Through-wall Surveillance using Ultra-wideband Short Pulse Radar: Numerical Simulation

Chen lei1,2
1 Xidian University, Xi'an, China 2 Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, China e-mail: chenlei@guet.edu.cn

Shan ouyang2
2 Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, China

Abstract- Based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, this paper investigates the feasibility of using ultra-wideband short-pulse (UWB SP) radar to provide through-wall surveillance. High fidelity through-wall radar data are generated by the use of the FDTD method, where a two-dimension room with concrete walls is modeled. A space-time domain image-generation algorithm, back projection (BP) algorithm, is utilized to transform the raw radar data into radar images. The velocity change in the propagation of a concrete wall alters the travel time between the transmitter, the target, and the receiver. This impact of the wall on the performance of through-wall radar imaging is considered in the image processing. The simulated results demonstrate that hidden targets behind concrete walls can be correctly located in both range and direction by using the FDTD-simulated scattered field information. Index TermsUltra-wideband (UWB), through-wall surveillance, finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), back projection (BP)

I.

INTRODUCTION

Impulse radar can be used to detect the presence and the movement of targets behind walls. To be an effective detection system, the radar should have the transmitted signal at a frequency low enough to be able to penetrate walls and have a very wide bandwidth so that targets behind walls are clearly identified. Bandwidths need to be several gigahertzes to achieve high resolution of the order of a fraction of a meter. Ultra wideband (UWB) radar systems satisfy both the requirements for low frequency and large bandwidth. UWB radar systems have been used for a wide variety of civilian and military applications. Skolnik et al. [1] outlined considerations that characterize the design of UWB radar for the detection of low-altitude missiles over the sea. UWB for minefield detection (ground penetrating radars) was also investigated by Carin et al. [2], where a full-wave model for EM scattering from buried targets is developed. Such systems were also studied thoroughly by Walton and his group at the Electro Science Laboratory, the Ohio State University [3]. In This program is funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 60572054 and Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education under Grant 2006105950810D01.

another unique application, a UWB radar system is used to detect and predict images of moving targets behind walls or non-metallic visually opaque boundaries. Nag et al. [4, 5] introduced a hand-held wall penetrating radar unit that transmitted time-modulated UWB signals through barriers. This system is very useful in forced entry and hostage situations, as well as emergencies where there are victims under debris. This paper describes the use of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method [6] to study the capabilities of a UWB radar system to detect targets behind walls. A two-dimension room with concrete walls, which is illuminated by a UWB pulse with a centre frequency of 2 GHz, is modeled inside the FDTD lattice. A conducting target is placed inside the room. The scattered field due to the target is calculated using FDTD method and is recorded at several receiver points outside the room. The range location of the target can be determined by measuring the propagation delay time from the transmitting point to the target and back to the receiver point after accounting for the presence of the wall. Using the received field data at several observation points, an image of the target can be constructed by using the back projection (BP) algorithm [7, 8]. Simulated results show that hidden targets behind concrete walls can be detected in both the range and the direction by using the FDTD-simulated radar signal. This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 is dedicated to the FDTD modeling of a UWB SP radar in front of a concrete room for the through-wall radar imaging. Section 3 describes the reconstruction of UWB radar images which are generated by using the back projection (BP) method. Effects of the decrease in signal velocity within concrete walls on through-wall radar imaging are also discussed in this section. Simulation results verifying the capability of UWB SP radar to provide through-wall surveillance are presented in Section 4. Section 5 briefly summarizes the main results and indicates directions for future research.

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II.

FDTD MODELING

In this section, simulated data of a UWB SP radar in front of a concrete room have been generated for the through-wall surveillance study. The FDTD numerical method [6] is a direct solution of the time-dependent Maxwells curl equations using the finite-difference technique. In FDTD the propagation of an EM wave into a volume of space containing a conducting object is modeled. By time stepping, the incident wave is tracked as it first propagates to the structure and then interacts with the object through current excitation, scattering, multiple scattering, penetration and diffraction. A 2.36 m x 3.59 m room with concrete walls is modeled inside the FDTD lattice and is shown in Fig. 1. The concrete walls are represented inside the FDTD lattice by their physical parameters, namely, a relative permittivity r = 7.0
-2

