Comparative presentation of criteria for adaptive finite-element mesh generation in multiconductor eddy-current problems

Four local error estimators used for a posteriori h-type adaptive finite-element mesh generation are presented and compared in the solution of several steady-state multiconductor eddy-current problems, encountered in electrical power transmission and distribution systems. The proposed technique combines four different criteria with the concept of Delaunay triangulation to provide finite-element triangular meshes, adaptive to the characteristics of each problem. By refining the elements with the largest errors and recomputing the solution iteratively, finite-element meshes having a uniform error density are obtained. The problems examined lead to quantitative results concerning the performance of each estimator in the accuracy of the solution, in terms of both convergence rate and quality of electromagnetic field lines.