A phased array array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing

Abstract

The application provides a phased array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing, by introducing the idea of beam multiplexing, all targets are sorted from high to low in priority, and the targets with higher priority are preferentially allocated with surface resources; all the remaining targets are searched, if the azimuth and elevation angle of a target can be covered by the beam allocated to the aforementioned target, then the target multiplexes the beam of the aforementioned target, thereby only one subarray (1 beam) is needed, while the traditional surface resource allocation method needs to allocate two subarrays (2 beams), so that the processing maximally improves the surface resource utilization rate, and more targets can be tracked and counteracted more flexibly in a complex counteracting environment, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the equipment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of radar countermeasure signal processing, in particular to a phased array array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the existing phased array radar countermeasure equipment, resource management software is usually used to manage and allocate phased array resources (two-dimensional planar array, such as shown in FIG. 1) to flexibly switch and allocate the phased array resources between full array / half array / 1 / 4 subarray and other working modes according to the current target number, target frequency band, and target azimuth / elevation distribution, and point the interference beam (one subarray can only form one beam at a moment) to the allocated target direction, so as to realize real-time tracking coverage of multiple targets. Figure 1

[0003] The above method has the following disadvantages: in the actual use process, although the working mode and the number of array surfaces of the phased array resources can be flexibly allocated to cope with multiple situations in the design of maximum coverage target, the actual environment is often quite complex, and once the number of targets in the environment exceeds the design maximum target, the equipment platform and the operator will be in danger, and when multiple targets come from the same or adjacent direction, the same number of subarrays (one subarray can only form one beam at a moment) still need to be allocated to track and cover them, and the array surface resource utilization is not sufficient. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application aims to provide a phased array array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing to solve the problem of insufficient array surface resource utilization of the traditional array surface resource allocation method.

[0005] The present application provides a phased array array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing, which comprises:

[0006] All targets are sorted in priority from high to low, and the array surface resources are preferentially allocated to the targets with higher priority;

[0007] All the remaining targets (threat level not greater than the aforementioned target) are searched, and if the azimuth angle and the elevation angle of the target can be covered by the beam allocated to the aforementioned target, the target multiplexes the beam of the aforementioned target.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, when there is only one target:

[0009] The full array surface resource is allocated to the target to form a beam pointing to the target.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, when there are two targets:

[0011] ​With the first target as a reference target, for another target, by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target in azimuth and elevation direction with the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction calculated in full-array form, it is judged whether the target and the reference target reuse the beam.

[0012] Further, with the first target as a reference target, for another target, the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction is respectively calculated in full-array form by using the beam 3dB width formula, and then the angle difference between the target and the reference target in azimuth and elevation direction is calculated. When the angle difference in azimuth and elevation direction is respectively less than the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction, the target and the reference target reuse the beam, and full-array surface resource is allocated to form a beam pointing to the reference target; otherwise, the two targets are respectively allocated half-array surface resource to form two beams pointing to the two targets respectively.

[0013] Further, the beam 3dB width formula is:

[0014]

[0015] Wherein, C is the speed of light, F is the center frequency of the target, N is the number of azimuth / elevation direction elements, D is the element spacing of azimuth / elevation direction, and a is the engineering coefficient.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, when there are three and more than three targets:

[0017] Firstly, with the first target as a reference target one, the method for two targets is adopted to all the remaining targets, by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target one in azimuth and elevation direction with the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction calculated in full-array form, it is judged whether the target can reuse the beam with the reference target one; if all can, full-array surface resource is allocated to form a beam pointing to the reference target one;

[0018] Otherwise, the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction is calculated in half-array form for all the following targets in sequence, the half-array form refers to that the number of azimuth direction elements is halved, and the number of elevation direction elements remains unchanged; by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target one in azimuth and elevation direction with the half-beam width of azimuth and elevation direction calculated in half-array form, it is judged whether the target can be merged with the reference target one, and if it can be merged, the merging flag one is set; the first target in the order of not being able to be merged with the reference target one is taken as a reference target two, and all the targets not being able to be merged with the reference target one are traversed again. If it can be merged with the reference target two, the merging flag two is set; if all the targets can be merged with the reference target one or the reference target two, the calculation is ended, and two sub-arrays are allocated, and a beam is formed by each of the sub-array one and the sub-array two, and points to the reference target one and the reference target two respectively.

[0019] Otherwise, the azimuth and elevation direction half-beam width of all the targets behind in sequence is calculated in 1 / 4 subarray form, that is, the number of array elements in the azimuth / elevation direction is halved; the judgment of whether it can be merged is made one by one in the above-mentioned manner, the minimum 3 or 4 reference targets are formed, the calculation is completed, and 3 or 4 subarrays are allocated, each of which forms a beam pointing to the 3 or 4 reference targets respectively.

[0020] In summary, due to the adoption of the above technical solutions, the beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0021] 1. Improve the utilization rate of array resources and improve the output signal power:

[0022] In the traditional array resource allocation method, no matter whether multiple targets are concentrated in a small range direction (azimuth and elevation), a corresponding number of subarrays need to be allocated to form beams pointing to the targets. In this case, due to the increase in the number of subarrays, the number of array elements in each subarray is reduced, and the equivalent radiation power synthesized will be reduced. Through the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam reuse of the present application, these subarrays can be combined to form a beam covering all the targets, so that the array resources can be maximized and the output signal power can be improved.

