A viscolelastic analogy for solving 2-D electromagnetic problems (Q1328677)

By means of the electromagnetic-viscoelastic analogy, a solid mechanics finite element program can analyze a two-dimensional harmonic oscillation (constant frequency) electromagnetic problem for ``lossy'' dielectric materials. For this special class of electromagnetic field problems, the Maxwell equations reduce to a two-dimensional Laplace equation with complex coefficients. This form identically matches the viscoelasticity field equations. This paper develops the electromagnetic-viscoelastic analogy from the basic governing field equations. The analogy is implemented in ABAQUS, a general solid mechanics finite element program. Simple one- and two-dimensional examples prove the accuracy and usefulness of the analogy.