Three-dimensional CAD-based mesh Generator for the Dey-Mittra conformal FDTD algorithm

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation Vol. 52; no. 7; pp. 1658 - 1664
• Main Authors: Waldschmidt, G., Taflove, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.07.2004; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Algorithm design and analysis; Algorithms; Conductors; Finite difference method; Finite difference methods; Finite difference time domain method; Finite element method; Generators; Geometry; Mathematical models; Mesh generation; Power engineering and energy; Resonance; Resonators; Scattering; Solid modeling; Time domain analysis
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2004.831334

It is well-known that the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is subject to significant errors due to the staircasing of surfaces that are not precisely aligned with major grid planes. Dey and Mittra introduced a locally conformal method (D-FDTD) that has shown substantial gains in the accuracy of modeling arbitrary surfaces in the FDTD grid. A mesh generator for this purpose was reported by Yu and Mittra. In this paper, we present the formulation and validation of an alternative CAD-based mesh generator for D-FDTD that has improved capabilities for arbitrary three-dimensional (3-D) perfect electric conductor (PEC) geometries. This mesh generator is capable of importing AutoCad and ProE files of 3-D PEC scatterers and resonators. It can reduce the required FDTD grid resolution by up to 4:1 in each Cartesian direction in 3-D relative to conventional staircased FDTD models when modeling cavity resonances of complex PEC structures such as twisted waveguides.