Modeling and simulation tools fill a critical role in system integration by allowing engineers to predict potential EMI problems and explore solutions prior to fielding of the platform. While providing a powerful and necessary capability, the use of these simulation tools is often hindered by the inaccessibility of suitable RF system performance data required for the simulations. Equipment databases are available that contain the required data, but extraction of this information for use in simulation tools is not only manual and time consuming, but requires a significant level of expertise. One such database is the JSC Equipment, Tactical and Space (JETS) database maintained by the Joint Spectrum Center. The goal of this project is to take advantage of equipment databases for reliable cosite interference modeling and simulation by enhancing the cosite simulation tool EMIT to enable it to take full advantage of existing RF equipment databases such as JETS. Our integrated approach will enable EMIT to automatically extract the required data from the database, create the necessary computational models and perform the simulation for predicting platform EMI.
Benefit: The end result of this project will be an application that works in conjunction with the cosite simulation tool EMIT to allow it to take advantage of the plethora of RF equipment data available in several databases accessible to engineers. This will effectively eliminate the main bottleneck in the use of these type of simulation tools during RF system integration; i.e., the lack of reliable RF equipment performance data. For defense applications, access to the JSC Equipment, Tactical and Space (JETS) database for creating simulation models will greatly improve the ease with which EMIT's multi-fidelity simulation engine can be used to predict and mitigate cosite EMI problems before platforms become operational. Given the high cost of EMI testing, avoidance of problems in the system integration stage can lead to considerable savings. We anticipate that the tool will find widespread application in commercial markets as well where the explosive growth of wireless RF systems has led to a plethora of interference issues that must be solved in a cost-effective way prior to system deployment in order to insure acceptable return on investment.
Keywords: Cosite Interference, Cosite Interference, Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3), RF System Integration, RF Modeling and Simulation, Jets, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), EMIT
