Radar Antenna Array Fault Detection Using Radome Probes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current health monitoring systems for radar antenna arrays fail to detect failures in radiating elements and circuit boards, leading to unreliable operation and potential safety hazards, especially in aircraft applications where stringent safety criteria must be met.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising probes embedded in or attached to the radome to measure and process parameters of the radiated field from radiating elements, identifying faulty elements and allowing for reporting and compensation to maintain system performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If health monitoring systems focus only on control points (amplifiers and phase shifters), then the complexity of the monitoring system is reduced, but the reliability of radar operation deteriorates because failures in radiating elements and circuit boards go undetected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces probes as intermediary measurement devices that indirectly detect the state of radiating elements by measuring electromagnetic field parameters. These probes serve as mediators between the radiating elements and the monitoring system, enabling detection of element failures without requiring direct access to internal circuitry or increasing system complexity significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct electrical connection monitoring with electromagnetic field measurement. Instead of using electrical probes that would require physical contact and complex wiring, the system uses electromagnetic field sensors to detect the state of radiating elements, substituting a mechanical/electrical monitoring approach with a field-based measurement approach.
2Measurement precision
If probes are embedded in the radome to measure radiated field parameters, then the measurement precision of radiating element health is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensors and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The probes embedded in the radome serve multiple functions: they act as structural support elements of the radome, provide electromagnetic shielding, and simultaneously function as measurement sensors for detecting field parameters from radiating elements. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated sensor structures, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If the monitoring system processes measured parameters to identify faulty radiating elements, then the loss of information about system health is reduced, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases due to the need for sophisticated signal processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration measurements during the design and manufacturing phases to establish baseline field parameter profiles for each radiating element. These pre-established reference profiles are stored and used during operational monitoring, allowing for straightforward comparison-based fault detection without requiring complex real-time analysis algorithms, thus reducing the difficulty of ongoing detection and measurement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively monitors and compensates for faulty radiating elements, ensuring reliable radar operation and enhancing safety in critical applications by providing real-time fault detection and adjustment of healthy elements to maintain performance.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of probes arranged to be embedded in or attached to a surface of the radome to measure parameters of a field radiated from the array of radiating elements
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
AI summary
A system for monitoring the functioning of a plurality of radiating elements in an antenna array of a radar, the radiating elements (1) being positioned beneath a radome (6); the system comprising a plurality of probes (7) arranged to be embedded in or attached to a surface of the radome to measure parameters of a field radiated from the array of radiating elements, means for acquiring (100) the measured parameters from the probes and for processing (102) the measured parameters to identify faulty operation of one or more of the radiating elements based on the measured parameters and to identify the one or more radiating elements identified as having faulty operation.