Optimal sensor placement for magnetic signature prediction

Summary form only given. Number and optimal spatial arrangement of noisy sensors near to the surface of an spheroidal magnetic shell are investigated for attaining desired accuracy in estimated field signatures at various distances. The field due to a thin prolate spheroidal magnetic shell with /spl mu//sub r/=100, excited by axial magnetic dipoles, is computed for use in evaluating the prediction algorithm. Different focal distances for the interior and exterior shell boundaries provide approximately uniform thickness but introduce mixed coordinate spheroidal expansions that preclude full use of orthogonality to decouple modal terms. Continuity enforcement for tangential H~ and normal B~ at the two shell surfaces yields a least-squares best solution for four sets of expansion coefficients through inversion of a large block matrix.