EMC & Thermal Management
Growth in naval systems integration demands EMC solutions
by Paul Currie, sales & marketing director, MPE Ltd Paul Currie W
hilst the technological demands of all defence applications are constantly increasing, it is within naval platforms that UK EMC, EMP and TEMPEST filter manufacturer MPE Ltd has seen some of the most significant requirements develop in recent years. Naval command, control and
communications systems have never been more critical than at present and the increasing number of on-board operational systems have given rise to considerable compliance, interoperability and safety pressures.
Systems must operate safely and
securely, without any interruption in service due to interference from nearby equipment systems. MPE’s filter solutions address these compliance and safety demands. One of its latest developments has been ultra-low earth leakage filters within shipborne applications.
The risk of electrical shock must be minimised for any personnel who may accidentally make contact with exposed phase lines in electrical systems. Such low earth leakage filters mitigate against this risk. Leakage current within electrical systems can also cause the unnecessary and intermittent tripping and incorrect operation of electrical safety protection devices. That could result in interruption of the power supply to mission-critical systems. MPE has been manufacturing low- leakage filters for many years, nevertheless, these filters are designed for use on mains supplies which have a dedicated neutral line and typical leakage current values between 15mA and 100mA. The very nature of naval platforms means that there is no such dedicated neutral line, and so specific “floating earth” filters are required. In response, MPE expanded its range of low-leakage EMC filters with the development of a range of ultra-low- leakage EMC powerline filters having no neutral line. This ultra-low-leakage filter range provides high levels of attenuation from 100kHz right up to 18GHz – and with extremely low line-to-earth leakage properties from 6mA to 8mA. Such MPE filters are already utilised on many UK Navy assets such as Type 45 destroyers and Astute Class submarines. The same filters are also installed within cutting edge naval solutions around the world, such as the Swedish Navy’s Visby Class stealth corvette. Increasing satellite-based communications and electronic warfare systems, aboard naval platforms, has seen another specific requirement develop. That comprises TEMPEST protection filters with “floating earth” and low-leakage properties.
TEMPEST is a code name
considered to cover the protection of equipment systems and facilities against the interception of data signals by an enemy’s intelligence services. To mitigate against the risk of such “electronic eavesdropping” of conducted signals on copper or aluminum cables and wires, protection filters with suitable insertion loss performance are utilised.
Naval applications with TEMPEST
protection can typically include briefing rooms, radio rooms, electronic warfare hubs and command-and-control locations. Accordingly, in 2017, MPE developed a range of TEMPEST protection filters specifically for installation within such naval applications. The new range of ground breaking filters support system and equipment compliance with the overarching requirements of NATO TEMPEST SDIP-27 and SDIP-29 Standards. They meet the line capacitance limitations of DEF-STAN 59- 411 and MIL-STD-461 and are designed to be compatible with a ship’s integral DC leakage detection systems. The new range of TEMPEST protection filters include models from 16A through to 125A, providing high levels of attenuation from 100kHz right up to 10GHz – and with extremely low line-to-earth leakage properties from 16.6mA down to 3.6mA. Mechanically these filters incorporate stainless steel enclosures for enhanced corrosion resistance in marine environments and incorporate the same field-proven components as have been used for decades in MPE’s other powerline filter ranges.
These ultra-low-leakage filters have
already been designed into naval platforms like the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier and the next generation
32 February 2019 Components in Electronics
of the Royal Navy’s fleet, such as the Type 26 frigate. QE Class vessels required EMC filters in
order to filter the power supplies entering on-board TEMPEST compartments. In total MPE supplied ten different designs from MPE’s low-leakage performance ranges. Each filter was also mechanically customised with a bespoke earth stud design to suit the application. The future Type 26 frigate has similar needs for TEMPEST filters and MPE has developed and is supplying further customised filters variants for this platform. Looking ahead, the demand for low- leakage TEMPEST filters such as MPE’s is only set to increase. Future communications technologies will require ever larger and more powerful radiating antenna and equipment systems. Defence suppliers are therefore working toward solutions which consolidate such antennae into single units and integrate communications suites. It is this type of integration that is certain to present increased electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues and electromagnetic radiation. Founded in 1925, MPE Ltd of Liverpool designs and manufactures electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electromagnetic protection (EMP) and TEMPEST filters for use in defence applications.
www.mpe.co.uk www.cieonline.co.uk
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