A comparison of spherical wave boundary value matching versus integral equation scattering solution for a perfectly conducting body

A spherical-wave expansion (SPEX) technique for calculating the scattering from a smooth perfectly conducting body is presented. Sample case results are compared with the well-known Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Numerical Electromagnetics code (NEC), which is based on the integral equation formulation. The internal fields are computed for both results using a third surface current integration program, which is totally independent of both SPEX and NEC. The internal fields, which would be zero for a perfect solution, are much more sensitive to the currents than the scattered fields. The SPEX solution, which uses fewer unknowns and less computer time than NEC, also produces a lower internal field. The SPEX technique also allows a direct check on satisfaction of the boundary condition at any set of points on the surface, independent of the points used to obtain the solution. This provides a valuable built-in test feature for quickly validating results, which is one of the most attractive features of the technique.