Surface Current Density on Perfectly Conducting Polygonal Cylinders

A method is presented of obtaining numerically the surface current density on a perfectly conducting regular or irregular polygonal cylinder when the incident field is either electrically or magnetically polarized (TM or TE) in the axial direction. The surface current density is represented by a sum of continuous modal functions and satisfies the edge conditions. The extended boundary condition is satisfied and the uniqueness of the solution ensured by setting to zero each of the Fourier coefficients of the field around a circle inside the cylinder. Results are presented for a regular triangular cylinder symmetrically illuminated by plane and cylindrical waves.