Bounds on the Load Currents of Exposed One-and Two-Conductor Transmission Lines Electromagnetically Coupled to a Rocket

Three circuits are analyzed. One consists of an isolated two-wire transmission line with terminating impedances; another of a single conductor with terminating impedances grounded to an infinite perfectly conducting plane; and, finally, a terminated two-wire transmission line in the vicinity of an infinite perfectly conducting plane. In all cases a plane monochromatic electromagnetic wave is incident on the wires with the electric vector parallel to their axes. The wires are oriented with respect to the incident field and the ground plane, if present, for maximum response. The objective is to derive formulas for the currents in the load impedances of the three circuit configurations described in the preceding. The writer then presents a heuristic argument to the effect that solutions of these problems bracket the response of exposed unshielded one-and two-wire transmission lines arranged parallel to the axis of a rocket and close to its surface. The established upper and lower bounds for the load currents are sufficiently close together to be of considerable practical value in the study of the electromagnetic compatibility of rockets.