Finite difference method

Abstract: Two approximate methods, which have not previously been used for structural dynamics problems, are applied to the free vibration analysis of various structural components. The first method is a new version of the complementary energy method. It is shown to be considerably more accurate than the conventional Rayleigh and Rayleigh-Schmidt methods when applied to spatially one-dimensional free vibration problems: prismatic and tapered bars, prismatic beams, and axisymmetric motion of circular membranes. The second method is the differential quadrature method introduced by Bellman and his associates. It is applied successfully here to all of the problems mentioned plus square membranes and circular and square plates.

Abstract: Many boundary value problems (BVPs) or initial BVPs have nonsmooth solutions, with jumps along lower-dimensional interfaces. The explicit-jump immersed interface method (EJIIM) was developed following Li's fast iterative immersed interface method (FIIIM), recognizing that the foundation for the efficient solution of many such problems is a good solver for elliptic BVPs. EJIIM generalizes the class of problems for which FIIIM is applicable. It handles interfaces between constant and variable coefficients and extends the immersed interface method (IIM) to BVPs on irregular domains with Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. Proofs of second order convergence for a one-dimensional (1D) problem with piecewise constant coefficients and for two-dimensional (2D) problems with singular sources are given. Other problems are reduced to the singular sources case, with additional equations determining the source strengths. The advantages of EJIIM are high quality of solutions even on coarse grids and easy adaptation to many problems with complicated geometries, while still maintaining the efficiency of the FIIIM.

Abstract: We show that the eigenmodes for electromagnetic waves in an inhomogeneous dielectric medium can be obtained with an algorithm that scales linearly with the size of the system. The method employs discretization of the Maxwell equations in both the spatial and the time domain and the integration of the Maxwell equations in the time domain. The spectral intensity can then be obtained by a Fourier transform. We applied the method to a few problems of current interest, including the photonic band structure of a periodic dielectric structure, the effective dielectric constants of some three-dimensional and two-dimensional systems, and the defect states of a periodic dielectric structure with structural defects.