The classification of coupled field problems

The term "coupled problem" is used in many numerical approaches and applica tions. Various coupling mechanisms in a different context, such as field pr oblems with electrical circuits, methods in a geometrically or physically s ense, couplings in time and/or coupled methods to solve a field problem, ar e meant with this term. For a proper classification of these problems and r elated solution methods a systematic definition is proposed. It can be used in the evaluation and comparison of solution methods for various problems. It must be noted, that the proposed systematic is not complete but can be e xtended and can serve as the starting point classifying coupled problems in general.