Electromagnetic field problems and applications
It is a great honor to introduce the special issue of COMPEL with selected extended papers presented originally at the 7th International Conference on Electromagnetic Field Problems and Applications (ICEF2016) held from September 18th to 20th, 2016 in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. The conference was co-sponsored by the China Electrotechnical Society, Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and International COMPUMAG Society. The technical sessions and workshops were organized by State Key Lab of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University and State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace. This conference has provided a unique international forum for the exchange of information on state-of-the-art research in all aspects of developments and applications of electromagnetics, including both theoretical and applied research topics.
Ever since the first ICEF took place in 1988, the conference has been held six times: in Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin, Chongqing and Dalian, respectively. The conference ICEF2016 received a total of 323 academic papers from 14 countries, and after rigorous review, a total of 289 papers including five invited papers were published in the conference proceedings. A total of 214 official delegates from 14 countries (China, the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Slovakia, Poland, Japan, Korea and Thailand) attended the conference. About 15 per cent of the papers were selected by ICEF 2016 Editorial Board and COMPEL Guest Editors for publication in this special issue of COMPEL.
The main problems discussed during the conference were related to the methods of analysis and synthesis of systems with electromagnetic fields. The topic basically covered the current electromagnetic field theory and its analysis of practical applications. The papers presented at the conference mainly covered topics including static/quasi-static fields, computational and numerical techniques, optimization methods in EM designs, coupled problems, material modeling, electric machines and drives, electromagnetic devices and applications as well as non-destructive electromagnetic inspection and applications. In addition, there were also a small number of researchers devoting themselves to the topics such as wave propagation, photonics, metamaterials and wireless power transmission at the conference.
As a platform for researchers studying in the field of electromagnetics and its applications to communicate and share their latest results, ICEF indeed has made indisputable contribution and had significant academic influence. The papers presented at the conference, to some extent, represented the general trends in the field of electromagnetic theory and its applications. Among those, it is worth mentioning that five invited lectures were presented at the opening ceremony of the conference. Professor Jan K. Sykulski, General Secretary of the International Compumag Society (ICS) and Chair of the International Steering Committee of ICEF, University of Southampton, United Kingdom; Professor Raj Mittra from Pennsylvania State University, USA; Professor Andrzej Demenko from the Poznań University of Technology; Professor Toshiyuki Takagi from Northeastern University in Japan; and Dr Tianyu Dong from Xi’an Jiaotong University delivered valuable presentations and instructions during the conference and therefore inspired researchers who devoted themselves to the study of electromagnetics. Professor Jan Sykulski reviewed the recent advances and discussed new challenges in design optimization of electromagnetic devices suggesting a roadmap for future developments. Professor Andrzej Demenko methodically analyzed the equivalence and relation between the finite element method, the finite difference method and the finite integral method, and pointed out that the finite element equation obtained by the variational method can also be obtained by simply using the integral method. He implemented the electric circuit and magnetic circuit model to explain the meaning of the finite element, finite difference and finite integral equation method. Dr Tianyu Dong methodically introduced the specific scientific research based on the PITD method which his research group has been studying for over 20 years. In addition, Professor Toshiyuki Takagi highlighted the electromagnetic ultrasonic testing and its application in the monitoring and evaluation of wall thickness thinning of high temperature components.
The conference, which promoted the sharing of research results and the communication of research ideas, was highly appraised by the participants. It also laid a solid foundation for the establishment of substantive cooperation among scholars from all over the world.
We hope that this issue of COMPEL will provide stimulating new information to the readers.
