Analysis of electromagnetic coupling between two compartments of an aircraft cabin through an aperture

Abstract

Wireless communication technology has emerged as a significant development direction in the aerospace domain. Different compartments in an aircraft are typically physically separated by metal partitions, which makes electromagnetic (EM) coupling unattainable. In this study, we propose using a small aperture on the partition to establish an EM connection instead of cables. The effect of the aperture on the partition can be represented by an electric dipole and a magnetic dipole, which are mutually orthogonal and parallel to the partition, respectively. Analytical expressions for the electromagnetic field within the two compartments are derived, incorporating both spatial and frequency dispersion. The theoretical analysis indicates that the EM filed exhibits typical multi-resonant characteristics. Furthermore, simulation analysis is performed using Ansys HFSS, the electric field distribution in two compartments for both single-mode or multi-mode are extracted. A remarkable agreement between the simulation data and the theoretical predictions is observed. In addition, the relationship between the electromagnetic (EM) field and transmission curve between a radiator and receiver in the compartments is discussed, a positive correlation has been demonstrated. The findings presented in this paper establishes a solid theoretical basis for enabling wireless communication between two compartments within an aircraft cabin.

Fig. 1

The aircraft model and the interior view of its separate compartments.

Fig. 2

Simplified model of the aircraft cabin.

Fig. 3

Transmission curves between two points located in two separate compartments with an aperture on the partition, the radius of the aperture is 1 mm, 3 mm and 9 mm respectively.

Fig. 4

Schematic diagram of the equivalent process for a small aperture in the metal partition as electric and magnetic dipoles.

Fig. 5

(a) Two compartments with a small aperture in the partition, (b) The equivalent model represents the aperture as a combination of electric and magnetic dipoles.

Fig. 6

Electric field with and without an aperture: (a) compartment 1 (b) compartment 2.

Fig. 7

Electric field of the first five modes with and without an aperture: (a) compartment 1 (b) compartment 2.

Fig. 8

Normalized electric field for all the resonant modes in 1 ~ 3 GHz at a specific location within compartment 2.

Fig. 9

The distribution of electric field and the transmission curve versus frequency in compartment 2.

Fig. 10

Distribution of electric field at compartment 2 along the aperture with different sizes: (a) ; (b) combination of , , , , .

Fig. 11

(a) Relative increase for both and amplitude of the electric field as a function of aperture radius. (b) Transmission curves along with r₀.

Fig. 12

(a) Cabin with various metallic electrical devices on the wall; Transmission curves between two points and in the real cabin (lower right corner is a cross-sectional view of the cabin) and its equivalent cabin (b) four strip-shaped metal areas () are 5 mm × 100 mm, 8 mm × 100 mm, 7 mm × 100 mm, 6 mm × 100 mm; (c) four strip-shaped metal areas with thickness 10 mm × 80 mm, 12 mm × 150 mm, 6 mm × 50 mm, 4 mm × 120 mm and 30 degree arc non-metallic cables area.