Case Study - Faraday Cage
Wire Mesh Faraday Cages
A Faraday cage is an enclosure formed by conducting material, such as wire mesh. Such an enclosure blocks out external static electrical fields. Faraday cages are named after physicist Michael Faraday, who built one in 1836.
An external static electrical field will cause the electrical charges within the conducting material to redistribute themselves so as to cancel the field's effects in the cage's interior. This effect is used, for example, to protect electronic equipment from lightning strikes and other electrostatic discharges.
In 1836 Michael Faraday observed that the charge on a charged conductor resided only on its exterior and had no influence on anything enclosed within it. To demonstrate this fact he built a room coated with metal foil and allowed high-voltage discharges from an electrostatic generator to strike the outside of the room. He used an electroscope to show that there was no electric charge present on the inside of the room's walls.
Royal Veterinary College
The
Royal Veterinary College have constructed a new locomotion barn at
North Mymms and needed to ensure that their electronic equipment was shielded
to reduce radio noise and improve the quality of data collected.
They specified that the complete building was to be radio screened by creating a Faraday cage to the walls, floor and roof.
Locker stainless steel wire mesh was used to create an RF attenuation of a minimum of 60dB.
The mesh was taken under the floor slab inside the walls and roof lining. All joints were overlapped and stapled using stainless steel staples to ensure the shielding integrity of the cage was maintained.