A Fast Numerical Solver for Electromagnetic Compatibility Assessment of Aircrafts Made Using Nano- and Micro- Engineered Materials

The electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) certification methods of aircrafts are predominantly based on experimental testing to fulfill some standard (e.g. DO-160).

This phase involves costly measurement techniques, and high rework costs are required when EMC weaknesses and vulnerabilities are detected, especially at late development stages.

To alleviate this situation, numerical solvers are increasingly considered to complement and support experimental means.

Numerical solvers enable the engineer to address the full complexity of a problem, and to better understand the impact of changing key parameters in shielding. In this work, we will address two challenges currently identified by aeronautic industry.

First, we will develop suitable macroscopic models of novel nano- and micro- engineered smart materials used jointly with Carbon Fiber Composite (CFC) ones, to be used in full-wave numerical solvers in general, and specifically in the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method.

For this, we will start from their microscopic structure to get realistic macroscopic electric and magnetic dispersive iso/anisotropic (and eventually non linear) constitutive parameters.

Second, specific subcell models of junctions, slots, gaps, curvatures, etc. will be devised for their implementation into FDTD, to prevent brute-force simulation approaches of geometrically involved parts of the aircraft, otherwise computationally prohibitive.

As a result, the FDTD method will be endowed with the capability of simulating realistic EMI problems of a whole aircraft with affordable computational resources, in terms of memory and CPU time, including CFCs and novel smart materials, with all geometrical fine details relevant from the electromagnetic point of view.