[0023] 2. Improve the multi-target adaptability:

[0024] The maximum number of targets adapted by the traditional array resource allocation method cannot exceed the maximum number of subarrays that can be divided. When in extreme environments, once the number of targets exceeds the design threshold, the risk of the equipment platform and the operator is greatly increased. Through the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam reuse of the present application, the coverage of targets is not completely dependent on the number of subarrays, which can effectively avoid this risk in most cases and greatly improve the safety of the equipment platform and the operator.

[0025] 3. Economic value:

[0026] If the indicators of the equipment are clear and the working conditions adapted are clearly determined, the utilization efficiency of the array and the array elements can be significantly improved by using the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam reuse of the present application, which in turn can reduce the hardware number configuration of the array subarrays and the array elements to a certain extent, thereby obtaining certain economy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a phased array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the operation of the phased array subarray / beam in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the effects of traditional array resource allocation methods and the beam multiplexing-based phased array resource allocation method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0032] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0033] Example

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment proposes a phased array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing, including:

[0035] Sort all targets by priority from high to low, and allocate array resources to higher priority targets first;

[0036] The search iterates through all other targets. If a target's azimuth and elevation angles are covered by the beam allocated to the aforementioned target, then that target reuses the aforementioned target's beam. Specifically, the processing is performed according to the phased array's operating mode (full array / half array / 1 / 4 subarray) and the number of targets to be processed:

[0037] (1) When there is only one objective:

[0038] Allocate full array surface resource to the target, and form a beam pointing to the target.

[0039] (2) When there are two targets:

[0040] Take the first target as the reference target, and for the other target, compare the angle difference between the target and the reference target in azimuth and elevation with the half-beam width in azimuth and elevation calculated in full array form to determine whether the target and the reference target can reuse the beam. Specifically:

[0041] Take the first target as the reference target, and for the other target, calculate the half-beam width in azimuth and elevation in full array form using the beam 3dB width formula and The beam 3dB width formula is:

[0042]

[0043] Where C is the speed of light, F is the center frequency of the target, N is the number of elements in azimuth / elevation, D is the element spacing in azimuth / elevation, and a is an engineering coefficient (mainly for the influence of element installation error on theoretical beam width, generally obtained by darkroom measurement).

[0044] Then calculate the angle difference between the target and the reference target in azimuth and elevation. If the angle difference in azimuth and elevation is less than the half-beam width in azimuth and elevation respectively and the target and the reference target can reuse the beam, allocate full array surface resource, and form a beam pointing to the reference target; otherwise, the two targets are allocated half array surface resource respectively, and two beams are formed pointing to the two targets respectively.

[0045] (3) When there are three or more targets:

[0046] First, take the first target as the reference target 1, and use the method when there are two targets to judge whether the remaining targets can reuse the beam with the reference target 1 by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target 1 in azimuth and elevation with the half-beam width in azimuth and elevation calculated in full array form; if all can, allocate full array surface resource, and form a beam pointing to the reference target 1;

[0047] Otherwise, the azimuth and elevation half-beam width of all the targets behind in sequence is calculated again in the half-array form, which means that the number of elements in the azimuth direction is halved (i.e. becomes N / 2, and N / 2 is used to replace N in the beam 3dB width formula when calculating the half-beam width in the azimuth direction), and the number of elements in the elevation direction remains unchanged; whether the target can be merged with the reference target 1 is determined by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target 1 in the azimuth and elevation directions with the half-beam width calculated in the half-array form, and if it can be merged, the merging flag 1 is set; all the targets are traversed again, and the first target in the sequence that cannot be merged with the reference target 1 is taken as the reference target 2, and the remaining targets that cannot be merged with the reference target 1 are traversed again, and if it can be merged with the reference target 2, the merging flag is set to 2; if all the targets can be merged with the reference target 1 or the reference target 2, the calculation is completed, and two sub-arrays are allocated, and sub-array 1 and sub-array 2 form a beam respectively pointing to the reference target 1 and the reference target 2;

[0048] Otherwise, the azimuth and elevation half-beam width of all the targets behind in sequence is calculated again in the half-array form, which means that the number of elements in the azimuth direction is halved (i.e. becomes N / 2, and N / 2 is used to replace N in the beam 3dB width formula when calculating the half-beam width in the azimuth direction), and the number of elements in the elevation direction remains unchanged; whether the target can be merged with the reference target 1 is determined by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target 1 in the azimuth and elevation directions with the half-beam width calculated in the half-array form, and if it can be merged, the merging flag 1 is set; all the targets are traversed again, and the first target in the sequence that cannot be merged with the reference target 1 is taken as the reference target 2, and the remaining targets that cannot be merged with the reference target 1 are traversed again, and if it can be merged with the reference target 2, the merging flag is set to 2; if all the targets can be merged with the reference target 1 or the reference target 2, the calculation is completed, and two sub-arrays are allocated, and sub-array 1 and sub-array 2 form a beam respectively pointing to the reference target 1 and the reference target 2.

