Predictive Capacity of FDTD Method Embedding MTLN Technique for Lightning and Hirf Threats

Abstract

In this paper, the effectiveness for inferring the responses to electromagnetic threats of the finite difference time domain method combined with a multi-conductor, multi-shield, and multi-branched cable harness transmission line solver is validated by comparing simulation results with measurements performed on an equipped cockpit partially made by carbon fiber composite. A complete lightning indirect effects and high-intensity radiated field testing campaign was carried out in this cockpit within the scope of the European research and technology project Clean Sky 2 whose main goal is to reduce the aviation environmental impact by, for instance, building low-weight aircrafts with the increasing use of carbon fiber. Simulations are performed with EMA3D and MHARNESS obtaining very good agreement with measurements for a variety of observables and in a wide frequency range, thus proving the predictive capacity of these numerical methods for estimating the electromagnetic behavior of complex structures.