Time reversal has emerged as a very interesting technique with potential applications in various fields of engineering. It has received a great deal of attention in recent years, essentially in the field of acoustics, where it was first developed by Prof. Fink and his team in the 1990s. In the past decade, the technique has also been used in the field of electromagnetics and applied to various other areas of electrical and computer engineering. In particular, the technique has been successfully applied in the fields of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and power systems, leading to mature technologies in source-location identification with unprecedented performance compared to classical approaches. It is expected that the fields of application of electromagnetic time reversal (EMTR) will continue to grow in the near future.

This talk presents the theoretical basis of the electromagnetic time reversal. It starts with a discussion of the notion of time in physics and it goes on to present three approaches that can be used to effectively make a system go back in time, in the sense that it retraces the path it came from in the immediate past. The time reversal invariance of physics laws is then described with special attention given to the time reversal invariance of Maxwell’s equations. The concept of time reversal cavity, and the use of time reversal as a means of refocusing electromagnetic waves is then described. Finally, the application of Electromagnetic Time Reversal in lightning location and fault location in electrical networks is presented and discussed.

Refreshments will be served. OIQ (Quebec Order of Engineers) members may claim this event for continuing education hours provided that it is related to the member’s professional activities as defined in: OIQ Règlement sur la formation continue article 6.

Speaker(s): Prof. Farhad Rachidi,

Location:
Room: 603
Bldg: McConnell Engineering Building
McGill University
3480 Rue University
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2K6