Educational value of the algebraic numerical methods in electromagnetism

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to highlight the educational value of algebraic numerical methods with respect to traditional numerical techniques based on differential formulation. Design/methodology/approach - Algebraic formulations of electromagnetic fields are gaining a new interest in the research community. One common characteristic of these methods is that they impose field equations, for instance charge or mass conservation, directly in algebraic form as a sum of partial contributes, without using differential operators like the divergence one. This feature leads directly to a system of linear equations without requiring any intermediate differential formulation as in finite element method. In addition, these systems of linear equations can be efficiently expressed as a product of matrices related to problem topology and material characteristics. Findings - Owing to these features, a MATLAB implementation of these theoretical frameworks is particularly efficient and simple and can be used by electrical engineering students which, even if with a basic mathematical background, have a good practice with network theory and its computer implementation, Following this way of thinking, a MATLAB based environment has been created and here it is presented and discussed. Originality/value - The implementation of the algebraic formulation can be done by using very basic mathematical tools, therefore the algebraic method becomes also a good way to introduce the numerical field analysis to undergraduate students.