The finite element modeling of static and stationary electric and magnetic fields

A finite-element method is described for computing static and stationary electric and magnetic fields directly in terms of the electric or magnetic field strength. In this way the use of (vector) potentials is avoided and a much higher accuracy is achieved with the same computational effort. The curl equation is supplemented with the electromagnetic compatibility relations and a problem is defined which is known to have a unique solution. For satisfying the conditions at the interfaces between different media use is made of both edge and nodal elements. The validity of our approach is illustrated by solving a simple sample problem.