Fields and Currents and Charges on Obstacles in a Parallel-Plate Simulator at Selected Frequencies and with Pulse Excitation.

This final report summarizes the results of a 2-year study performed at Harvard University to determine the properties of the Harvard model simulator at selected frequencies and under pulse excitation. The continuous-wave (CW) study is completed with measurements at intermediate frequencies; a novel series apron device is developed to improve the performance in this frequency range. The pulse study begins with a theoretical and experimental investigation of the simpler rhombic simulator, and concludes with an investigation of the Harvard parallel-plate simulator. Both the rhombic and the metal-plate simulators exhibit unexpected complications which require further study. Each feature is examined individually and the sources of the many parasitic pulses are determined. Methods for eliminating the undesired pulses are presented, along with a new experimental technique to reduce the systematic interference and a new theory to solve for the current in the time domain. (Author)