Study of High-Altitude Nuclear EMP by Using an Integral Equation Method

Abstract

In previous studies, high-frequency approximation (HFA) and outgoing wave methods (OWM) were used in calculating the high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) generated by the high-altitude nuclear explosion. Maxwell's equations were reduced to ordinary differential equations. Here, an integral equation method (IEM) based on the HFA is employed to solve Maxwell's equations in the HEMP environment. A space and basis function decomposition is developed to improve the calculation performance. The IEM and the OWM are found identical in calculating both the transverse and the radial electric field. They are found to be of the first-order accuracy during the calculation of the transverse radiation field and the radial electric field. The saturation effects of both the transverse and the radial electric field are also discussed in this paper.