2010 URSI International Symposium on Electromagnetic Theory

Development of thhe TLM Method for EMC/EMI Analysis

A
components were modeled at diffferent points in space, it was
difficult to accurately describe bo
oundary conditions [2].
David P. Johns PhD A major development in TL LM occurred in 1987 when
CST of America Inc Johns introduced the 3D Symmettrical Condensed Node (SCN)
Framingham, MA, U.S.A. [2]. This had the advantage of alll six field components being
referenced to the center of the nodde.
david.johns@cst.com

Abstract TLM is a well established fuull wave time-

domain method for solving electromagnetic fieelds. TLM has
been successfully applied to a diverse rangee of problems,
including microwave component and antenna design, and it is
particularly well-suited to EMI analysis. This paper reviews
the developments of TLM for EMC/EMI analysis and presents
a simulated aircraft lightning application.

I. INTRODUCTION
The TLM method was first introduced by Peter Johns in
1971, when he proposed a scattering and connecction algorithm Fig 2 Symmetrical Condensed
d TLM Node (SCN)
for modeling Huygenss principle on a digital computer [1].
Space was discretized into a 2D array of noddes, each node The SCN has 12 link lines, and coupling between the
operating as an isotropic scatterer. Time was aalso discretized lines is conveniently described by
y a 12 port scattering matrix.
and at each time step, nodes would scatter and cconnect to their Reflected pulses U are found fro om incident pulses V by the
neighbors. By repeating the scatter-connect pprocess, wave vector matrix equation U = S V, where
w S is given below.
propagation could be simulated. Johns reallized that the
scattering could be modeled by pulses incideent on a shunt 1 1 1 1
connection of transmission lines, the Shunt nodde. 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1

Fig 1 Impulse response of 2D Shunt Node 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
Equivalencies were drawn between voltagees and currents
in the node and electric and magnetic field coomponents in a Fig 3 SCN Scattering Matrix S
subset of Maxwells equations used to modeel TM modes.
Shortly thereafter, the 2D series node w was proposed, Electromagnetic field components are calculated from
modeling the other subset of equations for TE m
modes. summations of incident voltages pulses
p
The first 3D TLM method used an intercoonnection of 3
shunt and 3 series nodes, forming the exppanded node. Ex= (V1i + V2i + V9i + V12i ) / 2
Comparable to the FD-TD method, since the 6 field
Hy= (V6i V10i + V9i - V2i ) / 2 Z0

978-1-4244-5153-1/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE 279

 where Z0 is the characteristic impedance off the link lines
and the cell dimension.
Boundary conditions are modeled by applyying reflection
and transmission coefficients at interfaces betwween cells. For
example, a perfect electrical conductor is moodeled by a -1
reflection coefficient.
Dielectric materials are modeled by connnecting open
circuit stubs to the SCN. The stub lines increease the in-cell
capacitance, equivalent to increasing the perm mittivity. Three
stubs are required, one for each polarization off the field. In a
similar way, short circuit stubs are added to conntrol the in-cell
inductance (permeability) and matched stubs to control the
loss (conductivity). Stubs can also be used to m model changes
in cell dimensions, allowing for graded meshingg.
The Hybrid SCN (HSCN) removed the nneed for short
circuit stubs, by including the extra inductance in the 12 link
lines [3]. The Super Condensed SCN (SSCN N) removed the
need for any stub lines [4].
The introduction of a multi-grid (Octree) m mesh technique
[5] enabled a fine mesh to be localized aroound structural
detail, contrary to the graded mesh which requirred fine cells to
bleed throughout a plane.
Fig 5 Thin panel diffusion inteerface model
Link line pulses incident on the
t panel enter the model and
rattle through the stub netwo ork. Transmission across the
boundary is frequency-dependen nt with a low-pass filtering
characteristic. This technique is especially suitable for
lightning problems where low freequency magnetic fields result
in significant current penetrating shields.
At high frequencies, seams in n enclosures become critical,
since the distance between electtrical contact points becomes
more electrically significant. Onee difficulty in modeling seams
is the small dimensions (gap wiidth, depth) compared to the
overall size of the structure. Seams can be modeled by
inserting transmission lines at thee interface between SCNs [7].

