Nuclear EMP: key suppression device parameters for EMP hardening

Technical Report · Sat Mar 01 04:00:00 EDT 1975

OSTI ID:4081643

Durgin, D L; Brown, R M

The electrical transients induced by EMP exhibit unique characteristics which differ considerably from transients associated with other phenomena such as lightning, switching, and circuit malfunctions. The suppression techniques developed to handle more common transients, though not necessarily the same devices, can be used for EMP damage protection. The suppression devices used for circuit level EMP protection are referred to as Terminal Protection Devices (TPD). Little detailed data describing the response of TPD's to EMP-related transients have been published. While most vendors publish specifications for TPD performance, there is little standardization of parameters and TPD response models are not available. This lack of parameter standardization has resulted in a proliferation of test data that is sometimes conflicting and often not directly comparable. This paper derives and/or defines a consistent set of parameters based on EMP circuit hardening requirements and on measurable component parameters and is concerned only with use of TPD's to prevent permanent damage. Three sets of parameters pertaining to pertinent TPD functional characteristics were defined as follows: standby parameters, protection parameters, and failure parameters. These parameters are used to evaluate a representative sample of TPD's and the results are presented in matrix form to facilitate the selection of devices for specific hardening problems. (auth)

• Research Organization: Braddock, Dunn and McDonald, Inc., Albuquerque, N.Mex. (USA)
• NSA Number: NSA-33-014974
• OSTI ID: 4081643
• Report Number(s): PEM--38
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

*ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES
*ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT-- RADIATION HARDENING
440200* --Instrumentation--Radiation Effects on Instrument Components
Instruments
or Electronic Systems
EQUIPMENT PROTECTION DEVICES
N46300* --Instrumentation--Radiation Effects on Instrument Components
Instruments
or Electronic Systems
TRANSIENTS