par D. CAPRITA et AL. CONSTANTINESCU
Geophysical interpretation relies on a knowledge of the anomalies caused by
specific structures. For electrical methods, the calculation of such anomalies
by approximate numerical techniques is especially important because of limitations
of analytic methods and inconveniences of laboratory modeling.
This paper describes the application of the finite element method to the calculation
of electric potential distribution of two dimensional structures.
Application of the finite element method to the solution of physical problems
is based on minimization of energy; in the present case electric energy is
minimized. Representation of a volume of space by a number of finite elements
and description of potential distribution by a finite set of unknown values
make it possible to replace the energy variational equation by matrix equations.
The finite element method can be applied successfully to various geophysical
problems. As the underlying principle – energy minimization – is
general, it is simple to set up the method for direct current, electromagnetic,
or magnetostatic situations. The method promises to be especially suitable
for modeling irregularly shaped structures with several variations of physical
properties.