Fig 4 Graded vs. Multi-Grid Octree Meshingg

Fig 6 Seam interface model
II. DEVELOPMENTS FO
OR EMI
The additional slot and stub lines are used to model the
Shielding is often used to reduce radiated emissions and
capacitance and inductance per unit length of the slot/seam.
improve immunity to external fields, but a mettal enclosure is
These parameters are calculated from the width and depth of
rarely a perfect shield due to seams, ventilationn openings and
the seam as given in [7]. Voltaage pulses arriving from the
cable interfaces.
SCN link lines that are perpendiccular to the seam direction are
A trend in the aerospace industry is to use lighter weight,
coupled with the seam model. Vo oltage pulses on the link lines
but lower conductivity, materials such as carbon fiber
that are parallel to the seam arre simply reflected from the
composite. Plastics with conductive coatings are increasing
metal boundary. The total voltaage at the seam interface is
used in consumer electronics. If the skin depthh is larger than
calculated from
the panel or coating thickness, the shielding effe
fectiveness will
be compromised. It is important to considerr diffusion of
currents through the panel. For this purpose,, a thin panel
algorithm was proposed [6]. The panel of tthickness d is
divided into n layers, each layer modeled byy stub lines to where Vl1 and Vl2 are incideent pulses from the SCN link
represent the layer capacitance and inductancee, along with a lines, Vs1 and Vs2 are incident pulses
p on the seam lines and
shunt conductance. Vst the incident pulse on the sttub. After obtaining the total
voltage, the reflected pulses U are
a found by subtracting the
incident pulses V, for example

Ul1 = Vt Vl1

280

Enclosures may also contain ventilation paneels to allow for
cooling of the internal electronics. The array off square, round
or hexagonal apertures provides another pathh for fields to
penetrate the shield. Transmission through venntilation panels
increases with the individual aperture size annd number of
holes, or open area. A vent can also be modeleed by inserting
additional transmission-lines at the interface beetween cells to
model the high-pass filtering effect of the apertture array. The
transmission lines model a parallel L-C circuit.
Fig 7 Ventilation panel interface model
At low frequencies the inductance shoort-circuits the
interface and incident fields are reflected. At higgh frequencies,
field transmits across the junction. The capacitannce models the
storage of electric field in the holes, which increases with
aperture depth.
Finally, wires can be modeled in TLM M by simply
discretizing a metal cylinder, but this requires a fine mesh to
capture the wire diameter. Various methodds have been
developed for modeling thin wires. Early tecchniques were
based on separated solutions; wires were treated
independently from the field solution byy introducing
equivalent sources derived from knowledge oof the incident
fields. This approach could easily handle m multi-conductor
problems, but the wires would not interact with the fields. The
short-circuit nodes approach by Naylor and Christopoulos
[8] made it possible to model wires directly in TTLM nodes, but
wire radii were limited. This restriction was overcome by
Wlodarczyk and Johns, with the wire interfacce model [9].
Transmission lines are inserted at cell interfaaces to model
propagation along the wires.
Fig 8 Thin wire interface model
281
The additional wire and stub b lines model the capacitance
and inductance per unit length of o the wire. These parameters
are calculated from the wire raadius and cell dimension as
given in [9]. Voltage pulses arriv ving from the SCN link lines
polarized parallel to the wire direction are coupled with the
wire model. Link lines carrying the perpendicular
polarizations are connected directtly together. The total current
in the wire interface is calculated from
/
Where Vl1 and Vl2 are the lin nk line pulses, Vw1 and Vw2
are the wire line pulses and Vst th
he pulse on the stub.
Further work by Porti et al. [10] enabled wires to pass
directly through the center of TLM nodes. The wire node
offered advantages in making g bends and wire-to-wire
connections. Wlodarczyk et al. extended the wire node to
multi-conductors [11]. Christopo oulos recently applied Modal
Expansion Techniques to improv ve accuracy for wires located
off-center, and delays between multi-conductors
m within a node
[12].
III. EMC/EMI APPLICA
ATION EXAMPLE
The suitability of TLM to EMC/EMI analysis is
demonstrated through an aircrraft lightning problem. The
model is based on lightning testss performed by the Air Force
Research Laboratory (AFRL) [13]. The fuselage is modeled
by an aluminum cylinder, 1/8 in. thick, 38 in. diameter and 32
ft. long. At low frequencies current will diffuse through the
cylinder skin resulting in an inteernal field, so the thin panel
model is used for the aluminum material.
m
Fig 9 TLM simulated aircraft lightning model
A low-level lightning currentt is injected into the cylinder
using a 100 kV voltage source withw a total capacitance of 4
F, inductance 2H and resisttance 5 Ohms. The current
returns through sixteen AWG 16 6wires arranged in a coaxial
configuration around the cylinderr.

