HIRF Virtual Testing on the C-295 Aircraft: On the Application of a Pass/Fail Criterion and the FSV Method

• Published in: IEEE transactions on electromagnetic compatibility 2014-08, Vol.56 (4), p.854-863
• Main Authors: Gutierrez, Guadalupe G., Alvarez, Jesus, Pascual-Gil, Enrique, Bandinelli, Mauro, Guidi, Rodolfo, Martorelli, Valerio, Fernandez Pantoja, Mario, Ruiz Cabello, Miguel, Garcia, Salvador G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aircraft; Aircraft components; Atmospheric modeling; Certification; Communication, education, history, and philosophy; Computational modeling; Computer simulation; Computing costs; Curricula, teaching methods, strategies, theory of testing, evaluation; Education; Educational aids; Electromagnetic (EM); electromagnetic compatibility (EMC); Exact sciences and technology; feature selective validation (FSV); finite difference time domain (FDTD); Frequency measurement; high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF); Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Laboratory procedures; low-level swept fields (LLSF); Materials; Mathematical models; Metrology, measurements and laboratory procedures; Military aircraft; Military planes; Numerical models; oversized cavity theory (OCT); perfect electric conductor (PEC); Physics; radio frequency (RF); Solid modeling; Techniques of testing; Testing, inspecting procedures; time domain analysis; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Vacuum apparatus and techniques; Vacuum testing methods; leak detectors; Vehicles
• ISSN: 0018-9375; 1558-187X
• DOI: 10.1109/TEMC.2013.2291680

In this paper, we show the application of numerical simulation for the virtual testing of a very complex system under high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF) conditions. Numerical results have been compared to measurements performed on a C-295 aircraft. The approach is based on the use of multiple tools for the preprocessing, computation, and postprocessing, all of them integrated under the same framework. This study is a part of the HIRF SE project, and the final step for the validation of the tools involved there, to introduce the use of simulation in the whole aircraft certification process in an HIRF environment. The main goal of the project is to provide the aeronautic industry with a numerical modeling computing framework, which could be used to predict the electromagnetic performance, and to carry out parametrical studies during the design phase, when changes are simpler and less costly. It could also lead in the future to a considerable reduction on the certification/qualification testing phase on air vehicles, to cross validate the results obtained from measurement and simulation providing best confidence in them, and to attain a more exhaustive analysis to achieve a higher level in the air vehicle safety.