Study on Saturation of Ferrite Chokes Used for EGSE Protection in Indirect Lightning and ESD Tests

Abstract

Lightning and Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) are very common phenomena in nature, causing electromagnetic extreme conditions. Therefore, these requirements for the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) test campaign are necessary to avoid damage and keep the flight safety. In electronics, ferrite core inductors are used to filter and protect electronic equipment against electromagnetic interference (EMI). Therefore, knowledge of the performance of these cores is very important. Their use at high current levels can cause their behaviour to change from linear to non-linear regime, also known as the saturation state in magnetic materials. Under these conditions, the common mode impedance in the power supply and signal lines is modified and the ferrite core inductors do not have the expected characteristics. This paper presents the results of the study of this phenomenon and new research on the behaviour of magnetic materials against different current levels.