The ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP)
Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to EMP sources
Prof. Melvin Lewis, MSEE
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Member, AOC, InfraGard, NMIA, IACSP, IEEE
April 2012
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Vulnerabilities
• A natural (or man-made) EMP could cause widespread disruption
or disabling of the electronic control systems or distribution
networks of power plants
– Fast EM pulses could also affect the high-tech control systems
for dams, water and waste treatment facilities, refineries,
natural gas distribution plants, and port facilities
– Many military systems and facilities are hardened, but not all
– Few industrial systems are hardened against a fast EMP
– Slower Geomagnetic induced current surges, produced by solar
storms, could damage hundreds of high voltage distribution
transformers simultaneously
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The Threats
• Man-made events of interest to the energy industry could
include attacks on the SCADA (Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition) systems
– deliberate coordinated ground based pulsed EM radiation
– or high altitude nuclear detonation EMP
• Other threat modalities include cyber- and frontal assault
(using military weapons)
– These last two concerns are not addressed in this presentation
IMAGE FROM THE CRITIICAL NATIONAL
INFRASTRUCTURES REPORT
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www.ucos.com
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MTU = MASTER TERMINAL UNIT
RTU = REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT
PROGRAMMABLE
LOGIC
CONTROLLER
Images from
the
Critical National
Infrastructures
Report
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The ElectroMagnetic Pulse
• A pulse of electromagnetic radiation will result from certain
types of high energy events
– a nuclear explosion
– a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field
• The resulting rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields
could couple with electrical and electronic systems to produce
damaging current and voltage surges resulting in blackouts
HIGH ALTITUDE EXPLOSION
CITY WITHOUT ELECTRICAL POWER
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Two Vulnerabilities
• To Solar Storms:
– “At risk are the more than 200,000 miles of high-voltage*
transmission lines that cross North America, supplying
1,800 utilities the power for TVs, lights, refrigerators and
air conditioners in homes, and for the businesses, hospitals
and police stations”
• (USA Today article)
• To intentional attack:
– "The electric grid's vulnerability to cyber and to other
attacks is one of the single greatest threats to our national
security" [the vulnerability is with the control systems]
• Quote attributed to Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass
* Up to 750KV
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Risk Assessment
• High Impact, Low Frequency
– Solar flares, coronal mass ejections
• Insulator flashover and degradation or failure
• Transformers: internal arcing, core saturation, winding “wire”
fusing causing failure (long time to replace, few spares on hand)
– Intentional ElectroMagnetic Interference, IEMI
• High Energy RF (HERF) Weapons
– Deployed via cruise missile or truck or hand-held
• Above the atmosphere nuclear detonation (via ballistic missile)
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The Sources,
what’s out there:
• Coronal Mass Ejections (solar flares)
• Directed energy weapons
– Explosive-Driven Magnetic Flux Compression (MFC)
Generators
– High Energy Radio Frequency (HERF) generators
• A microwave “gun”
• Disrupts digital control and protective
circuits resulting in damage to
hardware (think Stuxnet)
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Directed Energy Weapons
• Explosive Driven Magnetic Flux Compression (MFC)
EMP Generators
– Under development by the US (and other) military
for decades
– Most are “single shot”
• they must be repaired or replaced after use
– Not a major issue for a terrorist
– Portable, single person carry
EMP
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MFC Generators
(Magnetic Flux Compression)
• How they work
1. Battery current charges a capacitor
2. Capacitor energy is transferred into a helical
inductor
3. Coils of inductor are then progressively shorted
out via an explosion-driven copper conductor
4. Inductor current increases to mega-ampere
levels (producing a very short pulse)
5. Tens of tera-watts and tens of mega-Gauss
developed during the short pulse duration
One Gauss = 1E-4 Teslas
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One implementation: A longitudinal magnetic field is produced
inside a hollow metallic conductor, by discharging a bank of
capacitors into the solenoid that surrounds the cylinder
Detail: To ensure a rapid penetration of the field in the cylinder,
there is a slit in the cylinder, which closes rapidly as the
cylinder deforms
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Description, cont’d
• The explosive charge surrounding the tube is detonated in a
manner that ensures that the compression of the cylinder
commences when the current through the solenoid is at its
maximum
• The convergent cylindrical shock wave unleashed by the
explosion produces a rapid contraction (greater than 1 km/s)
of the central cylinder, compressing the magnetic field, and
briefly creating a very high current in the inductor
• The first experiments were able to attain magnetic fields of
millions of Gauss
– A strong refrigerator magnet produces 100 Gauss
– The earth’s magnetic field is 0.5 Gauss.
– The Gauss is the cgs unit of the magnetic flux density, B.
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ANOTHER IMPLEMENTATION
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What’s Out There?
• Instructions for making EMP generators are on
the internet
– YouTube demonstrations
– Step by step printed guidelines with diagrams
– Older military documents (now declassified)
– etc.
• Purchasable EMP generators
– This is not an explosive driven
device
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Catalog Items
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Plans for Sale on the Internet
ONE WEBSITE EXPLAINS HOW TO MAKE A
HIGH ENERGY RF WEAPON USING THE MAGNETRON
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SALVAGED FROM A MICROWAVE OVEN
Countermeasures ?
• Shielding of sensitive electronics
– Via metal enclosures with conducting gaskets
•
•
•
•
Shielding of control cables and harnesses
Filter-pin connectors
Expanding the defense perimeter
The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research
Laboratories (CERL) has been experimenting with low-cost
electromagnetic shielding designs (see next slide)
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CERL Initiatives:
New Materials and Techniques
• Conductive polymers and advanced coatings for use on shield
components
•
such as amorphous metals and graphites
• Consideration is also being given to making concrete
electrically conductive
• Use of Inherent Shielding of Standard Construction Materials:
– Examples include aluminum-foil-backed gypsum board, aluminum-foilbacked insulating sheathing, metallic-clad siding, copper foils
(normally used for vapor barriers), wire meshes, and sheet metal
roofing
– See their website for other initiatives
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Relevance To the AOC Community
• What can the EW / ECM community do?
– Alert authorities regarding availability of dual use
items (as the chemical industry does with bomb precursors, etc.)
• High performance capacitors, high DC current switches,
highly directional antennas, etc.
– Use our familiarity with shielding, pulse detection,
electromagnetics, and hardened semiconductors to
• develop fast acting circuit-self-protection products that
could be purchased to protect DoD and industry equipment
• Develop truck-borne and man-portable HERF and EMP
weaponry that could defeat the enemy’s defenses
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To Summarize:
1. Modern control systems for power generating
stations, water treatment plants, oil refineries,
dams, etc. are vulnerable to attack via EMP
2. EMP devices and plans are available on the internet
3. Military engineers have been developing EMP
generators for decades (US and other countries)
4. Shielding and other measures can reduce the
susceptibility of the control systems to EMP’s
Suggestion: Read the “Critical National Infrastructures Report”, it’s on the internet
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