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LEMA

Members

Activities

The Research Unit (RU) Electromagnetics has been created in 2010 within the Department of Communication, Information, Systems & Sensors (CISS) in the Polytechnic faculty of the Royal Military Academy. The research unit encompasses the activities of the Laboratory of ElectroMagnetic Applications (LEMA), created and directed by Professor Marc PIETTE since 1993. Since 19 March 2011, Major Ir Thierry GILLES has become the head of the laboratory.

In the nineties, the LEMA has been mainly active in the field of radar cross section signatures, especially in transient regime (short pulse ultra-wideband target signatures) and in the detection of abandoned landmines by means of EM sensors like ultra-wideband Ground Penetrating Radars. In 1999 the lab reoriented its activities to topics like the study of electric and magnetic signatures of seamines in the ELF frequency band, on-site RF fieldstrength measurements, development of a mode-stirred reverberation chamber and numerical methods applied to electromagnetics.

Since the acquisition in 2009 of a medium size semi-anechoic chamber (15 m3) devoted to EMC testing the LEMA, aside from its scientific research activities, has developed expertise in EMC and EMI dealing with civilian and military standards (EN 61000, MIL-STD-461D and SDIP-27). During the years spent awaiting this major acquisition, the small Faraday cage has been refurbished into a mode-stirred chamber where advanced illumination techniques are experienced to compete with the performances of a conventional semi-anechoic chamber. An important research topic currently in progress is the comparison of the severity level of immunity testing on electronics in a reverberation chamber and in a anechoic chamber. In addition, the reverberation chamber is used to accurately measure the radiation efficiency of (lossy) antennas, such as body-worn textile antennas.

The field measurement activities have also been extended through the acquisition of advanced equipments such as triaxial broadband antennas and wideband selective field measurement systems. The RU Electromagnetics has now a long experience in the accurate on-site measurement of electric and magnetic fields both against the national civilian regulations and against the NATO STANAG 2345 exposure limits. It has also developed some expertise in the measurement of shielding effectiveness of cabinets, from very low to very high frequencies.

The numerical EM modelling is another strong domain of activities of the RU. Disposing of several software and powerful hardware tools, as well as of more than 7 years of expertise, the RU is able to design and analyse small or large complex EM guiding or radiating structures. Additionally, it is nowadays equipped with precision machining tools to realize both planar RF circuits and three-dimensional antennas. Modern digital spectrum analyzers and VNAs are also available to fully characterize RF circuits and/or antennas.

Since 2009 the RU is paying attention to the development and design of low cost ultra-wideband subnanosecond pulse transmitters in the band 3.1 to 10.6 GHz compatible with the indoor frequency mask authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Since its creation, the laboratory has been the opportunity to collaborate with Université de Limoges, Université Catholique de Louvain, Facultés universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix de Namur, Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs de Techniques Avancées de Brest, Institut Supérieur Industriel de Bruxelles, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, European Defence Agency, Belgian Bomb Disposal, Belgian Defence DG and ACOS, Belgian Navy, NATO Undersea Research Center La Spezia, Université de Paris XIII (Institut Galilée).

Research projects

Etude de performance d'antennes en présence de structures perturbatrices

Performance d’antennes.

Expertise Banque Nationale de Belgique

Expertise réalisée conjointement avec le Dept COBO à la demande de la Banque Nationale de Belgique, visant à déterminer le degré de protection du local informatique actuel face aux menaces EMP actuelles.

Safe handling of EOD in hazardous EME, support to MOD

The main objective is to assess the influence of electromagnetic radiations on the functioning of Explosive Ordnance Disposal included electrically initiated detonators.

EDA JIP FP Call 4 - ICAR Project

The involvement of RMA in this projects is related to antenna and propagation aspects.

FEKO software analysis

RMA is providing support for the analysis of specific issues related to the FEKO kernel, propose modifications and validate the modified kernel.

C4/14

This study aims at comparing Electromagnetic Compatibility Tests in anechoic chambers and in reverberating chambers, in conformity with norms CEI 61000-4-21 and CEI 61000-4-3.

