Modular Shielded Enclosure Panels for HEMP Protection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing HEMP protection structures are costly, time-consuming to design and fabricate, and require facility-specific custom components, leading to high maintenance and installation challenges due to their one-time design and limited adaptability.

Innovation Solution

Development of prefabricated, lightweight, self-supporting shielded enclosures with a combination of pre-fabricated and custom-made panels that can be easily assembled and retrofitted, featuring conductive connections, corrosion protection, and integrated EMI antenna systems for real-time monitoring, allowing for flexible configuration and reduced onsite construction time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If solid continuous metal Faraday Cage structures are used for HEMP protection, then electromagnetic shielding effectiveness is improved, but structural weight and fabrication complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveelectromagnetic shielding effectivenessVSAvoidstructure weight

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The Faraday Cage is divided into modular panels that can be assembled together to form the complete enclosure. Each panel is a self-contained unit with conductive framing and shielding materials, allowing the overall structure to achieve full shielding effectiveness while reducing individual panel weight and enabling parallel fabrication of multiple panels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If facility-specific custom components are designed and fabricated for each HEMP protection structure, then shielding performance is optimized for specific applications, but design and fabrication time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveshielding performanceVSAvoiddesign and fabrication time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Standardized panel designs are pre-engineered and pre-fabricated with optimal shielding configurations determined in advance. This preliminary design work captures the performance optimization benefits while eliminating repetitive design cycles for each installation, allowing rapid deployment of customized enclosures by simply selecting and assembling appropriate pre-designed panels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If one-time design HEMP protection structures are built for each facility, then shielding is tailored to specific needs, but adaptability and reusability decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefacility-specific customizationVSAvoidmaintenance and replacement ease

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The modular panels are designed with universal connection interfaces and standardized dimensions that allow them to be used across multiple different facility configurations. The same panel types can be assembled in various arrangements to create enclosures of different sizes and shapes, enabling a single set of panel designs to serve multiple facilities while maintaining facility-specific shielding requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Productivity

If prefabricated modular panels are used for HEMP enclosures, then assembly time and adaptability are improved, but conductive connection integrity and structural continuity become more challenging to maintain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly speedVSAvoidconductive connection integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The panel connection system is designed to create equipotential joints between adjacent panels using conductive fasteners and overlapping conductive frames. This ensures that electrical potential is continuous across panel boundaries, maintaining the integrity of the Faraday Cage effect while allowing mechanical assembly of discrete modular units.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #12Equipotentiality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution provides cost-effective, adaptable, and efficient protection against HEMP with reduced fabrication and installation time, enabling rapid deployment and maintenance, while maintaining effective electromagnetic shielding and supporting essential services like air, power, and communication.

Implementation Method 1

an enclosure shielded to protect against electromagnetic interference (EMI)

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectromagnetic shielding: Faraday Cage

Implementation Method 2

conductively connected to form a contiguous side structure

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectrical conduction: Conduction (electrical)

Data Source

PatentUS12012752B2Shielded enclosures and related methods for protection from high-altitude electromagnetic pulses

Publication Date: 2024.06.18 HEPBURN & SONS LLC

AI summary

Electromagnetically shielded and self-supporting panels form a shielded enclosure. The use of prefabricated, shielded and self-supporting panels to construct an enclosure reduces the time and cost of constructing such an enclosure.