Engineering: Zero interference

 

New tests have been designed to see the extent that electromagnetic radiation can penetrate aircraft, thereby compromising air travel safety.

Airline passengers know to turn off their mobile phone on take-off and landing to prevent possible interference with the plane’s navigational equipment, but now recent tests being carried out by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will take the precautions a step further.

NIST recently performed tests of the high intensity radiated field (HIRF) protection of three representative aircraft: a Boeing 737-200, a Bombardier Global 5000 business jet, and a Beechcraft Premier IA carbon-fibre composite business jet

The information is important in determining if and where shielding is needed to protect vital electronic instrumentation from malfunction in the case of any external threats of radiation, such as while flying through ground-based radar beam.

The results of the tests were passed on to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US.

“This will get everyone on the same page,” said Chriss Grosvenor, an NIST electronics engineer. “The FAA and aircraft manufacturers now have a lot of unbiased data they can look at, and our method is just another method to obtain that information.”

On guard

Meet a Role Model who provides radiation protection in the aerospace and defence industry.

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