discretization is to be performed throughout the structure under
consideration, for those geometries which lack symmetry. If the geometry under consideration is
uniform along a particular axis, the finite element discretization need not be performed along that
particular axis, resulting in the reduction in the dimension of the discretization. However, if the
geometry under consideration does not posses any uniformity in any of the axes, finite element
discretization is to be performed along all the axes. For the case of non-standard two and threedimensional structures, this amounts to considerable requirement on computer memory, processor
and computational time. The requirement on memory and becomes more pronounced when dealing
with lossy, in-homogenous and anisotropic [9,10,11] materials. A reduction in the dimension of
discretization has significant impact in the computing time and resources [12].
As an alternative, the boundary element method has the advantage of only surface discretization
for three-dimensional geometries with analogous reduction in the dimension for discretization in the
case of 2-D geometries.

But the method requires the fundamental solution (Greens function) to be known in advance.
Also, singularity appears in the integrals involving the fundamental solution and hence provisions
are to be made to avoid the singularity during the evaluation of such integrals. Also, the knowledge
of the fundamental solution is extremely difficult if not impossible except for some simple
structures. In the case of a general anisotropic medium, it is extremely difficult to find the greens
function. Moreover, the matrix resulting from the boundary element method is full and nonsymmetric unlike the finite element matrix, which is sparse and symmetric. In spite of these
disadvantages, the boundary element method has the advantage that the radiation condition at
infinity is exactly satisfied, whereas in the case of finite element method, it is only approximately
satisfied due to the application of the absorbing boundary condition [5] in the unbounded medium.
Hence this makes the boundary element method favorable while dealing with unbounded domains
usually encountered in open boundary problems.
In this connection, it is mentioned that, a novel semi-analytical finite element method called
The Scaled Boundary Finite element method was developed jointly by Chongmin Song and
John. P. Wolf in 1997 [13,14] to successfully solve Elastodynamic and allied problems of Civil
Engineering and Soil structure interaction. The novel method is based entirely on finite elements,
but with a discretization only on the boundary [13,14]. The method combines the advantages of
both the finite and boundary element methods [13,14]. This method doesnt require any
fundamental solution to be known in advance, unlike the boundary element method [13,14]. This
novel method is analytical in its approach in the radial direction with respect to an origin called as
scaling center, and implements the finite element method in the circumferential direction [13,14].
Hence the method is semi-analytical.
The key advantages of this method are as follows: [13,14]
a) Reduction of the spatial dimension by one, reducing the discretization effort.

b) No fundamental solution required which permits general anisotropic material to be addressed

and eliminates singular integrals.
c) The method being analytical in the radial direction, permits the radiation condition at infinity, to
be satisfied exactly for unbounded media .
d) No discretization on that part of the boundary and interfaces between different materials passing
through the scaling center.
e) Converges to the exact solution in the finite-element sense in the circumferential directions.
f) Tangential continuity conditions at the interfaces of different elements are automatically
satisfied.
In light of the above discussion, it is imperative to develop a vector finite element method based
on the scaled boundary transformation [13,14] which address the problem of discretization and at
the same time retains the advantages of both the tangentially continuous vector finite element
method, as well as the scaled boundary finite element method. The development of such a novel
vector finite element method for solving problems in electromagnetics is the main aim of this paper.
To the best knowledge of the author, till date, the reformulation of the scaled boundary finite
element method for electromagnetics has not been done before. In this paper, the reformulation is
done specifically for determining the resonant frequencies of metallic cavity structures.
2. Development of the scaled boundary finite element method: The initial development of the
novel method was based on an approach, using the concept of assemblage and similarity familiar to
engineers. The method was then called as the Consistent Infinitesimal Finite- Element cell method
[15], reflecting its derivation. Successive developments of the method led to its reformulation based
on the scaled boundary transformation [13,14]. In this approach, the governing differential equation
is transformed using a Galerkin weighted residual technique. This results in the scaled boundary
finite-element equation of the problem [13,14]. This method is called the Scaled Boundary Finite
Element method.

