Study of Interference Path Loss from Antennas Located Inside and Outside of an Aircraft Cabin

Abstract

The ＂Interference path loss＂ caused from a personal electronic device radiating inside the cabin to a victim antenna terminal mounted on the fuselage of an aircraft has received much attention for the flight safety. Thus, this research has been focused on analysis of the path loss between the antenna inside the cabin and that mounted on the fuselage of an aircraft. The electromagnetic model for a small commercial aircraft T39-A was built for numerical analysis and the electromagnetic software CST, based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, was adopted for required calculation. The simulated results of electromagnetic coupling effect caused between the antennas inside and outside the cabin when operating at around 330 MHz was presented and discussed. And effect on path loss when passengers take on the seats has also been investigated. To further verify the results obtained from the built numerical model, experimental measurement achieved from the real aircraft platform has been set up and implemented as well. Finally, good agreement between the simulation and measurement has been achieved and yielded much physical insight on such an investigated subject.