A Modular Test-Suite for the Validation and Verification of Electromagnetic Solvers in Electromagnetic Compatibility Applications

Abstract

Computational solvers are increasingly used to solve complex electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems in re- search, product design, and manufacturing. The reliability of these simulation tools must be demonstrated in order to give confidence in their results. Standards prescribe a range of techniques for the validation, verification, and calibration of computational electro- magnetics solvers including external references based on measure- ment or for cross-validation with other models. We have developed a modular test-suite based on an enclosure to provide the EMC community with a complex external reference for model valida- tion. We show how the test-suite can be used to validate a range of electromagnetic solvers. The emphasis of the test-suite is on the features of interest for EMC applications, such as apertures and coupling to cables. We have fabricated a hardware implementa- tion of many of the test-cases and measured them in an anechoic chamber over the frequency range to 1–6 GHz to provide a mea- surement reference for validation over this range. The test-suite has already been used extensively in two major aeronautical research programs and is openly available for use and future development by the community.