The scaled boundary finite element method, is based entirely on finite elements.

As a prelude to the reformulation of the scaled boundary finite-element method for

electromagnetics, the concept of the scaled boundary transformation is explained in the forthcoming
section.
3. Concept of the scaled boundary transformation: In order to apply this novel method, a scaling
center is first chosen in such a way that the total boundary under consideration is visible from it
[13,14]. In case of geometries where it is impossible to find such a scaling center, the entire
geometry is sub-structured [12]. In each sub-structure, the scaling center is independently chosen,
and the method is applied in each sub-structure. The sub-structures are combined together, which
corresponds to the analysis of the whole geometry.
The concept of the scaled boundary transformation is that, by scaling the boundary in the radial
direction with respect to a scaling center O, with a dimensionless numerical factor varying in the
range from 0 to 1, the whole domain is covered [13,14]. For bounded domains, the upper and lower
bounds of the scaling factor are 1 and 0 respectively. For unbounded domains, the corresponding
lower and upper bounds of the scaling factor are 1 and . The figures (1a) and (1b), illustrate the
concept of the scaled boundary transformation for unbounded and bounded domains respectively.

Fig. (1a) Unbounded medium

with scaling center
inside the medium
(section)

Fig.(1b) Scaled boundary (section)

The scaling applies to each surface finite element. Its discretized surface on the boundary is
denoted as Se (superscript e for element). Continuous scaling of the element yields a pyramid with
volume Ve. The scaling center O is at its apex.
The base of the pyramid is the surface finite element. The sides of the pyramid forming the
boundary Ae follow from connecting the curved edge of the surface finite element to the scaling
center by straight lines. No discretization of Ae occurs. Assembling all the pyramids by connecting
their sides, corresponds to enforcing compatibility and equilibrium conditions. This results in the
total medium with volume V and the closed boundary S. No boundaries Ae passing through the
scaling center remain. Mathematically, the scaling corresponds to a transformation of the
coordinates for each finite element resulting in two curvilinear local coordinates along the
tangential directions and a single dimensionless radial coordinate representing the scaling factor.
This transformation becomes unique due to the choice of the scaling center from which the total
boundary of the geometry is visible [13,14].
The scaled boundary transformation is basically a relation between the derivatives in the
cartesian coordinates and the derivatives expressed in the scaled boundary variables [13,14].
4. The scaled boundary finite element method in electromagnetics: The scaled boundary
transformation equations [13,14] are quite general. It can be applied to differential equations
governing the phenomena in any discipline. This feature of the scaled boundary transformations is
used in the reformulation of the novel method for electromagnetics [17]. However, the actual
formulation of the scaled boundary finite-element equation depends upon the additional constraints
that are specific to the discipline, which are to be satisfied. This approach ensures that, the scaled
boundary finite-element equation takes into account, the specific features of that discipline. Hence,
a closest possible representation of the system, represented by the original differential equations
along with the constraints in the form of boundary conditions, is achieved.

In this context, when the scaled boundary finite-element method is reformulated in

electromagnetics in H formulation, it is necessary that apart from satisfying the essential boundary
conditions, the fields should satisfy the solenoidality property of the magnetic field [17]. This
condition should be necessarily incorporated while formulating the scaled boundary finite-element
equation in electromagnetics [17]. This is necessary so that no spurious solutions occur as eigen
solutions of the boundary value problem [17].
Considering the implementation of the essential boundary condition that occurs in the problems
in electromagnetics that, the tangential Electric/Magnetic fields vanish at those points lying on the
Electric/Magnetic walls respectively is accomplished by setting to zero, all the unknown numerical
coefficients of the tangential variables and in the corresponding tangential field components,
when the scaled boundary passes through those points [17]. This is achieved numerically by the
quadrature method of integration. The upper and lower limits for the integrals involving the
integration by quadrature method, is chosen in such a way that they contain the points lying on the
electric/magnetic walls and form a part of the quadrature nodes for integration. While performing
the integration, when the nodes of the quadrature lie on the electric/magnetic walls, all the unknown
numerical coefficients of the tangential variables and in the corresponding tangential field
components are set to zero, for that point. By this process, the essential boundary conditions
pertaining to the problem gets satisfied [17].
The scaled boundary finite element method posses a distinct feature, when formulated in
electromagnetics. The accuracy of the eigen solutions depend upon the number of terms included in
the radial expansion of the field [17]. This dependence is apart from the conventional factors like
the choice of the interpolation functions, size of the element, accuracy of the Jacobian
transformation, etc. This fact is demonstrated numerically in section 5.7 for the case of a spherical
metallic cavity.

