Computational Electromagnetics: The Method of Moments

The method of moments, also known as the moment method, is one of the numerical methods developed to rise up to the challenge of solving increasingly complex problems in electromagnetics. It transforms the governing equation of a boundary-value problem into a matrix equation to enable its solution on a digital computer. It is one of the dominant methods in computational electromagnetics. The chapter further describes basic principle of computational electromagnetics. The solutions to Maxwell's equations are sought directly by solving related differential equations. Alternatively, they are obtained by solving an integral equation derived from Maxwell's equations. For example, in the electrostatic case, an integral equation can be derived using the Green's function approach. A Green's function is a point source response and, in this case, is the potential produced by a point charge. The chapter also presents some fundamental integral equations in two and three dimensions that are found in most electromagnetic problems.