and conductivity = 5.0x10 S/m. These values are chosen for an operating frequency f = 2 GHz. The wall thickness is set to 10 cm. The target inside the room consists of a 10x10 cm conducting box located at the position (x = -30 cm, y= 94 cm), where (x, y) is the coordinate of the conducting box centre as shown in Fig.1. The FDTD spatial and temporal resolution parameters used in the modeling and simulation of the target EM illumination are set as follows: spatial resolution dx=dy=1.0cm; time resolution: dt=19.25x10 seconds. The whole computational domain of FDTD is truncated using the perfectly matched layer (PML) [6] absorbing boundary conditions. To model the EM illumination of the conducting box target by a UWB short pulse, the excitation source is initiated at a point Tx, 5.0cm from the wall. The source excitation is a 0.6 ns Gaussian pulse modulated by a 2 GHz sine wave. The electromagnetic field was recorded every 2 cm along one side of the room to simulate received signals. The receiver points in the FDTD simulation are observation points where the EM field magnitudes are recorded and saved for post-processing. The room wall begins at y = 5.0 cm, so the excitation source at Tx = (0.0, 0.0) is 5.0 cm from the wall, and the receivers points are 4.0 cm from the wall. The receiver points Rx1 to Rx121 are distributed along the side of the room in the x-direction with coordinates x1 = -120 cm, x2 = -118 cm, , x121 = +120 cm, and an aperture length D = 240 cm. III.
IMAGING ALGORITHM
-12 2

as a function of round-trip delay time. The total round-trip delay time is the time to travel from the transmitting antenna to the pixel and then back to a receiver. Back projection coherently sums the sampled radar returns for each array element of the image map. What is meant by the phrase coherent summation is a process whereby the signal obtained at each aperture position is time-shifted to match, or align, it to a particular pixel element in the image map. Following this, all the recorded amplitudes from each channel are added together on the spatial grid. At the target locations the signal amplitudes will add up coherently and should build up quickly. The back projection algorithm has been implemented as follows: a) Divide the whole region into small pixels; b) For each pixel, calculate the round-trip delay time from transmitter to pixel and pixel to a receiver; c) Record the corresponding received time bin amplitude for each pixel. d) Sum the recorded amplitudes on all pixels; e) Repeat step b, c and d for all receivers. Mathematically, in free space, the back projected signal at pixel (xi, yj) in the image is given by:

S ( xi , y j ) =

E ( t ij ( k ), k )
k =1

(1)

t ij ( k ) =

( RTx ij + R Rx ij ( k )) c

(2)

RTxij = ( xi xT ) 2 + ( y j yT ) 2
RRxij (k) = (xi xR (k))2 + ( y j yR (k))2

(3)
(4)

The image generation algorithm used to process the FDTD-simulated raw signals into radar images is described in this section. A. Back Projection Algorithm The fundamental aspect of back projection is that it is a matched-filter implementation of time-domain correlation. The idea is to correlate data collected at each aperture position

Where c is the speed of light in free space (m/s); S(xi, yj) is in V/m; t in second; x, y, T and R in meter, N is the total number of receiving points. tij(k) is the delay time from the transmitting antenna to travel to pixel (xi, yj) and then traveling back to the nth receiver. The (xT, yT) is the coordinate of the transmitter and the (xR(k), yR (k)) is the coordinate of the nth receiver. The result of this procedure is a 2-dimension radar image, which provides both the range and the direction of the potential targets behind the walls. B. Correction for Signal Velocity inside Walls The accurate calculation of the total delay time is a critical step in the back projection algorithm. The velocity of the signal inside concrete walls is slower than in free space. This alters the traveling time between the transmitter, the target, and the receiver. The traveling time for a radar signal to pass a

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10-cm-thick concrete wall is given by:

t wall =

D wall v wall

(5 )

where vwall is the velocity of the signal inside the wall, Dwall is the wall thickness. The velocity of the electromagnetic signal is related to the wall permittivity and permeability as follows:

v wall =

r _ wall

(6)

where c is the speed of light in free space and r_wall is the relative permittivity of the concrete wall. The difference time through concrete walls compared to free space propagation is then determined by:

Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show the radar images of the box with coordinates (xb = -30 cm, yb = 94 cm) inside the room obtained with and without correction for the slower signal velocity inside concrete walls, respectively. Here, a logarithmic scale has been used to better display the radar images of the targets. In addition, for clarity, the sidelobes of the generated images are suppressed by setting the threshold level (equal to 10dB) in the plotting program to display only the peak magnitudes. As shown in Fig.2, the signal velocity decrease inside the concrete wall makes the radar target images displace from their correct locations. Correcting for signal velocity inside the concrete wall improves considerably the quality of the radar images shown in Fig.3, which makes the displacement of targets be located at their true positions. These images show that UWB SP radar is capable of correctly identifying targets behind a concrete wall. IV. CONCLUSION

t different =

Dwall ( r _ wall 1) c

(7 )

The wall coordinates are shown in Figure 1. Hence, the travel time difference due to concrete can be included in the back projection algorithm as follows:

In this paper, the capability of UWB radar to detect targets behind concrete walls is verified using the FDTD numerical method. For the case of a 2-dimension room with concrete walls, the displacement of a 10x10 cm conducting box inside the room can be precisely located by using back projection algorithm to process the FDTD-simulated radar signals. Effects of the decrease in signal velocity within concrete walls on through-wall radar imaging are also considered on this paper. Further investigation to utilize UWB-SP radar for through-wall surveillance purposes through numerical simulation includes modeling of human phantoms inside the room and three-dimension through-wall radar imaging.
2

Tij (k) = tij (k) +

IV.

2Dwall ( r _ wall 1) c

(8)

SIMULATION RESULTS

This section verifies the feasibility of using ultra-wideband short-pulse (UWB SP) radar to provide surveillance for targets behind concrete walls. Simulated data of a UWB SP radar in front of a concrete room have been generated by using FDTD simulation method described in Section 2. The displacements of a room with concrete walls, a conducting target, excitation source point and receiving points are shown in Fig. 1. The source excitation is a 0.6 ns Gaussian pulse modulated by a 2 GHz sine wave. FDTD simulation parameters used in the modeling and simulation of the target EM illumination are set as Section 2. The radar images in this section were obtained by applying the back projection algorithm described in Section 3. The received raw signals include the direct signal from the transmit antenna and echoes from both the concrete room and the box. For this case, the direct signal from the transmit antenna, being much stronger than the other echoes, makes it difficult to see the smaller signals such as wall echoes. In order to better display the radar images of the targets, the isolated targets responses are obtained by subtracting the received signals of the room with targets from the received signals of the empty room. This process removes the stationary clutter and keeps only changes inside the room.

REFERENCES

[1] M. Skolnik, G. Andrews, and J. P. Hansen, Ultra-wide Band Microwave Radar Conceptual design, IEEE AES Systems Magazine, pp.25 29, October 1995. [2] L. Carin, N. Geng, M. McClure, J. Sichina, and L. Nguyen, Ultra-wide Band Synthetic Aperture Radar for mine-field detection, IEEE Antennas & Propg. Magazine, vol. 41, No. 1, pp.18 33, Feb. 1999. [3] E. K. Walton and S. Gunawan, Comparative Analysis of UWB underground data collected using step-frequency Short Pulse and Noise wave form, in: Ultra-wide Band, Short Pulse Electromagnetics 3, edited by Baum et al., (Plenum Press, New York, 1997), pp. 511 516, 1997. [4] T. Payment, A low power Ultra-wide Band Radar Test Bed, proceedings of EuroEM 2000, May 2000. [5] S. Nag, H. Flluhker, and M. Barnes, Preliminary interferometric images of moving targets obtained using a time-modulated Ultra-wide Band through wall penetration radar, Proc. of IEEE Radar Conf., pp.64 69, 2001. [6] A. Taflove and S. C. Hagness, Computational Electrodynamics: The

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Finite-Difference Time-Domain, Artech House, Boston, 2000. [7] Soumekh, M.. Synthetic Aperture Radar Signal Processing with MATLAB Algorithms. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1999. [8] Desai,M.D., Jenkins,K. Convolution backprojection image reconstruction for spotlight mode synthetic aperture radar. IEEE Trans. on image processing, vol.1, no.4, 505-517, October, 1992.

Figure 2. Back projection image without consideration of wall effect

Figure 1. Room layout and UWB radar setup

Figure 3. Back projection image with consideration of wall effect

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