5. The Scaled Boundary Finite Element formulation for Cavity Structures: An ideal metallic
cavity structures represent the total confinement of the electromagnetic field in a volume of space
bounded externally by metallic surfaces. The eigen-modes of the cavity structures are in fact, the
standing wave field patterns corresponding to various eigen values. The tangential component of
the electric field and the normal component of the magnetic field vanish on the boundary
comprising the metallic surfaces. It is assumed that, the metallic surface is a perfect conductor.
In this section, the scaled boundary finite-element equation is developed for a general metallic
cavity structure, and a numerical implementation is illustrated for the case of a spherical metallic
cavity.

5.1. Theory
The first step in the development of the appropriate scaled boundary finite element formulation
is the formulation of the variational functional. This is considered in the following discussion.
The vector helmholtz equation in H formulation [5] is given by
r1 H - k 02 r H = 0 ,

k 02 = 2 0 0

(5.1.1)

where r and r are the local material properties corresponding to the relative permittivity and
relative permeability of the medium respectively, is the angular frequency.
The associated essential boundary condition [5] is given by
H 1n = H t

(5.1.2)

The essential boundary condition implies that the magnetic field is purely tangential to the
bounding metallic surface. H t denotes the tangential magnetic field component, and 1n denotes unit
normal vector to the surface.
The associated functional for Eq.(5.1.1) can be developed by taking the dot product of Eq.(5.1.1) by
an arbitrary test vector W, and integrating over the whole domain ,

W (

1
r

H - k02 r H d = 0

(5.1.3)

Using the following identity [5]

P ( H ) d = ( P )( Q ) d (P Q ) 1 dS
n

(5.1.4)

Eq.(5.1.3) can be written as,

( W ) ( H ) d (W
1
r

H 1n dS - k02 r W H d = 0

1
r

(5.1.5)

The boundary integral can be re-arranged as

W (

1
r

H 1n dS

(5.1.6)

Also,
H = j E

(5.1.7)

for the time harmonic variation of the magnetic field.

Hence, the rearranged boundary integral vanishes over a perfect metallic surface since the
tangential electric field over the metallic surface is zero and the cross product of the normal to the
surface 1n with the normal component of the electric field will be zero.
Hence, Eq.(5.1.5) can then be written as,

( W ) ( H ) d k W H d = 0
1
r

2
0

(5.1.8)

The Eq. (5.1.8) represents the weighted residual form of the vector helmholtz equation in H
formulation.
The associated variational form of Eq.(5.1.1) is obtained by substituting W = H in Eq.(5.1.8) and
by using the identity given in [18] for all the three Cartesian components of the vectors occurring
in the integral form given in (5.1.8). This gives the variational functional F given by,

F=

1
( H ) r1 ( H ) k02 H r H d

(5.1.9)

The expression for F given in (5.1.9) is the variational functional associated with the vector
helmholtz equation (5.1.1) subject to the essential boundary condition given in (5.1.2).
The variational functional given in (5.1.9) is made stationary, with respect to the unknown
coefficients in the expansion of H, which corresponds to the solution of the vector helmholtz
equation.
5.2. Expression of the field components in terms of the scaled boundary coordinates
The first step in the development of the scaled boundary finite element formulation, is
expressing the vector variable H in terms of the scaled boundary variables , , . The vector
variable H is expanded in terms of the ortho-normal vectors in the scaled boundary co-ordinate
system [13,14] as

