Modified Stencils for Boundaries and Subgrid Scales in the Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method

Sammanfattning: This thesis centers on modified stencils for the Finite-Difference Time-Domain method (FDTD), or Yee scheme, when modelling curved boundaries, obstacles and holes smaller than the discretization length.  The goal is to increase the accuracy while keeping the structure of the standard method, enabling improvements to existing implementations with minimal effort.We present an extension of a previously developed technique for consistent boundary approximation in the Yee scheme.  We consider both Maxwell's equations and the acoustic equations in three dimensions, which require separate treatment, unlike in two dimensions.The stability properties of coefficient modifications are essential for practical usability.  We present an analysis of the requirements for time-stable modifications, which we use to construct a simple and effective method for boundary approximations. The method starts from a predetermined staircase discretization of the boundary, requiring no further data on the underlying geometry that is being approximated.Not only is the standard staircasing of curved boundaries a poor approximation, it is inconsistent, giving rise to errors that do not disappear in the limit of small grid lengths. We analyze the standard staircase approximation by deriving exact solutions of the difference equations, including the staircase boundary. This facilitates a detailed error analysis, showing how staircasing affects amplitude, phase, frequency and attenuation of waves.To model obstacles and holes of smaller size than the grid length, we develop a numerical subgrid method based on locally modified stencils, where a highly resolved micro problem is used to generate effective coefficients for the Yee scheme at the macro scale.The implementations and analysis of the developed methods are validated through systematic numerical tests.