A very large EMC test site has been operating underground in England for some
years. This is in Cheshire where salt is mined, leaving large underground open
spaces surrounded by absorbing salt-laden walls. The reduction in ambient
emissions is another benefit of this site. As an article in the UK EMC Journal
reports (http://www.emc-journal.co.uk/archive1/980402.html) , it is now run by
Celestica.
Roger Viles
WWG
"Lacey,Scott" <[email protected]> on 04/08/99 16:37:09
Please respond to "Lacey,Scott" <[email protected]>
To: "'Price, Ed'" <[email protected]>
cc: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]> (bcc: Roger Viles/PLY/Global)
Subject: RE: cost effective EMC facility
Ed,
I find your idea of a salt water ground plane very intriguing. I imagine the
salts used would involve more than just table salt, and the chemistry would
have to be checked and adjusted regularly, similar to a swimming pool. The
problem of stratification could easily be solved with circulator pumps,
which would be turned off just prior to actual use (those of you near fault
lines might take advantage of natural agitation, your salt water pools would
be "shaken, not stirred"). : )
On a related note, does anyone have any experience doing EMC scans below
ground? It seems that the earth would be about the lowest cost shielding
material available. Perhaps an updated and enlarged version of the early
pioneers "soddie" (sod hut) might be just the ticket. It might even
incorporate a salt water ground plane. A side benefit would be that EMC
engineers might gain some useful exercise by swimming a few laps at lunch
time (how many laps around the turntable/raft equals one mile?). : )
Scott Lacey
-----Original Message-----
From: Price, Ed [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, August 02, 1999 5:35 PM
To: 'Arun Kaore'; '[email protected]'
Subject: RE: cost effective EMC facility
Arun:
I was just struck by what you said about "setup a Sea Plane or a
salt water
based site" . Has anyone ever set up an OATS using salt water as
the ground
plane? Talk about excellent surface smoothness, easy to level and
cheap
material, plus simple repair! (Uhh, could we say it fixes itself?)
Just what conductivity would be enough? Could we get enough
conductivity
before we reach salt saturation?
I suppose the upper limit on surface area would be when we get to
the point
of the wind causing surface ripples. Or gravitational tides.
Turntables might be a lot cheaper, too. Just a thin raft that
floats.
Seriously, has anyone tried this for an OATS? (I seem to recall the
US Navy
had a really big ship simulator here in San Diego, where they placed
scale
models of ships on a sheet-steel "sea" in order to model HF wire
antennas.)
Regards,
Ed
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):
-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
Ed Price
[email protected]
Electromagnetic Compatibility Lab
Cubic Defense Systems
San Diego, CA. USA
619-505-2780 (Voice)
619-505-1502 (Fax)
Military & Avionics EMC Services Is Our Specialty
Shake-Bake-Shock - Metrology - Reliability Analysis
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):
-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
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