[0049] When the array surface can be divided into more than 4 sub-arrays (such as 8 or 16, etc.), the above method can be analogized to perform array surface and beam allocation.

[0050] Figure 2 For the embodiment of the present application, an 8*8 element planar phased array is used as the array surface resource, the array surface azimuth element spacing is 25mm, the elevation element spacing is 15mm, in actual calculation, the value of a in the beam 3dB width is 0.9, and the working process of the phased array array surface resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing is as shown in Figure 1 The effect diagram is as shown in Figure 3 It can be seen that the present application has the following advantages:

[0051] 1. Improve array surface resource utilization and output signal power:

[0052] In the traditional array resource allocation method, whether multiple targets are concentrated in a small range direction (azimuth and elevation) or not, corresponding number of sub-arrays need to be allocated to form beam pointing to targets. In this case, due to the increase of the number of sub-arrays, the number of array elements of each sub-array is reduced, and the equivalent radiation power is reduced. Through the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing of the application, these sub-arrays can be combined to form a beam covering all targets, so that the array resource can be maximized and the output signal power can be improved.

[0053] 2. Improve multi-target adaptability:

[0054] The maximum number of targets adapted by the traditional array resource allocation method cannot exceed the maximum number of sub-arrays that can be divided. When in extreme environment, once the number of targets exceeds the design threshold, the risk of equipment platform and operator is greatly increased. Through the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing of the application, the coverage of targets is not completely dependent on the number of sub-arrays, which can effectively avoid this risk in most cases, greatly improving the safety of equipment platform and operator.

[0055] 3. Economic value:

[0056] If the equipment index is clear and the working condition is clearly determined, the use of the phased array array resource allocation method based on beam multiplexing of the application can significantly improve the utilization efficiency of the array and the array element, which in turn can reduce the hardware number configuration of the array sub-array and the array element to a certain extent, thereby obtaining certain economy.

[0057] The above only describes the preferred embodiments of the application and is not used to limit the application. For those skilled in the art, the application can have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. within the spirit and principle of the application shall be included in the protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. A method for phased array array surface resource allocation based on beam multiplexing, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: all targets are sorted in priority from high to low, and the array surface resource is preferentially allocated to the target with higher priority; all the remaining targets are searched, and if the azimuth and elevation angles of a target can be covered by the beam allocated to the previous target, the target reuses the beam of the previous target; when there are two targets: the first target is taken as a reference target, and whether the other target reuses the beam of the reference target is determined by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target in the azimuth and elevation directions with the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions calculated in the full-array form; the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions is respectively calculated in the full-array form by using the 3dB beam width formula, and then the angle difference between the target and the reference target in the azimuth and elevation directions is calculated; when the angle difference in the azimuth and elevation directions is respectively less than the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions, the target and the reference target reuse the beam, the full-array surface resource is allocated, and one beam is formed to point to the reference target; otherwise, the two targets are respectively allocated with half-array surface resource, and two beams are formed to respectively point to the two targets. 2.The beam-multiplexing based phased array array surface resource allocation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The 3dB beam width formula is: wherein, C is the speed of light, F is the center frequency of the target, N is the number of elements in the azimuth / elevation direction, D is the element spacing in the azimuth / elevation direction, α is the engineering coefficient.

3. The beam-multiplexing based phased array array surface resource allocation method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, when there are three or more targets: firstly, the first target is taken as a reference target one, and the method for two targets is adopted to determine whether the remaining targets can reuse the beam of the reference target one by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target one in the azimuth and elevation directions with the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions calculated in the full-array form; if yes, the full-array surface resource is allocated, and one beam is formed to point to the reference target one; otherwise, the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions is respectively calculated in the half-array form for the following targets, the half-array form refers to that the number of array elements in the azimuth direction is halved, and the number of array elements in the elevation direction remains unchanged; whether the target can be combined with the reference target one is determined by comparing the angle difference between the target and the reference target one in the azimuth and elevation directions with the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions calculated in the half-array form, and if yes, a combination flag one is set; the first target that cannot be combined with the reference target one is taken as a reference target two, and the remaining targets that cannot be combined with the reference target one are searched again; if the target can be combined with the reference target two, a combination flag two is set; if all the targets can be combined with the reference target one or the reference target two, the calculation is ended, two sub-arrays are allocated, and one beam is formed in each of the sub-array one and the sub-array two to respectively point to the reference target one and the reference target two; otherwise, the half-beam width in the azimuth and elevation directions is respectively calculated in the 1 / 4 sub-array form for the following targets, the 1 / 4 sub-array form refers to that the number of array elements in the azimuth / elevation direction is halved; whether the target can be combined is determined in the previous manner, three or four reference targets are formed, the calculation is ended, three or four sub-arrays are allocated, and one beam is formed in each of the sub-arrays to respectively point to the three or four reference targets.

4. The beam-multiplexing based phased array array resource allocation method of claim 1, wherein, when there is only one target: the full-array surface resource is allocated to the target, and one beam is formed to point to the target.

Images