Advanced Computational Methods for Study of Electromagnetic Compatibility

Aircraft often are subject to externally generated electromagnetic interference (EMI) comprising high intensity radiated fields of strengths in excess of 1000 V/m generated by radars operating at 400 MHz and above. They also are subject to generally less intense fields produced by internal sources such as handheld radios. This EMI may adversely affect the aircraft’s communication, navigation, and sensing systems. To quantitatively assess this vulnerability, simulation frameworks aimed at characterizing EMI issues arising inside loaded airframes are required. To address this simulation need, we will develop and implement advanced computational electromagnetics techniques for characterizing transient EMI phenomena on large- and multi-scale platforms supporting (i) antennas, enclosures, boards, and cable shields; (ii) multiconductor transmission lines; and (iii) potentially nonlinear lumped circuits. The proposed techniques are mesh robust, high-order accurate, and computationally efficient. The proposed techniques are (mostly) integral equation based, and hybridize field, cable, and circuit solvers. To achieve the above attributes, these solvers will derive from time domain Calderòn and macro-model enhanced time domain integral equation solvers that are accelerated by broadband plane wave time domain kernels. To ensure the usefulness of the proposed framework to the Air Force community, a graphical user interface (GUI) will be developed as well. BENEFIT: The proposed effort will provide the Air Force with a modeling and simulation capability of unprecedented scope and accuracy for rigorously analyzing real-world EMC/EMI phenomena and HPM/UWB threats upon shielded and unshielded electronic systems. There currently exists no software tool that bring the multiple relevant models to bear in an integrated fashion to address the diverse spatial scales interacting in this problem. The proposed tool accounts for realistic 3-D enclosures (large-scale), multi-conductor cable networks (medium-scale), and complex circuits with nonlinear devices (small-scale). Beyond HPM/UWB threat scenarios, this same tool will be valuable for many commercial and military applications including EMC/EMI analysis for the transportation industry (e.g., interference effects in automobiles, aircraft, trains, and ships), lightning analysis for aircraft (e.g., coupling of lightning strikes to cables and fuel tubes in the aircraft), emissions analysis for electronics manufacturers (e.g., radiated or coupled emissions due to electronic devices), and EMP analysis for power grids and critical infrastructure (e.g., EMP coupling to power transmission lines and computer networks).