Techniques and measures to achieve EMI resilience in mission- or safety-critical systems

• Published in: IEEE electromagnetic compatibility magazine Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 107 - 114
• Main Authors: Pissoort, D., Lannoo, J., Van Waes, J., Degraeve, A., Boydens, J.
• Format: Journal Article Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-01-2017; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Electromagnetic compatibility; Electromagnetic interference; EMI resilience; Fault tolerance; functional safety; IEC Standards; redundancy; Resilience; Risk management; Safety; Safety critical; Testing
• ISSN: 2162-2264; 2162-2272
• DOI: 10.1109/MEMC.0.8272297

In this paper, different techniques and measures are described and discussed that are effective to reduce risks related to electromagnetic disturbances in mission- or safety-critical systems. The aim of these techniques and measures is to make a system EMI-resilient or fault-tolerant with respect to EMI. Whenever a fault occurs within the system, the techniques and measures should either allow that the system continues to work in a safe manner (possibly with reduced performance) or trigger that the system is switched to a safe-state. The techniques and measures align with the well-proven techniques and measures described in IEC 61508, the main standard in the field of Functional Safety. It is described how they have to be modified or optimized to be effective for EMI. At the end of the paper, the use of inversion and spatial diversity is studied in more detail, thereby giving guidance on possible pitfalls.