H ( ,, ) = Hn ( ) Hn (, ) n + Hn ( ) Hn (, ) n + Hn ( ) Hn (, ) n

(5.2.1)

From (5.2.1), the corresponding representation of H ( , , ) in Cartesian coordinates obtained by

using the transformation equations given in [17] is given by,

H ( , , ) = H x ( ) H x ( , ) H y ( ) H y ( , ) H z ( ) H z ( , )

i
j

k

(5.2.2)

In Eq.(5.2.2) i ,j, k represent the ortho-normal vectors in the Cartesian coordinate system.
The individual terms in the R.H.S of (5.2.2) are given as follows.

Hx ( ) Hx (, ) = Hn ( ) Hn ( ) Hn ( )

Hn (, ) nx

Hn (, ) n x

Hn (, ) n x

(5.2.3)

10

H y ( ) H y (, ) = Hn ( ) Hn ( ) Hn ( )

Hz ( ) Hz (, ) = Hn ( ) Hn ( ) Hn ( )

Hn (, ) ny

Hn (, ) n y

Hn (, ) n y

(5.2.4)

Hn (, ) nz

Hn (, ) n z

Hn (, ) n z

(5.2.5)

The terms of the form H( ) H( , ) occurring in the matrix multiplication have the form,
m

H ( ) H ( , ) = f ( ) hij hi ( ) h j ( ) n( , )

(5.2.6)

i = o j =0

In the above expression, f ( ) denotes the unknown radial function expressed in terms of the radial
variable and h ij denotes the unknown numerical coefficients occurring in the expansions of Hx,
Hy and Hz respectively. hi ( ) denotes the single variable functions of x, y and z components of H
expressed in terms of the tangential variable . h j ( ) denotes the single variable functions of x, y
and z components of H expressed in terms of the tangential variable . The form of the functions
expressed as h( ) and h( ) are given as [5]
h0 ( r ) = 1 r

(5.2.7)

h1 (r ) = 1 + r

(5.2.8)

hi (r ) = (1 r ) 2 r i 2 for i 2

(5.2.9)

It is shown in detail in [5] that, while employing the vector finite element method, only the
tangential continuity between adjacent elements are sufficient to impose inter-element field
continuity. In (5.2.6), n( , ) represent the scalar components of the orthogonal vectors in the

11

scaled boundary coordinate system. The function f() occurring in the field expansions is expanded
in the form of the power series expansion in as
N

f1 ( ) = ak k

(5.2.10)

k =0

Eqs.(5.2.1-5.2.10) enables the field components to be expressed in terms of the scaled boundary
variables. The next step is the derivation of the solenoidality (divergence) condition of the magnetic
field, in terms of the scaled boundary coordinates. This is detailed in the following section.
5.3. Derivation of the solenoidality condition in terms of the scaled boundary coordinates
The derivation of the solenoidality condition plays a crucial role in the development of the
scaled boundary finite element formulation. As mentioned earlier, this is essential for the
elimination of spurious modes in the eigen spectrum of the boundary value problem.
Since the problem is formulated in terms of the scaled boundary variables ( , , ) [13,14] it is
necessary that the divergence condition should be written in terms of ( , , ) . This is achieved as
follows.
The divergence condition for the magnetic field is given by,

( H ) = 0

(5.3.1)

When is a non-zero scalar constant, Eq.(5.3.1) can be written as

H = 0

(5.3.2)

Expanding Eq.(5.3.2),

H x H y H z
=0
+
+
y
z
x

Since 0 , Eq.(5.3.3) gives,

(5.3.3)

12

H x H y H z

+
+
y
z
x

(5.3.4)

Rewriting the Eq.(5.3.4) in terms of scaled boundary coordinates by using the three dimensional
scaled boundary transformation [13,14] and using the convention that H x , H y and H z respectively
denote the scalar part of the i , j , and k components given in (5.2.2), we get

g H x 1 g H x g H x g H y 1 g H y g H y
+

+
+
+
+
nx
nx
nx
ny
ny
ny
| J |
| J |
| J |
| J |
| J |

|J|
g H z 1 g H z g H z
=0
nz
nz
nz
+
+
+
|J|
| J |
| J |

(5.3.5)

