Electromagnetic Shielding of Impulse Magnetic Fields Using Thin-Walled Shells

Oleksii Skoblikov 1
1 R&D

Institute "Molniya", National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute", Kharkiv, Ukraine

Abstract
Aiming at meeting novel customers' requirements many companies worldwide design and produce new aircrafts for public, cargo and other special transportations. In order to be legally exploited, a flying machine has to fulfill a number of different, foremost safety, requirements. One of such demands is electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of the on-board electrical and electronic systems, namely the stability of the equipment against external electromagnetic influences: powerful impulse electromagnetic fields, caused by lightning, and high-intensive radiated fields (HIRF), created by powerful ground transmitters. The countermeasures are the equipment covers and the aircraft shell which act as thin-walled screens with structural inhomogeneities (doors, portholes and hatches). Their protective features, however, are the subject of degradation and therefore should be recurrently certified. The manual testing methods, fixed in the current certification standards [1], require costly campaigns, and, strictly saying, are not highly reliable. The author's PhD research, in contrast, is aimed at developing new automated method for shielding parameters' evaluation. The theoretical studies of the proposed method [2], which is protected with a Ukrainian patent [3], are partially performed in COMSOL Multiphysics. An important part of the research being conducted, is simulation of the direct and indirect influence of lightning and HIRF on thin-walled shells in quasi-stationary (AC/DC) as well as in resonance (RF Module) domains. COMSOL is therefore used to estimate the protective properties of structurally inhomogeneous screens, which later on are evaluated during measurement phase in the test lab of the Research and Design Institute "Molniya". One of the setups being simulated with COMSOL is penetration of impulse magnetic field inside structurally-inhomogeneous conductive screen, which corresponds with lightning far-field case. In this model the makeup of an aircraft - a thin-walled cylinder with a window is placed in the homogeneous impulse magnetic field, created by a strip line (Figure 1). The time-amplitude parameters of the current, described by a bi-exponential analytical equation [4], are selected in such a way as to create impulse magnetic field with the average parameters of a downstream negative lightning [5]. The time-amplitude characteristics of the penetrating field are later on analyzed in a set of control points inside the cylinder. According to the theory, the inner field is formed with a superposition of the field entered the window and the field penetrating through the homogeneous conductive wall. These components superimpose differently in various control points, which is clearly seen from the results of the numerical simulation (Figure 2).

During the measurement campaign, a cylindrical object of exactly the same size as of that in the COMSOL model is placed inside the strip line (Figure 3). The certified magnetic-field sensor is located inside the screen exactly in the control points. The comparison shows an average 15-20% difference between the measurements and simulation results. Although the model setup still remains suboptimal, the accuracy of the results is sufficient for the design tasks in the field of EMC and electromagnetic shielding. COMSOL thus significantly speed up the theoretical studies and enables intelligent design of electromagnetic screens.

Reference
1. IEEE Std. 299-2006 Standard Method of Measuring the Effectiveness of the Electromagnetic Shielding Enclosures 2. Skoblikov O. Y. Kniaziev V. V. Hybrid Method of Estimation of Influence of Structural Inhomogeneities on Protectivie Properties of Electromagnetic Screen // 20th Int. Crimean Conference Microwave & Telecommunication Technology (CriMiCo2010). ISBN: 978-966335-329-6. IEEE Catalog Number: CFP10788 - pp. 918-919. 3. Knyazyev Volodymyr Volodymyrovich, Skoblikov Oleksii Yuriovich. Patent U 2011 03429 for utility model A method for diagnostic of electromagnetic tightness of electromagnetic shields [ukr]. 4. Kravchenko V.I., Bolotov E.A., Letunova N.I. Radio-electronic equipment and powerful electromagnetic interference / Ed. V.I. Kravchenko, 1987 [rus]. 5. Kravchenko V.I. Lightning. Electromagnetic factors and their striking influence on hardware. 2010 [rus].

Figures used in the abstract

Figure 1: Meshed model

Figure 2: Impulse magnetic field inside the screen

Figure 3: Test setup