<p>Standardisation of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measurements&nbsp;in harsh environments&nbsp;and&nbsp;real time</p>

Standardisation of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measurements in harsh environments and real time

All electronic equipment emits low-power radio frequency and microwave fields that can interact adversely with other nearby devices, damaging or impairing their function. Therefore, before release within the European Market all electronic items must demonstrate compliance to the European electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Directive 2014/30/EU using harmonised EMC standards. Compliance is demonstrated by using standardised electromagnetic compatibility measures. However, the rapid growth of radio services and cutting-edge technologies like smart grids, internet of things and electromobility has created new scenarios where existing standards do not address interference issues effectively.

The completed Metrology Partnership project Metrology for emerging electromagnetic compatibility standards (21NRM06, EMC-STD) addressed this problem, developing new electromagnetic emissions test methods for harsh environments, such as factory premises and photovoltaic installations, covering the emission testing frequency ranges 30 Hz – 150 kHz, 150 kHz – 30 MHz and 30 MHz – 6 GHz.  

Collaborative calibration and field tests

Project partners EMC Barcelona, TÜBİTAK UME and Research Institutes of Sweden AB (RISE) designed tests and carried out data analysis for different facilities and instrumentation. These activities demonstrated the transition from laboratory concepts to practical calibrated testbeds and real-world field evaluations across Europe. CMI and INTA are using the calibration protocols developed.

The project established a new conducted emission test method based on the live impedance measurement of the power grid and equipment under test, in the frequency range of 30 Hz – 150 kHz. This range is generally defined as “low frequency region” for the EMC community. This has also recently become a concern to the power quality community and the impedance measurement method can be adopted by them as well.

Release of the LISN impedance and uncertainty calculation tool

A Line Impedance Stabilisation Network (LISN) is inserted between a power source and an electronic device during EMC testing to provide a known, repeatable line impedance and a clean measurement point for high‑frequency noise. The LISN Impedance and Uncertainty Calculation Tool v2.4 is a software solution to calculate the theoretical nominal Artificial Mains Network impedance values for a given circuit and the corresponding uncertainty contribution by using the magnitude and phase information in accordance with CISPR 16-4-2. This tool can be used by EMC test and calibration laboratories for calculating the uncertainty contribution of any LISN.

Good Practice guides  

Good practice guide detailing i) the APD calibration method and the associated sources of uncertainty ii) methods for interpreting and presenting the APD calibration results  includes calibration approaches and procedures, how to calculate the uncertainty budget and performance results.

Good Practice Guide for EMC Emission Measurements with Direct Sampling Time Domain Measuring Receivers includes information about the spectral estimation algorithms, calibration aspects with respect to EMC standardisation and performance comparison with more traditional receivers. This guide allows industry to achieve a reduction in measurement time, from hours to less than a minute. 

This project helped to develop the standardised measurements required to protect modern electronics from radio-interference, including validated and traceable methods to assess EMC for in situ testing of large and high-power equipment and interference in modern wireless communications.

Project co-ordinator, Serdar Büyük from UME said:

“The project contributed to the draft in-situ emission measurement standard, CISPR/CIS/B WG7 (CISPR 37). Time domain measurement methods and practical calibration methods developed in the project were presented to the standard committees CISPR/CIS/A WG1&WG2 (CISPR 16-1-1). In-situ emission measurements were carried out in collaboration with several private companies. Easily adaptable good practice guides, including quantitatively proven measurement practices for in-situ tests, were published.”

This Metrology Partnership project has received funding from the European Partnership on Metrology, co-financed by the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme and from the Participating States.

Want to hear more about EURAMET?

Sign up for EURAMET newsletters and other information

Follow us on LinkedIn and X