Study of the Propagation of Common Mode IEMI Signals Through Concrete Walls

In this paper, a model to analyze the propagation of intentional electromagnetic interferences disturbances along penetrating conductors into concrete walls is proposed. The model is based on the transmission line theory and considers the attenuation of the signal as a function of the water content of the concrete, the thickness of the wall, and the frequency of the signal. The model is validated with experiments performed with a vector network analyzer and a time-domain reflectometer. A numerical parametric study is performed in order to quantify the expected attenuation levels of a concrete wall with different water content levels. The simulation results show that the peak amplitudes of the disturbance can be significantly attenuated for both dry and wet concrete.