Christopher St. Julian solders two washers to shield a penetration for an RF enclosure. Image Credit: URC.
Prairie View A&M University, Texas
Major: Electrical Engineering
Degree Level: Bachelor of Science
Internship Site: NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Mentors: Chatwin Lansdowne and Brandon Sherman
Abstract: The aim of this project is to demonstrate techniques for effectively penetrating a radio-shielded enclosure using Ethernet cable (CAT-6). This process requires that we measure the shielding performance by means of testing and data orchestration to collect and analyze our data, and then present observations with different test cases. Each test case would represent a different penetration strategy that utilizes distinctive wire coupling and characteristics (i.e., the type of bulkhead link, the twist of each CAT-6 cable, the shielding type of each CAT-6 cable, and the length of the cable). As the different cable setups are fabricated, a prototype evaluation of setup is conducted to measure the signal integrity of the testing configuration. Our signal integrity is measured through the analysis of different parameters found in the prototype evaluation such as RF leakage, impedance mismatch, and decay rate. As each of these data values are effectively collected and analyzed, the most effective cable setup is selected based upon its ability to penetrate the shielded enclosure. The testing data is compared in conjunction with the cost of the manufacturing of the prototype wire penetration.
* If you are having trouble viewing this poster, please download it as a pdf.