Efficient 3D Simulation of Thin Conducting Layers of Arbitrary Thickness

In this paper it is demonstrated how a class of relatively complex EMC simulations can be performed at a low cost, both in terms of time and money. Using a symmetric, two- way boundary condition formulation, shielding metal layers can be included in a global electromagnetic simulation, without the need to resolve in detail the interior of the layer. This formulation, which has been previously used for some specific microwave and EMC problems, has no restrictions on the ratio of layer thickness to the skin depth. It is implemented in a commercial finite element (FEM) solver installed on a standard PC and no source-code programming is required. The method is validated and its usefulness demonstrated by applying it to a number of 3D examples of general EMC relevance.