Aerospace & Defense Technology - April 2021 - 17

ical, military, aerospace, mass transit,
vehicular control, and navigation systems. Shielding blocks electromagnetic
fields with conductive barriers to ensure
reliable system performance.
The most common reference point
for the threat EMI poses would be travelers not being able to use cell phones
on airplanes. Initially, phones were prohibited based on the potential threat of
interfering with and compromising
cockpit systems. Phones now operate at
higher frequencies that suggest they
will no longer interfere with critical aircraft systems, but the understanding
that they can has kept the shielding of
electronics systems from external
threats a paramount concern.
Additionally, disparate internal systems can create interference, making
the threat literally come from within.
Take today's smart home - from wireless

speakers and programmable thermostats to security cameras, homes today
have multiple systems that emit electromagnetic waves capable of interrupting
each other's signals. In fact, some industry research predicts the average North
American home could have as many as
13 smart devices by this year.
EMI occurs two ways, either by being
conducted or radiated. Conducted EMI
comes through wiring or cables and will
emit electromagnetic signatures that
could interfere with something else, or
may be susceptible to nearby signals.
The second kind of EMI, radiated, will
travel through air. This can be anything
from a GPS device, a wireless medical device, or even an old television set. Many
will remember when in early 2020, a village in Wales lost broadband every
morning for 18 months. After repeated
efforts to identify the cause, network

professionals deduced the issue was single high-level impulse noise (SHINE), or
a device emitting enough electrical interference to interfere with the broadband. Combing the town with a spectrum analyzer, they finally identified a
second-hand television as the culprit.
The reality of crowded electronic content goes far beyond the comforts of
home. On one hand, it is inconvenient.
With us relying so heavily on on-demand
news, video, directions, and communication, disruptions can feel frustrating and
debilitating. But in some areas, the threats
of EMI can be fatal. Take defense systems
where even the slightest interference in a
targeting or radar system can cause
major deviations from the acceptable margin of error. If you're trying to hit a target
to within a meter, being off by 10 meters
because your signal was interrupted can
cause much more collateral damage.

HX5, a nanocomposite thermoplastic that is 50% the weight of 6061-T6 aluminum and 90% as strong, can
be used across various industries such as aviation, defense and more. Pictured here are HX5-manufactured components, including (from left to right) an airplane armrest, missile bulkhead, missile bracket and
ARINC connector housing.

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Aerospace & Defense Technology - April 2021

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