ASPECTS REGARDING SHIP MAGNETISM GENERATED BY CORROSION CURRENTS AND STRAY FIELDS

In order to determine the ship’s vulnerability to magnetic detection all sources generating static and alternative magnetic fields must be considered. Besides ship ferromagnetism and induced eddy currents, major sources of magnetic signatures are corrosion related magnetism - giving both static and variable magnetic fields through various mechanisms, and the stray fiels generated by electric circuits onboard. This paper discusses the last two sources, their characteristics, the various processes of generating magnetic fields and the particular methods of reducing the resulting signatures.