Modelling a conductive-capacitive medium using the boundary element method

Abstract

In this paper a generalized fundamental solution using the boundary element method to solve the Helmholtz equation is proposed. It is observed that the commonly used fundamental solution is only valid for good conductors since the capacitive effect of the considered medium is always neglected. By the use of the well-known Lorentz gauge condition a fundamental solution which incorporates the phase as well as the attenuation transmission coefficients is derived by the authors. Next, a model is developed using this proposed fundamental solution for modelling a coating layer of a buried pipeline. Subsequently, a model of a buried coated pipeline in close proximity to a high voltage power line is developed and numerically implemented. Finally, the model is used to simulate two configurations in order the verify the proposed general fundamental solution of the boundary element method for electromagnetic field problems. Hereby, its validity is proven and it is shown that the generalized solution and related model can be used for industrial applications.