Preface to the third edition

Summary

Six years have passed since the second edition of this book was published. In the meantime, it has been joined by other books that deal with electrical applications of finite elements, and many more specialities within electrical engineering have espoused the finite element method in that time. In the well-established application areas, topics at the advanced research forefront then have now become routine industrial practice. A new edition must therefore cover a larger span of material and cover it more extensively. This book is therefore about half again as large as the second edition. Readers acquainted with the earlier edition will find the text enhanced by new applications, new mathematical methods, and new illustrations of programming techniques.

Although a wide selection of commercial finite element programs has become available in the past decade, the range of finite element applications in electrical engineering has grown at least equally fast. Interest in the creation of sophisticated special-purpose programs has thus not slackened, on the contrary it has grown rapidly as commercial programs have taken over the more routine tasks. To answer the needs of this more demanding audience, the authors have not only broadened the range of material included in this volume, but widened its scope to include topics a bit closer to current or recent research than in past editions.