Magnetic field screening as a means of validating the modelling of CFC at HF

The increasing use of carbon fibre composite (CFC) material for aircraft skins raises inter-related concerns regarding the operation and effects of airborne antennas operating at HF (2-30 MHz). Establishing the credibility of computed results is particularly important in a traditionally experimental subject such as EMC. To this end it is therefore useful to consider a test problem in which modelling CFC material is the dominant feature. In formulating such a problem it is, however, necessary to avoid certain complicating factors (particularly at HF) associated with the numerical methods available. In this article a particular problem was formulated so as to circumvent as many of these complications as possible, and to permit additional corroboration of the computed results both by straightforward experimental measurement and by analytical calculation. A problem which satisfies these requirements is that of determining the magnetic field screening of an open-ended CFC cylinder