Radar Principles

and
General
Characteristics
 RADAR
An acronym derived from the phrase
Radio Detection and Ranging

Applies to electronic equipment

designed for detecting and tracking
objects (targets) at considerable
distances.
Basic RADAR Principles
Short burst of radio energy (traveling at
the speed of light) are transmitted,
reflected off a target and then returned
as an echo.
 Radar History
In the early 1800s an English Physicist, demonstrated
that electric current produces magnetic field.

In 1864 the Scottish physicist, James Maxwell generated

the general equations of the electromagnetic field,
determining that both light and radio waves are actually
electromagnetic waves.

In 1886 the German physicist, Heinrich Hertz validated

Maxwells general equations. He was able to show that
electromagnetic waves traveled in straight lines and that
they can be reflected from a metal object.

In 1904 the German engineer, Christian Hulsmeyer

obtained a patent for a device capable of detecting ships.
 Radar
History
Invented in 1900s (patented in 1904) and
reinvented in the 1920s and 1930s
Applied to help defend England at the beginning of
World War II (Battle of Britain)
Provided advance warning of air raids
Allowed fighters to stay on ground until needed
Adapted for airborne use in night fighters
Installed on ships for detecting enemy in bad
weather (Bismarck)

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RADAR Bands and Usage
Radar Propagation
Characteristics
 The Radio Wave

Radio frequency travels at the speed of light.

(approx. 162,000 nmi/s)

Radar waves tend to travel in straight lines or

rays and are also subject to refraction or
bending in the atmosphere.
 POLARIZATION
- orientation of the Electric Axis in space.

CYCLE
- one complete oscillation or one complete
wave

FREQUENCY
- is the number of cycles completed per
second.

The Radio Wave

 WAVELENGTH
- is the distance along the direction of
propagation between successive crests or
troughs.

AMPLITUDE
- is the maximum displacement of the wave
from its mean or zero value.

The Radio Wave

Radar Wave
Frequency and Wavelength
Relationship

c
f

f = frequency
c = speed of radar waves (300,000km/s)
= wavelength
Example:
When the wavelength is 3.2 centimeters (0.000032km),
frequency is equivalent to:

km
c 300000
s
0.00032km
c
f

f 9375MHz
The RADAR equation
 Reflected signal can be determined from the
power density at the target multiplied by RCS
(Radar Cross Section)

PREF = PT . GT . RCS
4 r 2
Power density at receiver from the reflected signal
will be

PREF = PT . GT . RCS . 1
4 r 2 4 r 2
Note: target is not antenna, so radiation is omni - directional
Multiplied by the effective area of the radar
antenna, this becomes

PREF = PT . GT . RCS . Aeff

(4 ) 2 r4
PREF = PT . GT . RCS . GR 2
(4 ) 2 r4 4
PREF = PT . GT . RCS . GR . 2
(4 ) 3 r4
RADAR range equation
Sample problem
Solution
Solution
Pulse radar
Pulse radar
Pulse radar
Pulse radar
Pulse radar
Clutter
Typical Radar Geometry

A typical radar system consists of a co-located pulsed

transmitter and a receiver, usually sharing an antenna
A pulse is transmitted and then the receiver listens for the
return, similar to sonar
The strength of the return signal depends upon the
distance to the target and its (electrical) size
The radar determines the distance to the target from the
time delay before receiving the reflected pulse
Basic Radar System
Free Space Propagation
 The Radar Beam

Minor Lobes

Major Lobe

Free Space Radiation Pattern

 The Radar Beam

The strength of the energy decreases rapidly in

directions away from the beam axis.

The power in watts at points in the beam is inversely

proportional to the square of the distance.

The field intensity in volts at points in the beam is

inversely proportional to the distance.
 Beam Width
The angular width of a radar beam between points
within which the field strength or power is greater
than the arbitrarily selected lower limits of field
strength or power.

The angular width between points at which the field

strength is 71 percent of it maximum value.

In terms of power ratio, beam width is the angular

width between half-power points

The Radar Beam

Beam Width
Antenna Parameters
Antenna Parameters
Types of RADAR
Classification by
waveform
 Range Ambiguity
As was mentioned earlier, the reply for a given
pulse may arrive after the next pulse has been
transmitted. This gives rise to
RANGE AMBIGUITY since the radar assumes
that each reply results from the preceding
pulse

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 Range Ambiguity
Range ambiguity may be resolved by using
more than one prf.
In this case the ambiguous returns show up at
a different range for each prf

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RADAR Functions
Time delay and Ranging
Superposition of waves
Wave polarization
RADAR Display Types
Track vs Search
Antenna Patterns
RADAR systems
RADAR Jamming
Low Observability
RADAR Cross section
RADAR Cross Section
 Radar Cross Section
Radar Cross Section (RCS)

To simplify things the radar range equation assumes that a

target with cross sectional area absorbs all of the incident
power and reradiates it uniformly in all directions.
This, of course, is not true
When the radar pulse hits a target the energy is reflected and
refracted in many ways depending on
a. the material it is made of
b. Its shape
c. Its orientation with respect to the radar

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 Radar Cross Section
Examples:

Corner reflector

Transparent

Absorber

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 Radar Cross Section
Simple Shapes:
The sphere is the simplest shape to analyze:

It is the only shape for which the radar cross section

approximates the physical cross section
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 Radar Cross Section
Simple Shapes:
The sphere is the simplest shape to analyze:

But even a sphere gives some surprises!

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 Radar Cross Section
Simple Shapes:
The word aspect is used to refer to the angle from which
the object is being viewed.
Obviously the RCS of a sphere is independent of the
aspect angle but that is not true in general
The metallic rod for example:

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 Radar Cross Section
Simple Shapes:
Another relatively simple shape is the Cone Sphere

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 Radar Cross Section
Real life targets are much more complicated:
a large number of independent objects scattering energy in
all directions
scattered energy may combine in-phase or out of phase
depending on the aspect angle (scintillation)
All techniques for determining RCS have severe limitations;
Calculation:
GTD (geometric theory of diffraction)
Experimental:
Full scale: very expensive
Scale models: lose detail

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 Radar Cross Section
Experimental RCS

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 Radar Cross Section
Experimental RCS

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 Radar Cross Section
RCS Examples

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Stealth Fighter F117

Radar Cross Section 0.003m2

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RCS Reduction Methods
RADAR Room
Mobile radar
END