Publications

  1. Thi M D Tran and Marc Piette. Bow-Spiral Antenna. In 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting, pages 211-212, Atlanta,GA, July 2019. IEEE.
  2. Thi M D Tran and Marc Piette. An Optimized and Integrated Antenna Design for the Future Jamming System against RCIEDs. In Proceedings of the 2018 8th IEEE-APS Topical Conference on Antennas and Propagation in Wireless Communications, Cartagena des Indias, 2018. IEEE.
  3. Thi M D Tran and Marc Piette. Broadband Antenna Selection for Vehicle-mounted Jamming System against RCIEDs. In Proceedings of the 2018 8th IEEE-APS Topical Conference on Antennas and Propagation in Wireless Communications, pages 866-869, Cartagena des Indias, 2018. IEEE.
  4. Christo Tsigros. Efficiency Analysis of innovating tuning methods for immunity testing in reverberation chamber and comparison to anechoic room (Application to civil and military testing in the RMA chamber). PhD thesis, KU Leuven & Royal Military Academy, 2014.
  5. Thierry Gilles. Advances in the formulations and accuracy of the method of moments applied to electromagnetics. PhD thesis, Université catholique de Louvain and Royal Military Academy, 2011.
  6. Richard Thai-Singama, Frederic Du-Burck, and Marc Piette. Demonstration of low-cost architectures for UWB pulse generation. In Eighth International Conference on Wireless and Optical Communications Networks, pages 1-5. IEEE, May 2011.
  7. T. E. Gilles and H. Serizawa. Scattering by a perfectly conducting square plate comparison between analytical and numerical solutions. In International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications, pages 709-711. IEEE, September 2010.
  8. M Piette and C Tsigros. IEC 61000-4-21 testing : Selective source-mode tuning with two orthogonal antennas scanning system. In International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, pages 1-6. IEEE, September 2008.
  9. C. Craeye, T. Gilles, X. Dardenne, and R. Sarkis. Fast Impedance and Pattern Evaluation for Phased Arrays Made of Complex Elements Involving Finite Dielectric Material. In Second European Conference on Antennas and Propagation,, pages 1-6, 2007.
  10. Christophe Craeye and Thierry Gilles. Combination of multipole and macro basis function approaches for the analysis of finite arrays with dielectric elements. In First European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, pages 1-5. IEEE, November 2006.
  11. M Piette. Complete space - time validation of a single mode stirrer reverberation chamber for immunity testing. In 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Environmental Electromagnetics, page 449. IEEE, August 2006.
  12. Marc Piette. Anisotropy { backslash &} polarization analysis in a cubic mode-stirred chamber. In 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Environmental Electromagnetics, page 448. IEEE, August 2006.
  13. M Piette. Antenna radiation efficiency measurements in a reverberation chamber. In Asia-Pacific Radio Science Conference, pages 19-22. IEEE, 2004.
  14. Odara Thongsamouth. Etude théorique et expérimentale de la distribution des ondes électromagnétiques ELF émises par une source dipolaire immergée en eau de mer peu profonde. PhD thesis, Fondation Universitaire Notre Dame de la Paix, Namur, 2004.
  15. B. Scheers, M. Acheroy, and A. Vander Vorst. Time-domain simulation and characterisation of TEM horns using a normalised impulse response. IEE Proceedings - Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, 147(6):463, 2000.
  16. M. Piette. Ultra-wideband duplexers for low and high peak power applications. In Ultra- Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 4, pages 187-193. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 1998.
  17. B. Scheers. The detection of AP mines using UWB GPR. In Second International Conference on Detection of Abandoned Land Mines, volume 1998, pages 50-54. IEE, 1998.
  18. M Piette. High frequency effect of the junction between cone tip, coaxial feeder and ground plane on the input impedance of a long monocone antenna on ground plane. In Ninth International Conference on Antennas and Propagation, volume 1995, pages v1-465-v1-465. IEE, 1995.
  19. Marc Piette. Banc de mesure en régime transitoire de la signature radar d'objets tridimensionnels. PhD thesis, Université catholique de Louvain, 1995.