An Approach for Modelling Harnesses in the Extreme near Field for Low Frequencies

A key part of every space science mission, in the system-level approach, is the detailed study and modeling of the emissions from transmission lines. Harnesses usually emit electromagnetic fields due to the currents (of common and/or differential modes) that flow on their shields. These fields can be identified via conducted emissions measurements. Relying on the operating frequency, any cable can be considered as a dipole or a traveling-wave antenna. Limited work can be found in the literature regarding modeling methodologies for cable topologies, especially in the low frequency (ELF, SLF, VLF, LF) domain. This work intends to provide perceptions for the precise estimation of harness radiated emissions, consider a mission-specific measurement point (where the sensors are placed), and follow ESA’s recent science mission studies for electromagnetic cleanliness applications. For the low frequencies considered herein, any linear cable path is considered as a point source (infinitesimal dipole) and we evaluate its effect on the calculated electric field extremely close to the source. For such distances, it is shown that the dipole representation is not accurate. To remedy this phenomenon, this article proposes a methodology, which can be easily expanded to complex cable geometry cases.