Bulk Current Injection (BCI)

Applicable Test Standards

International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC)

IEC/EN 61000-4-6: Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): Testing and Measurement Techniques – Immunity to Conducted Disturbances, Induced by Radio-Frequency Fields

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO 11452-4 Road Vehicles – Component Test Methods for Electrical Disturbances from Narrowband Radiated Electromagnetic Energy: Harness Excitation Methods

Department of Defense Interface Standard

MIL-STD 461: Requirements for the control of electromagnetic interference characteristics of subsystems and equipment

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA)

RTCA DO-160 Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment

The conducted immunity test method Bulk Current Injection (BCI) has widely gained acceptance as an alternative or supplementary immunity test method to radiated immunity testing. It has been standardized by several organizations for a variety of applications from integrated circuits and subassemblies for automotive applications and aerospace systems. The most common test standards that utilize bulk current injection are MIL-STD 461, RTCA/DO-160, IEC 61000-4-6 and ISO 11452-4.

Bulk Current Injection (BCI) is a test procedure to proof the immunity to electrical disturbances by narrowband electromagnetic energy.

The principle behind the bulk current injection is to use current injection directly onto equipment cables instead of radiating the EUT with the specification field. The amount of current injected corresponds to the worse case radiated field levels to which the EUT is exposed.