Comparison of natural and finite element interpolation functions behavior

In this paper, the interpolation functions behavior of the natural element method (NEM) and the finite element method (FEM) are compared. It is discussed how the unknown in both methods affects the stiffness matrix and contributes to NEM better accuracy. The visibility criterion and the constrained NEM are also addressed, and a pseudoalgorithm is proposed to implement the constrained Voronoi diagram, which is the base for the constrained NEM. A complex heterogeneous magnetic problem is solved by both FEM and NEM methods and their solutions are compared. It is shown that for the same discretization, the number of contributions for NEM is in general bigger than those related to the FEM and better accuracy results for NEM.