Design and Optimization of Multilayered Electromagnetic Shield Using a Real-coded Genetic Algorithm

We report optimized design of multilayered electromagnetic shield using real coded genetic algorithm. It is observed that the shielding effectiveness in multilayer design is higher than single layered counterpart of equal thickness. An effort has been made to develop an alternative approach to achieve specific objective of identifying the design characteristics of each layer in the multilayered shielding configuration. The proposed approach incorporates interrelated factors, such as absorption and reflection in the design optimization as per specific shielding requirements. The design problem has been solved using shielding effectiveness theory based on transmission line (TL) modeling and real-coded genetic algorithm (GA) with simulated binary crossover (SBX) and parameter-based mutation. The advantage of real-coded GA lies in efficient solution for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding design due to its strength in solving constraint optimization problems of continuous variables with many parameters without any gradient information. Additionally, the role of material parameters, such as permittivity and permeability on reflection characteristics and shielding effectiveness, has also been investigated and optimized using the proposed models and real-coded GA. Theoretical optimization of electromagnetic parameters has been carried out for SE ∼ 40 dB for many industrial/commercial applications and SE ∼ 80 dB for military applications. Received 19 January 2012, Accepted 7 March 2012, Scheduled 20 March 2012 * Corresponding author: Sanjay Kumar Chaturvedi ([email protected]). 242 Gargama, Chaturvedi, and Thakur