Implementation of spectral basis functions in BEM/FEM/GSM Domain Decomposition Methods devoted to scattering and radiation applications Original Research Article

In this paper, we discuss several improvements of a substructuring Domain Decomposition Method (DDM) devoted to Electromagnetic computations, based on the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM). This computation procedure is applied to the analysis of antenna performance on board vehicles as well as Radar Cross Section (RCS). The benefits of the subdomain Computational Electromagnetic Method are mainly the ability to deal with collaborative studies involving several companies, and the reduction of the computation costs by one or more orders of magnitude, especially in the context of parametric studies. Furthermore, this paper proposes a Spectral Basis Function (SBF) defined on fictitious surfaces surrounding equipment, to deal with both the computation of antenna far field patterns and RCS in a multi-domain mode. By masking the complexity of the equipment (wires, thin surfaces, materials, supply network, weapons) the external domain of the vehicle can be closed so that the Combined Field Integral Equation (CFIE) can be used, which is better conditioned than the Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE). This calculation procedure leads to a faster convergence when using iterative Multi Level Fast Multiple Algorithms (MLFMA). The accuracy and efficiency of this technique is assessed by performing the computation of the diffraction and radiation of several test-objects in a multi-domain way cross compared with reference integral equation results.