Digital Engineering For Nuclear, Environmental, and Signal Integrity Performance of the Next Generation Hardened Connector

The Navy requires a new generation of cable harness Electrical Wiring Interconnect System (EWIS) connectors designed to perform in the EMP environment. The requirements include protection from System Generated Electromagnetic pulse (SGEMP) and High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP). In addition to the nuclear environments, the connectors must meet manufacturability, signal integrity, and a host of other environmental requirements such as vibration, shock, and high temperature. The present proposal addresses the needs of SGEMP and HEMP connector optimization to overcome these challenges. Facing an increasingly competitive, threat-filled environment, DoD and its primes must digitally transform to deliver the next generation of nuclear deterrence. Complex platform requirements, significant testing expense, and emerging initiatives associated with model-based engineering can make it difficult to manage cost and schedule constraints. The use of validated digital simulation to balance competing requirements, such as the need for shielding and minimization of mass, can compress a years-long development of a component into a shorter time with less overall development cost and a better final product. In this proposal, EMA proposes the use of digital simulation of the nuclear, environmental, and signal integrity requirements to develop the Next Generation Hardened Connector (NGHC). Toward that end, EMA has over four decades built the largest library of validations that allow for digital simulation to take on a larger role in the connector design process. To address the design of cables and connectors, EMA has developed a successful commercial simulation package by the name of EMA3D. This tool allows for the prediction of HEMP and SGEMP performance at the connector and cable level. EMA3D is the only product in existence for connectors to predict both HEMP and SGEMP performance starting from 3D CAD and first principles simulation. EMA3D is also used by manufacturers around the world to optimize cables and connectors to meet Signal Integrity (SI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) requirements. EMA3D includes electromagnetic, nuclear particle transport, and non-linear discharge solvers to perform the evaluation of connectors and cables against the requirements. In this effort, EMA proposes the development of NGHC by modifying the proven design of COTS connectors from Glenair to meet the SGEMP, HEMP, SI, EMC, and other environmental requirements of the Navy for its boost vehicles. EMA will use the simulation product EMA3D to rapidly determine the performance against requirements and optimize the design. EMA will obtain design modifications that are economically and quickly manufacturable by semi-custom suppliers such as Glenair. Next, EMA will perform nuclear environment and environmental testing of the connectors to prove their performance.