1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

5. RTU = REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT
MTU = MASTER TERMINAL UNIT
PROGRAMMABLE
LOGIC
CONTROLLER
RTU = REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT
Images from the
Critical National
Infrastructures
Report

6. 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

7. Two Vulnerabilities To Solar Storms: To intentional attack:
“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

8. 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)

9. 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)

10. 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

11. MFC Generators (Magnetic Flux Compression)
How they work
Battery current charges a capacitor
Capacitor energy is transferred into a helical inductor
Coils of inductor are then progressively shorted out via an explosion-driven copper conductor
Inductor current increases to mega-ampere levels (producing a very short pulse)
Tens of tera-watts and tens of mega-Gauss developed during the short pulse duration
One Gauss = 1E-4 Teslas

12. 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

13. 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.

14. ANOTHER IMPLEMENTATION

15. 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

16. Catalog Items

17. Plans for Sale on the Internet
ONE WEBSITE EXPLAINS HOW TO MAKE A
HIGH ENERGY RF WEAPON USING THE MAGNETRON
SALVAGED FROM A MICROWAVE OVEN

18. 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)

19. 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-foil-backed insulating sheathing, metallic-clad siding, copper foils (normally used for vapor barriers), wire meshes, and sheet metal roofing
See their website for other initiatives

20. 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 pre-cursors, 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

21. To Summarize:
Modern control systems for power generating stations, water treatment plants, oil refineries, dams, etc. are vulnerable to attack via EMP
EMP devices and plans are available on the internet
Military engineers have been developing EMP generators for decades (US and other countries)
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