Use of group theory in symmetrical 3-D eddy-current problems

Geometrical symmetry often occurs in computational electromagnetics. However, it is generally not taken into account when the excitations do not share this symmetry. A rationale is required, and group theory gives the only valuable tool for this purpose. It provides a symmetric decomposition of any problem that allows its study on a reduced part of the initial geometry. This way of treating field problems generally leads to substantial computational savings. The symmetry concept is applied in the paper to 3-D linear eddy-current analysis, where the numerical scheme used is a mixed FEM-BEM method. Detailed examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the use of symmetry.