Numerical Simulation of Fields in Cavities with Detailed Antenna Modeling

The Phase II STTR project provided NASA with a multi-fidelity simulation tool for predicting electric fields inside of rocket fairings due to antennas and other sources radiating. NASA engineers have to assess electric fields to determine if they damaged or upset sensitive electronic devices in the payload or launch system. The major accomplishments of the Phase II STTR contract were massive acceleration of the simulation engine through GPU acceleration, development of a power balance (PwB) solution for fast solutions, and a comprehensive measurement-based validation campaign. The Phase II-E effort will build upon the work performed during Phase II. Specifically, requirements for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) have recently changed to extend the upper frequency to 40 GHz. Most space grade avionics are not qualified up to 40 GHz and having to recertify via testing represents an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. EMA will use the simulation tools developed during the Phase II effort to simulate radiated emissions and susceptibility up to 40 GHz of typical NASA avionics systems while performing measurements of the same systems. This information will help NASA to understand if they need to test all avionics systems up to 40 GHz or not. EMA will also improve the PwB tool. Features will be added for specifying power levels for sources as opposed to scaling results via post-processing as is the current implementation. The plotting features in the tool will be upgraded to incorporate several improvements such as trace overlays, improved ease of use, better accessibility to plot settings, and more. There will be improvements to the GPU acceleration and benchmarking of those improvements. NVIDIA plans to release a Windows Fortran compiler. The Beta version is planned for release this fall with a full release expected in 2024. Since most NASA staff use Windows, extensive testing and benchmarking of the Windows version of the software needs to occur.

The resulting capability will allow NASA analysts and eventually commercial customers to model field distributions and shielding effectiveness problems for rocket fairings due to internal and external antennas that are radiating prior or during a launch. This tool will be applicable during all stages of the design (from concept to launch) and will represent a major costs savings for NASA. Commercial and other government agencies face similar challenges where antennas are located inside of fairings or radomes. For example, military radars can create dangerously strong standing fields inside of radomes that can start fires and cause interference to other avionics. Automotive radar companies need to understand how collision avoidance radars perform behind vehicle fascia. 

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.