Development of an SGEMP Simulation Code Based on a Hybrid Plasma Model and Its Validation

Abstract

The system-generated electromagnetic pulse (SGEMP) is generated when an electronic system is exposed to the radiation environment. Due to the difficulty of experiments, numerical simulation has become a powerful tool in SGEMP research and in predicting SGEMP response of a given system. Furthermore, since the ionization of air has a strong effect on the SGEMP response, the simulation of air plasma plays an important role in the SGEMP simulation. In this work, an SGEMP simulation code based on a hybrid air plasma model is developed to simulate the SGEMP responses in cylindrical cavities. The simulation results are compared with experiments at different air pressures in order to validate the SGEMP simulation code. The simulation results agree well with experiments at pressures in the range of near vacuum to 3 torr. The effects of input parameters are also discussed. Simulation results show that the information on the angular distribution of emitted electrons is crucial in reproducing experimental results. The model developed in this article can be useful for SGEMP simulation study and for predicting experimental outputs.