A subinterval-based method for circuits with fractional order elements

The paper deals with the solution of problems that concern fractional time derivatives. Specifically the author’s interest lies in solving circuit problems with so called fractional capacitors and fractional inductors. A numerical method is proposed that involves polynomial interpolation and the division of the entire time interval (for which computations are performed) into subintervals. Analytical formulae are derived for the integro-differentiation according to the Caputo fractional derivative. The rules that concern the subinterval dynamics throughout the computation are also presented in the paper. For exemplary linear circuit problems (AC and transient) involving fractional order elements the solutions have been obtained. These solutions are compared with ones obtained by means of traditional methods.