Measurements in an Outdoor Facility and Numerical Simulation of the Radar Cross Section of Targets at 10 GHz

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary data from an ongoing study on the radar cross section (RCS) of targets with simple and complex surface geometries (a flat square plate, a 90° dihedral corner reflector and a retired air-to-air missile). Measurements and computer simulations of these metallic targets were carried out at 10 GHz and also when the surfaces of the targets were completely coated with a radar absorbing material (RAM), consisting of flexible sheets of carbonyl iron dispersed in a silicone rubber matrix. Experimental measurements were obtained in an outdoor facility, and computer simulations were performed using a commercial software package. The main objective of this study was to compare results in order to highlight some of the issues related to the determination of the RCS of an actual target. Additionally, a Brazilian research institute has demonstrated the capability to produce and characterize materials related to the main aspects of RCS research, namely, measurement, simulation, and production of RAM.

Numerical evaluation of an air to air missile rcs signature at x-band

“…It is worth mentioning that the measurement setup showed a dynamic range limitation, i.e. too high-noise floor (Peixoto et al, 2011). Therefore, only the higher energy peaks of RCS were detected, like for the angles of 180 and 90 in Table 1.…”

“…The alternative to eliminate or diminish the current density on hot spots is by means of a geometric reshape or by using Radiation Absorbing Materials (RAM) (Grant, 2010). In Peixoto et al (2011), measurements are presented, which show that by covering a missile with RAM, the overall RCS is lowered. Figure 7 depicts the hot spots (visualized as red areas) for the frontal (Fig.…”

“…A comparison between the results of both techniques is shown in Table 1 alongside with some experimental results (Peixoto et al, 2011).…”

Lightweight structural composites with electromagnetic applications

“…The use of radar is based on the transmission and reception of pulses in a narrow beam [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In other words, the RCS measures the target's ability to reflect radar signals into a radar receiver.…”

Radar cross section of simple objects in the presence of an infinite conducting plane

“…Theoretical and experimental evaluation of Res from objects with simple geometric shapes is an easy task, and there are numerous techniques in the literature for this purpose [2][3] [4]. Experimental procedures are carried out in anechoic chambers and in free space environments (open area test sites) [5] [6].…”