On the efficient simulation of electrical circuits with constant phase elements: The Warburg element as a test case

Abstract

SummaryThe constant phase Element (CPE) concept naturally emerges as a model for describing a range of electrical phenomena where ionic diffusion is involved. We suggest a new method for modelling the transient behavior of electrical circuits that contain CPE elements. Without loss of generality, we study the Warburg element to demonstrate the method, but the method can be easily extended to any CPE. Transient simulations of such elements require the numerical evaluation of a computationally expensive convolution integral that links the voltage drop across the element, with the current that passed through it. In our work we suggest a new method for reducing the computational cost of the numerical evaluation of the convolution integral. We show that the computational cost can be reduced by one order of magnitude.