Multiplying both sides of Eq.(5.3.5) by ,

H x g H x g H x g H y g H y g H y
+

nx
nx
ny
ny
ny
+
+
+
+
|J|
| J |
| J |
| J |
| J |
| J |

g H z g H z g H z
=0
+
+
+
nz
nz
nz
| J |
| J |

|J|

nx

(5.3.6)

Rewriting Eq.(5.3.5) using Eq.(5.2.10) and grouping the terms of k,

g
d[N1 ]
d[N 2 ]
d[N 3 ] g
d[N1 ]
d[N 2 ]
d[N 3 ] k

[
]
[
]
[
]
n
a
n
b
n
c
+ n y [bk ]
+ nz [ck ]
+ nx [ak ]
+
+

y k
z
k

| J | x k d
d
d | J |
d
d
d
k = 0

m
g
+ k [ak ] nx [N1 ( , )] + [bk ] ny [N 2 ( , )] + [ck ] nz [N 3 ( , )] k = 0
k =0 | J |

(5.3.7)
The Eq.(5.3.7) holds for all values of . This is possible if the coefficient terms of k are zero.
Equating the coefficient of k to zero, gives,

[ak ] g

nx k [N1 ] +

g
g d[N1 ] g d[N 3 ]
g d[N 2 ] g d[N 2 ]

+ [bk ]
nx
nx
n y k [N 2 ] +
ny
ny
+
+
|J|
d
|J|
d
|J|
d
|J|
d
| J|

|J |
g
g d[N 3 ] g d[N 3 ]
=0
nz
nz
+ [ck ] nz k [N 3 ] +
+
|J|
d
|J|
d
| J |

(5.3.8)

13

Eq.(5.3.8) is valid for k 0 and [N1] ,[N2] and [N3] are matrices containing the functions in terms of
the variables and of the double summation series given in (5.2.6). [ak], [bk] and [ck] are the
matrices containing the unknown constants of the radial power series expansion given in (5.11) and

J occurring in Eqs.(5.3.5-5.3.8) is the surface discretization factor [17].

The relationship expressed in Eq.(5.3.8) is the solenoidality condition expressed in terms of the
scaled boundary coordinates. It is a point wise constraint between the unknown coefficients of
the field vector variable H valid for every point in the domain.
The next section deals with the expression of the variational functional in the scaled boundary
coordinates.
5.4. The variational form of the functional in terms of the scaled boundary coordinates
To express the functional given in (5.1.9) in terms of the scaled boundary variables, the three
dimensional scaled boundary transformation given in [17] is used. The expression H occurring
in the functional is written in terms of the scaled boundary variables using the scaled boundary
transformation. The expressions for H given in Eqs.(5.2.3-5.2.5) are used to evaluate the term

H H in the functional.
Following this procedure, the variational form of the functional given in Eq.(5.1.9) written in terms
of the variables of the scaled boundary coordinates is given by,

F=

[((

)]

1
r1
1
r1
2
2
2
g
T
+
g
T
+
g
T
+
2

1
2
3

2 0 | J |
|J|

) ((

) ((

[((g

) ) ((

k02 r ( f1 ( )N1 ( , )) + ( f 2 ( )N 2 ( , )) + ( f 3 ( )N 3 ( , )) d d d = 0
2

) ) ((

) )]

g T4 + g g T5 + g g T6

(5.4.1)

14

The terms T1 to T6 are given by,

2

H x
H x
H z H y
H x H x
T1 = ny
+ nx
ny
+ nz
nx
nz

H y H x
H z
H z
H z H y
T2 = ny
+ nx
ny
+ nz
nx
nz

(5.4.2)

H y H x
H z
H z
H z H y
T3 = ny
+ n x
ny
+ nz
nx
nz

(5.4.3)

(5.4.4)

