Radar Radome and Its Design Considerations

Mashury Wahab
Research Centre For Electronics and Telecommunications (PPET-LIPI) Komplek LIPI, Jl. Sangkuriang, 4th Floor, Building 20 Bandung, 40135 INA
Abstract-Radar plays a significant role in managing air and sea transportation, monitoring a certain areas, surveying, remote sensing, predicting weather, and defense. To protect the Radar against enviromental factors, a radome is required. In this paper, we present some design considerations for constructing a Radome. Based on experience in building the ISRA LIPI Radar, the Radome designs are presented. Measurement results on the effects of Radome to the Radar performance are also presented. Keyword: Radar, radome, design, environment, effects.

I. INTRODUCTION A radome (the word is a contraction of Radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a microwave or Radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is transparent to Radar or radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna surfaces from the environment (e.g., wind, rain, ice, sand, ultraviolet rays, etc.) and/or conceal antenna electronic equipment from public view. They also protect nearby personnel from being accidentally struck by quickly-rotating antennas. Radomes can be constructed in several shapes (spherical, geodesic, planar, etc.) depending upon the particular application using various construction materials (fiberglass, PTFE-coated fabric, etc.). When used on UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or other aircraft, in addition to such protection, the radome also streamlines the antenna system, thus reducing drag. A radome is often used to prevent ice and freezing rain from accumulating directly onto the metal surface of the antennas. In the case of a spinning Radar dish antenna, the radome also protects the antenna from debris and rotational irregularities due to wind. For stationary antennas, excessive amounts of ice can detune the antenna to the point where its impedance at the input frequency rises drastically, causing voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) to rise as well. This reflected power goes back to the transmitter, where it can cause overheating. A foldback circuit activates to prevent this. However, it causes the station's output power to drop dramatically, reducing its range.
Figure 1. Radomes at the Misawa Security Operations Center, Misawa, Japan.

A radome prevents this by covering the antenna's exposed parts with a sturdy, weatherproof material, typically fiberglass, which keeps debris or ice away from the antenna to prevent any serious issues. It is interesting to note that one of the main driving forces behind the development of fiberglass as a structural material was the need during World War II for radomes. When considering structural load, the use of a radome greatly reduces wind load in both normal and iced conditions. Many tower sites require or prefer the use of radomes for wind loading benefits and for protection from falling ice or debris. Sometimes radomes may be unsightly if near the ground, and heaters could be used instead. Usually running on direct current, the heaters do not interfere physically or electrically with the alternating current of the radio transmission.For Radar dishes, a single, large, ball-shaped dome (usually geodesic) also protects the rotational mechanism and the sensitive electronics, and is heated in colder climates to prevent icing. The Menwith Hill electronic surveillance base, which includes over 30 radomes, is widely believed to regularly intercept satellite communications. At Menwith Hill, the radome enclosures have a further use in preventing observers from deducing the direction of the antennas, and therefore which satellites are being targeted. The same point was also made with respect to the radomes of the ECHELON facilities. For maritime satellite communications service, radomes are widely used to protect dish antennas which are continually tracking fixed satellites while the ship experiences pitch, roll and yaw movements. Large cruise ships and oil tankers may have radomes over three meters in diameter to suit broadband transmissions for television, voice, data, and the Internet. Small private yachts may use radomes as small as 26 centimeters in diameter for voice and low-speed data.

Figure 2. Radar array at the Menwith Hill. II. THEORY AND TYPES OF RADOME Figure 3. Transmission Loss Improvement by Impedance Matching Scattering at C-band.

The construction of a radome combines the expertise of materials science, geodesic domes, structures and electromagnetics. Currently, there are four types of dielectric radomes [3]. The four types identify themselves primarily by the radome wall construction. In each case, the dielectric panel edges are reinforced into flanges for adjacent panel assembly. After assembly, the radome dielectric flanges form a framework establishing the general terminology Dielectric Space Frame (DSF) [3]. Depending on radome wall parameters, adjacent panel flanges may also serve as environmental load bearing beams or struts. Each panel is a molded one piece unit without bond or seam lines. When assembled to the other panels, the panel array forms a truncated spherical surface. Individual panels may be doubly curved or flat yielding a faceted or spherically smooth appearance. Foam insulation is often added to the wall producing a two or three layer sandwich configuration. The four types of DSF Radome are as follows [3]:

Thin Membrane The thin membrane wall DSF radome where adjacent panel flanges carry all the wind loads. Wall thickness is usually 0.040 inch or less. Solid Laminate The solid laminate wall DSF radome. Wall thickness is typically 0.090 inch. 2-Layer Sandwich Adding a layer of foam to the inside thin membrane wall DSF radome forms a 2-layer sandwich wall radome. Foam thickness is chosen primarily for thermal insulation and cost objectives.

To reduce scattering loss, there is a technique known as impedance matching to "tune out" framework loss [3]. As required by sophisticated electrical performance requirements, inductive elements (wire, metallic strips etc.) may be laminated into the dielectric flanges to impedance match scattering loss. Any of the four DSF radome types may be impedance matched. As it is shown in Figure 3, every DSF radome exhibits the RF property that the total transmission loss, scattering plus wall insertion loss, approaches zero dB at low frequencies (as opposed to "Metal Space Frame Radomes" whose loss increases without limit. This property is important for UHF/VHF emergency radio communications contained within the radome). To enhance RF performance, a design-balancing process occurs between a stronger structure at maximum rated wind speed and improved RF performance. This balancing act determines that the radomes are designed with appropriate structural safety factors. The superior performance and advantages of DSF Radome technology are evident in the worldwide Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), weather satellite and Radar, air surveillance Radar and Intelsat Communications applications. The material of radome and its thickness should not bend/change the direction of transmission and arrival of the transmitted and received signals. This can be shown on Figure 4. If there is a change of transmitted and received signal paths then the beamwidth and antenna radiation pattern will also change.
Bend path

3-Layer Sandwich The composite 3-layer sandwich foam core wall radome. Core thickness is chosen as 1/4 wavelength for the highest RF signal frequency. Not commonly known to most engineers, radome transmission loss is composed of the insertion loss from the RF signal passing through the radome wall and from the scattering loss off the panel flange framework. In most cases, the scattering loss from the framework is several times greater than the wall insertion loss.