To simulate the effect of aircraft access panels, 24 x 15 in.
panels are located along the length of the cylinder. Each panel
is fastened to the cylinder using 38 screws. This forms 2 in.
long seams in the structure that could permit electromagnetic
fields to couple to the interior. The TLM seam model is used
to efficiently represent all the seams.
Fig 10 Access Panels (Panels 3 and 12 removed)
TLM results are provided in figure 11 for the current
induced in an internal 24 foot long 16 AWG wire. The thin
wire model is used to efficiently represent the internal wire
and all the return conductors surrounding the cylinder.
Fig 11 TLM simulation results for internal wire current
Two results are plotted to compare the induced current for
two of the access panels (panels 3 and 12) either open or
closed. Considering the complexity of the model, the TLM
results are in good agreement with AFRLs test data where the
measured peak current is 12.3 and 2.6 Amps respectively. The
TLM simulation requires 78 Mbytes RAM and solves in 90
minutes using an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 @ 2.8 GHz CPU.
IV. SUMMARY
The TLM method has evolved considerably for EMC/EMI
applications and in particular offers efficient techniques for
handling important complexity such as thin panels, coupling
through apertures and field/wire interactions. Major
computational savings can be achieved for real world
simulations.
Future development in TLM will further improve the
treatment of small but EMC/EMI relevant detail. This will
enable even more complex and realistic apertures and cables
to be handled efficiently. For example, models for twisted pair
282
and shielded twisted pair harnesses commonly used in
automotive and aerospace applications will be provided.
Aperture models will be extended to deep tortuous path seams
often utilized in defense applications to maximize shielding
performance.
Further information about the TLM method can be found
in the excellent review paper by Hoefer [14] and
comprehensive book by Christopoulos [15].
V. REFERENCES
1. Numerical solution of 2D scattering problems using a
transmission-line matrix, Johns P. & Beurle R., Proc. IEE
118, 1971.
2. A symmetrical condensed node for the TLM method,
Johns P., IEEE Trans Microwave Theory Tech, Vol 35, No
4, 1987.
3. Hybrid symmetrical condensed node for the TLM
method, Scaramuzza R. & Lowery A., IEE Elec. Lett., Vol
26, N0 23, 1990.
4. Theory of the symmetrical super-condensed node for the
TLM method, Trenkic V., Christopoulos C. & Benson T.,
IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., Vol 43, No 6, 1995.
5. New multi-grid interface for the TLM method,
Wlodarczyk J., IEE Elect. Lett., vol. 32, no. 12, pp 1111
1112, June 1996.
6. New TLM models for thin structures, Johns D.,
Wlodarczyk A. & Mallik A., Proc. IEE Int. Conf. on Comp.
in Electromagnetics, Publ. 350, 1991.
7. TLM enhancements for EMC studies, Johns D., Mallik
A. & Wlodarczyk A., IEEE Proc. Regional Symp. EMC
(Tel Aviv), 1992.
8. A new wire node for modeling thin wires in
electromagnetic field problems solved by transmission line
modeling, Naylor P. & Christopoulos C, IEEE Trans.
MTT-38, 1990.
9. New wire interface for graded 3D TLM, Wlodarczyk A.
& Johns D., IEE Elect. Lett., 1992, Vol 28, No 8.
10. Comparison of thin-wire models for the TLM method,
Porti J., Morente J., Khaladi M & Callego A., IEE Electr.
Lett., 1992, Vol 28, No 20.
11. A fully integrated multi-conductor model for TLM,
Wlodarczyk A., Trenkic V., Scaramuzaa R. &
Christopoulos C., IEEE Trans Microwave Theory Tech,
Vol 46 No 12, 1998.
12. Embedded features in TLM, Christopoulos C.,
Unification of modeling methods in computational
electromagnetic, Proc. 2008 IEEE MTT-S Symposium.
13. Analysis of simulated aircraft lightning strikes and their
electromagnetic effects, Grunden J., Walko L.,
Schweickart D., Horwath J and Webb G., AFRL report
AFRL-PR-WP-TR-2001-2024, Feb 2001.
14. Huygens and the computer a powerful alliance in
electromagnetics, Hoefer W., Proc. IEEE, Vol 79, No 11,
1991.
15. The Transmission-line modeling method TLM,
Christopoulos C., IEEE/OUP series on electromagnetic
wave theory, IEEE press, ISBN 0-7803-1017-9, 1995.