H y H x
H y H z
H z
H x
H z H x
T4 = ny
ny
nz
nx
+ nz
nx
nz
nz

H y
H x
H x H y
ny
+ nx
ny

nx

(5.4.5)

H y H x
H y H z
H z
H z
H z H x
T5 = ny
ny
nz
nx
+ nz
nx
nz
nz

H y
H x
H x H y
ny
+ nx
ny

nx

(5.4.6)

H y H x
H y H z
H z
H z
H z H x
T6 = ny
ny
nz
nx
+ nz
nx
nz
nz

H y
H x
H x H y
ny
+ nx
ny

nx

(5.4.7)

5.5. Implementation of the solenoidality condition in the functional

Having expressed the functional in terms of the scaled boundary variables, and the next step is to
implement the solenoidality condition given in Eq.(5.3.8), in the variational functional given in
Eq.(5.4.1). The Lagrange multiplier technique [19] is made use of which results in a modified
functional containing ( k + 1) Lagrange multiplier terms for every value k. These Lagrange
multiplier terms account for the implementation of the solenoidality condition of the magnetic field.
The radial coordinate in the modified functional is independent of the two circumferential

15

coordinates and . The functional is integrated with respect to with its lower and upper limits
being 0 and 1. This renders the functinal entirely in terms of the circumferential variables and .
The resulting modified functional is given by,

F=

1
T1 '+T2 '+ T3 '+ T4 '+T5 '+ T6 ' k02 [T7 '+ T8 '+ T9 '] d d + ( k + 1) Lagrange multiplier terms
2 ,
(5.4.8)

In (5.4.8), the letters with a prime denote the terms after the integration with the radial variable
. An important observation that is to be noted is that, the terms in Eq.(5.4.8) contain only
the surface finite element discretization factor denoted by | J | even for the general 3-D
structures.
This unique feature of the scaled boundary finite element method, in contrast with the
conventional finite element method, where the finite element discretization is to be necessarily
performed in all the three dimensions, for arbitrary three dimensional structures devoid of
uniformity along a particular axis. The forth-coming section deals with the generation of the

finite element matrices.

5.6. Generation of the scaled boundary finite element matrices and the formation of matrix
equations

After the expression of the functional purely in terms of the tangential variables, as given in
Eq.(5.4.8), the next step is the generation of the scaled boundary finite element matrices.
The expression given in (5.4.8) is evaluated for every surface element characterized by the
circumferential variables (,). Then the variation with respect to each undetermined coefficient is
set to zero. This process leads to a set of linear equations. Imposing only tangential continuity of the
field component between the adjacent elements, the final system equation is of the form
A h + k 02 B h = 0

(5.4.9)

16

The Eq.(5.4.9) is a standard form of the matrix eigen value equation which can be solved
numerically. The solution of Eq.(5.4.9) gives the solution of the vector helmholtz equation given in
Eq.(5.1.1) along with the essential boundary condition given in (5.1.2).
An important feature that is to be noted in the theoretical formulation developed above is
that, there is no specific assumption on the shape of the geometry under consideration. Hence,
the formulation thus developed, holds independent of geometry.
5.7. Numerical Implementation

The theoretical formulation thus developed, is implemented numerically for the case of a
spherical metallic cavity, with air being the dielectric medium. The schematic diagram of the
spherical metallic cavity considered for the numerical implementation is shown in Figure 5.1 in the
following page..

Figure 5.1 Spherical metallic Cavity

The units of the radius of the spherical metallic cavity denoted as a is taken to be in cms. For
the finite element discretization of the surface, an eight node curvilinear quadrilateral elements were
used with the mesh of one octant consisting of three finite elements. The discretized boundary of
the solid sphere of one octant is shown below in Figure 5.2 in the following page.

17

Figure 5.2 Finite Element mesh of one octant of boundary of solid sphere.