Antena modul

Correct path reflector Subsection of Radome

Figure 4 The effect of radome to the transmitted signals path.

III. ISRA LIPI RADOME

Research Centre for Electronics and Telecommunications of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, which is known as PPET-LIPI, has been developing a coastal surveillance Radar since 2006. At the moment, the first prototype is being tested intensively outdoor in the field near to a coastal area. Meanwhile, the second prototype is being implemented and expected to be completed at the end of 2009. This LIPI Radar is named ISRA (Indonesian Surveillance Radar). This ISRA Radar uses FM-CW (frequency modulated continuous wave) technique, which has separate antennas for transmitting and receiving signals. In this section, we present some designs of Radar radome that have been implemented to ISRA. The design considerations for the radome are: 1. Lightweight. 2. Attenuation is < 2 dB. 3. The material thickness is < 3 mm. 4. No change of beam path of transmitting and receiving signals through radome. 5. Waterproof and moistproof. 6. Low wind resistance. 7. Do not absorb heat. 8. Easy to mount/demount. 9. The surface has a smooth finish. 10. Sufficient strength. There are two designs that have been fabricated and applied to ISRA. The first design has a curly shape, see Figure 5. The shapes of the upper part and the lower part are identical. In the middle, there is a notch which stretch from left to right. The thickness for this radome is about 2 mm. The radome should withstand the wind. After evaluating the implemented radome, it is considered that the radome has several weaknesses and they are: 1. This radome has a high wind resistance due to the notch in the middle of the radome. Therefore, the use of this radome in the long term, i.e., rotates 24 hours/7 days a week all year round, will cost a damage to the antennas motor. This is due to the motor has to rotate the antenna and to combat against the wind. 2. The surface of the radome is not really smooth and this may cause the dropped water stays on the surface. 3. The thickness of the material is not even on all parts of the radome. 4. It is not easy to mount and demount the radome.

Figure 6. The implementation of radome to the ISRA Radar.

(a)

(b) Figure 7. The drawing of the new radome for ISRA.

Based on evaluation of the first radome, a new radome was designed. The design of this new radome should overcome the problems with the first radome. The drawing of this radome is shown on Figure 7. The ISRA Radar with the new radome is shown on Figure 8.

Figure 5. 1st Radome design.

Figure 8. ISRA Radar using the new radome.

IV. RADAR MEASUREMENT WITH RADOME

In this section, we present measurement results of the ISRAs antenna pattern with and without radome so that we can see the effect of radome to the Radar performance.

(bottom) Figure 10. SWR measurement for RX antenna: (top) without radome, (bottom) with radome.

(top)

According to Figure 9, there is a small different between the reflection loss S11 of the received antenna without and with radome. The difference is about 0.3 dB at the frequency of 9.4 GHz. This shows that the attenuation introduced by radome is still acceptable. The standing wave ratio (SWR) of the RX antenna without and with radome are depicted on Figure 10. Based on the results of measurement, the difference is also very small that is about 0.014 at the frequency of 9.4 GHz. This result states that the radome only has a negligible effect to the Radar performance.
V. DISCUSSION

(bottom) Figure 9. Reflection loss S11 measurement for RX antenna: (top) without radome, (bottom) with radome.

Radome is one of the important parts of Radar mechanical construction. The radome protects a Radar against environmental disturbances. There are some signal attenuation or signal losses introduced by the radome and this level of attenuation should be kept to the minimum. The strength of radome is one of its important properties. However, a strong radome should not increase significantly the total Radars weight. Another consideration for radome is the cost. The cost for a radome should be much less than the cost of the Radar. Research on material, mechanical properties and effects of a radome to the transmitted or received signals should be further investigated. At the moment, in Indonesia, there are no intensive researches on radome performed by R & Centres and Institutions involved in Radar development and applications. This kind of research should be encouraged to increase the knowledge and expertise of Indonesian human resources and also to reduce the imports on Radome.
VI. CONCLUSION

Figure 10. (top)

Some aspects on Radome for Radar applications have been presented, i.e., introduction on Radar dan radome, theory and types of Radome, and radome design considerations. Two radomes were built for ISRA LIPI Radar. Some measurements were performed to evaluate the radomes. Both radomes only

introduce a very small signal attenuation and do not affect the antenna radiation pattern. The 2nd radome of ISRA LIPI Radar has a better mechanical properties against the environment. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The development of ISRA LIPI Radar is in a cooperation with the International Research Centre for Telecommunications and Radar of the Technical University of Delft. The funding for the Radar development comes from the LIPI research grants (DIPA and Kompetitif programmes) and from the Ministry for Research and Technology (Insentif Programmes). REFERENCES
[1]. M.I. Skolnik, Radar Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 1990. [2]. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radome. [3]. Antennas For Communications, http://www.radome.net/. [4]. Leo P. Ligthart, Short Course on Radar Technologies, International Research Centre for Telecommunications and Radar, TU Delft, September 2005. [5]. Mark Richards, Radar Signal Processing, McGraw-Hill, 2005. [6]. Bassem R. Mahafza, Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using MATLAB, Chapman & Hall, 2005.