Course syllabus

Computational Electromagnetics – SSY200

• Thomas Rylander is lecturer and examiner: 
  email rylander[at]chalmers.se;
  tel 031 - 772 1735;
  room 7407 in the EDIT-building

• Carl Holmberg is lecturer and teaching assistant: 
  email holcarl[at]chalmers.se;
  tel TBA;
  room 7408 in the EDIT-building

• Simon Nilsson is teaching assistant: 
  email nisimon[at]chalmers.se;
  tel 031 - 772 6493;
  room 7408 in the EDIT-building

Mail address:
Department of Electrical engineering,
Hörsalsvägen 11,
Chalmers University of Technology, 
412 96 Göteborg

Visiting address:
EDIT-building, entrance from Maskingränd, floor 6 and 7

Numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations plays an increasingly important role in modern electrical engi- neering. Improvements, both in computer technology and numerical algorithms, make it possible to solve many electromagnetics design problems by computations, rather than the traditional way by building and testing proto- types. This holds in as diverse areas as eddy current calculations for generators, electrical machines and transformers, microwave circuits and antennas, optical components, radar scattering and electromagnetic compatibility.

The course introduces the main methods in Computational Electromagnetics: Finite Differences, Finite Elements and the Method of Moments and applies them to model problems. Applications from different areas of electromag- netics are used to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the methods. The course aims at enabling the student to choose appropriate methods for realistic electromagnetics problems.

See TimeEdit for the detailed schedule, which will be updated shortly.

Literature

T. Rylander, A. Bondeson and P. Ingelström, Computational Electromagnetics (2nd edition), New York: Springer, 2013.

The course is organized as lectures and exercise classes. The exercise classes are oriented towards hand-in problems (MATLAB) dealing with application problems. Canvas is used for hand-in assignments and communication.

• Formulate and implement a basic computational algorithm in electromagnetics based on (i) the finite-difference scheme, (ii) the finite-element method and (iii) the boundary-element method.

• Perform basic assessment of the numerical error.

• Distinguish between different sources that contribute to the numerical error.

• Use basic extrapolation techniques.

• Choose between time, frequency or eigenvalue analysis for a given electromagnetic problem.

• Choose appropriate numerical techniques for a given application.

• Choose appropriate post-processing tools for a given application.

• Operate commercial software in an well-informed manner.

• Evaluate the computational resources required to analyze a given industrial problem.

The examination consists of (i) five individual hand-in assignments and (ii) one individual oral examination. The grades for undergraduate students are distributed according to:

• Grade 3: Accepted compulsory hand-in assignments; and accepted oral examination on the hand-in assignments.

• Grade 4: Fulfillment of requirements for Grade 3 and, in addition, a total of 40-80 credit points collected during the course, see information below.

• Grade 5: Fulfillment of requirements for Grade 3 and, in addition, a total of 81-100 credit points collected during the course, see information below.

Graduate students need 61-100 credit points to pass the course. 

The individual hand-in assignments consists of (i) compulsory tasks and (ii) additional tasks that are rewarded by credit points if correctly solved.

Each student is assessed on an individual basis during the oral examination. No aids are allowed during the oral examination. The oral examination consists of (i) four compulsory questions and (ii) four additional questions that are rewarded by credit points if correctly solved. The four compulsory questions relate to the compulsory tasks in the hand-in assignments. The four additional questions (that give credit points if correctly solved) relate to the material in the text book, which may not have been covered by the hand-in assignments. The student is given the eight questions at the very beginning of the oral exam and maximum 45 minutes to prepare the answers, where the student may use pen and paper to document the answers complemented by derivations, figures, etc. The student is then given maximum 30 minutes to present the answers to the questions.

The credit points necessary for Grade 4 and Grade 5 can be collected in two ways:

• Correctly solved additional tasks in the hand-in assignments yield credit points according to the instructions in the hand-in assignments. All tasks in the first hand-in assignment are compulsory. The maximum of credit points that can be collected from the hand-in assignments is 60.

• During the oral exam, correctly answered questions on the material in the course text book yield a maximum of 40 credit points. Four questions will be offered during the oral exam, where each correctly answered question yields a maximum of 10 credit points. The four questions are chosen from the review questions and problems in the text book.