After the discretization of the boundary of the spherical metallic cavity by surface finite
elements, the functional given in Eq.(5.4.8) is evaluated for every finite element followed by the
numerical integration along the radial and tangential coordinates. During this process, only the
inter-element tangential continuity is imposed. The integration which is performed involving the
circumferential variables are done numerically using 5 point gaussian quadrature. Then, the
variation with respect to every undetermined coefficient is taken, and set to zero.
The eigen value equation resulting from the process of assembling the element matrices were
solved by using the standard LAPACK [20] collection of Fortran subroutines. The number of terms
were used in the radial expansion of the fields were five. The resonant frequencies of TM 011 mode
for the spherical cavity were computed by varying the radius of the spherical cavity, and the
numerically obtained results show close agreement to the values obtained by a full theoretical
analysis [21], and is shown below in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 The close agreement between the theoretical and the numerical values of the resonant frequency of
TM (011) mode.
S.No

Radius of the spherical

metallic cavity.

Resonant frequency computed for

the TM011 mode by theory.
fr (10 9 Hz)

4.367

Resonant frequency computed

by scaled boundary
Finite element method.
Fr (10 9 Hz)
4.3668

3.277

3.278

2.622

2.6215

2.185

2.1848

a (in cms)

18

By theoretical modal field analysis [21], the resonant frequency fr for a spherical cavity of radius
3 cms for TM mode satisfies the condition TM

(even)

(011) = TM

(even)

(111) = TM(odd) (111).

Accordingly, the resonant frequency obtained through the scaled boundary formulation for the
spherical cavity of radius 3cms for the above mentioned modes were also constant with a value of
4.3668 x 109 Hz, satisfying the above property, confirming the validity of the new method.
Another important feature of the scaled boundary finite element formulation, is the effect of the
number of terms in the radial expansion of the field variable on the accuracy of the eigen values.
Table 5.2, shows the effect of increase in the number of terms in the radial expansion of the field
variable, on the accuracy of the resonant frequency.
Table 5.2 The effect of increase in the number of terms in the radial expansion of the field variable, on the
resonant frequency of TM (011) mode.
No. of terms in
the radial
expansion of the
field variable

Radius of the
spherical
metallic
cavity.

Resonant frequency
computed for the TM011 mode
by theory.
fr (10 9 Hz)

a (in cms)
3

Resonant frequency
computed by scaled
boundary
Finite element method.
Fr (10 9 Hz)

4.367

4.3654

4.367

4.3660

4.367

4.3664

4.367

4.3670

From Table 5.2, it can be inferred that, the number of terms in the radial expansion of the field
variable, has a marked influence on the accuracy of the resonant frequency. It is observed from the
above table that, the increase in the number of terms in the radial expansion of the field variable is
accompanied by the corresponding increase in the accuracy of the eigen values.
5.8. Conclusion: The scaled boundary finite element method is a novel semi analytical method

based on finite elements, originally developed in the field of civil engineering to study problems
pertaining to elastodynamics and Soil structure interaction. The crucial aspects of the reformulation

19

of the novel method for the full-wave analysis of cavity structures, is reported in this paper. The
closeness of the numerical results obtained from the scaled boundary finite element method to those
obtained from analytical approach validates the methodology developed in this paper, for analyzing
cavity structures.
An important consequence of the method being semi-analytical is that, the accuracy of the
numerical values depend not only on the element size as in the conventional finite element method,
but also on the number of terms that are used in the radial series expansion of the fields. This
enables to get accurate numerical results even by increasing the number of terms in the radial
expansion of the fields without tampering with the element size. Also, the novel formulation
reported in this paper, is independent of the geometry under consideration. The scaled boundary
finite element formulation in electromagnetics is further developed to analyze multi-layered and
multi-conductor micro-strip transmission lines, and VLSI interconnects.
Acknowledgements: The author thanks Prof. John. P. Wolf, Institute of Hydraulics and Civil

Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Dr. Chongmin
Song, Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, University of New South Wales,
Australia, for their valuable suggestions and providing their research articles on Scaled Boundary
Finite Element method.
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20

[5]. P.P. Silvester, and R.L. Ferrari, Finite Elements for Electrical Engineers,3rd Ed., Cambridge
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21

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