Shielding effectiveness of composite and aluminum aircraft, model and measurement comparison

Modern aircraft are subject to a barrage of high intensity radiated fields (HIRF) from a wide variety of man-made sources. Fortunately, the aluminum skin of traditional aircraft provides significant shielding to the sensitive electronics inside the aircraft. However, the drive to create lighter, more fuel efficient aircraft has created a trend in the aerospace industry away from aluminum, to lighter composite materials. These composite materials do not always provide the same level of shielding as their aluminum counterparts and has created an urgent need to characterize and measure the shielding effectiveness of entire airframes in a timely, cost effective manner. This paper presents preliminary results for an airframe analog and a composite Uncrewed Arial Vehicle (UAV) that show the viability of virtual measurements to identify and help correct shielding problems earlier in the design phase of an aircraft than traditional measurements.