NASA B-757 HIRF test series low power on-the-ground tests

The data acquisition phase of a program intended to provide data for the validation of computational, analytical and experimental techniques for the assessment of electromagnetic effects in commercial transports, for the checkout of instrumentation for following test programs, and for the support of protection engineering of airborne systems has been completed. The initial phase involved on-the-ground electromagnetic measurements. Measurements were made of the fields coupled into the aircraft interior and signals induced in select structures and equipment under controlled illumination by RF fields. A characterization of the ground was also performed to permit ground effects to be included in forthcoming computer modeling exercises. A series of fly-by experiments were conducted in early 1995 in which the NASA B-757 was flown in the vicinity of a Voice of America station (/spl sim/25 MHz), a fixed transmitter driving a log periodic array (172 MHz), and an ASRF radar at Wallops Island (430 MHz). In this paper, the overall test program is defined with particular attention to the on-the-ground portion. The test rationale, test layout, and samples of the data are described. Samples of some inferences from the data that will be useful in protection engineering and EM effects mitigation will also be presented.