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THE&!i ANTENNA

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES in - - -

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NORMALIZATION O F BISTATIC RADAR RETURN

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Donald E. B a r r i c k Grant Number NsG-213-61

P r e p a r e d for: National Aeronautics & Space Administration Washington 25, D. C .

OTS PRICE
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TE UNIVERSITY ARCH FOUNDATION

Columbus, Ohio
$3.
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REPORT 1388- 13

R E P O R T by T H E OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION COLUMBUS, OHIO 43212

Sponsor

National Aeronautics & Space Administration 1520 H Street, N. W. Washington 25, D.C.

G r a n t Number

NsG-213-61

Investigation of

,Theoretical a n d Experimental Analysis of t h e Electromagnetic Scattering and Radiative P r o p e r t i e s of T e r r a i n , with Emphasis on Lunar-Like Surfaces

Subject of Report

Normalization of Bistatic Radar Return

Submitted by

Donald E. B a r r i c k Ant e nna Lab orat o r y Department of Electrical Engineering

Date

1 5 J a n u a r y 1964

1388- 13

ABSTRACT

2 3/03
Theoretically, the scattering c r o s s - s e c t i o n p e r unit a r e a of a n a r b i t r a r y s u r f a c e can be determined by m e a s u r e m e n t of the power r e c e i v e d , as long a s a n integration of the incident power density o v e r the s u r f a c e illuminated can be p e r f o r m e d . The c l a s s of s u r f a c e s cons i d e r e d in this r e p o r t have a n a v e r a g e height which is p l a n a r , and the antennas a r e highly directional and equidistantly placed at various incidence and s c a t t e r i n g angles above the s u r f a c e . The integration i s p e r f o r m e d f o r various values of incidence and s c a t t e r i n g using the digital c o m p u t e r , and tables of this n o r m a l i z e d i n t e g r a l a r e presented. T h e s e tables may then be u s e d to d e t e r m i n e the a p p r o x i m a t e bistatic s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section f o r such a s u r f a c e f r o m m e a s u r e m e n t s of the s c a t t e r e d power.
& = 9 -

1388-1 3

ii

CONTENTS

Page

I,

GENERAL PROBLEM FORMULATION

1 1 .

SOLUTION O F INTEGRAL FOR A PLANE SURFACE

III. VALUES OF THE INTEGRAL I ( e l ,

e,,

+2

IV.

DETERMINATION O F SCATTERING CROSS SECTION FROM T H E TABLES

13

1388.1 3

iii

P a g e 1 of 13

NORMALIZATION OF BISTATIC RADAR RETURN

I.

GENERAL PROBLEM FORMULATION

One useful p a r a m e t e r i n the scattering of waves by extended s u r f a c e 6 is the scattering c r o s s section. T h i s scattering c r o s s section, o r , m o r e conveniently, the s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section p e r unit area of s u r f a c e , u0(i, s ) , i s a function of the angles of incidence (i) and scattering ( s ) f r o m any particular element of s u r f a c e area. T h e r e f o r e , whenever t h e transmitting and receiving antennas a r e relatively n e a r the s u r f a c e and since the angles of incidence and s c a t t e r i n g will differ f o r the different elements of area making up t h e s u r f a c e , t h i s scattering c r o s s section, uo(i, s ) , i s a function of t h e position of the surface. In t h i s r e p o r t , the b a s i s for normalizing bistatic s u r f a c e r e t u r n m e a s u r e m e n t s made with pencil b e a m antennas is presented. A s e t of t a b l e s is provided t o i n t e r p r e t a m e a s u r e d power r a t i o (power r e t u r n e d f r o m surface/power r e t u r n e d f r o m a s t a n d a r d t a r g e t with a known scattering c r o s s section) as a r a d a r c r o s s section p e r unit area.
. Consider a s u r f a c e which may o r may not contain s o m e degree of roughness. In Fig. 1 the mean height of the s u r f a c e is considered t o be constant, i.e., a plane through which the x-z plane of the . 4 r coordinate s y s t e m is shown. The origin of the s y s t e m i s chosen equidistant f r o m both antennas a t a distance L. The antennas a r e aligned with t h e i r a x e s pointing towards the origin. The x-y plane is chosen coincident with the plane containing the incident wave and t h e n o r m a l t o the surface.

*Note that t h i s does not r e s t r i c t the definition of scattering c r o s s section t o be applicable only to the c a s e of a mean planar surface. However, for the s a k e of clarity, and since the planar s u r f a c e i s the c a s e t o be t r e a t e d l a t e r i n the r e p o r t , development of t h e scattering c r o s s section will be done with r e f e r e n c e to t h i s figure.

1388- 1 3

Tr'ansmi t ter

Receiver

1 1 I

/''dA
Fig. 1. Geometry of s c a t t e r i n g e x p e r i m e n t .

I I 1

T h e power density of the incident wave at a distance rl f r o m the transmitting antenna is given by the e x p r e s s i o n

4~r rL
1

PT is the total power emitted by t h e t r a n s m i t t e r , f T ( + l ) i s the normalized "power gain function" of the antenna,' and GMT i s the maximum gain of the antenna. Note that the antenna considered h e r e h a s a gain function rotationally s y m m e t r i c a l about the antenna axis.

1 1 I 1

T h i s i s often not exactly the c a s e with actual antennas, but a n a v e r a g e may be taken at various rotated positions for each conical s o that a n a v e r a g e f ( + ) m a y be computed for the antenna. angle

+,

1 1 1

1388- 1 3

The scattering c r o s s section p e r unit a r e a , uo, may be defined by the following relation, where dSs is the power density of the s c a t t e r e d wave a t a distance rz f r o m the scattering s u r f a c e element

dA:
uo(i, s ) = 4~

ri
si

dS,

dA
Therefore,

The relationship between t h e s c a t t e r e d power density, dSs, a t the r e c e i v e r and the i n c r e m e n t of power received by t h e antenna, dPR, due t o scattering by the given i n c r e m e s t sf scrfzce a r e a dA i s given by d P R = AR dSs,where AR i s the a p e r t u r e or receiving c r o s s section of t h e antenna. Since

w h e r e fR(+, ) and CMR have the s a m e significance f o r the receiving antenna a s the corresponding quantities had for t h e transmitting antenna, the equation giving the i n c r e m e n t of power received, s c a t t e r e d f r o m the increment of s u r f a c e a r e a dA, i s

T h e t o t a l power received, s c a t t e r e d by the e n t i r e s u r f a c e , is therefore

SURF.

ILLUMINATED

1388-1 3

Since it i s based on the definition of cro(i, s), t h i s e x p r e s s i o n i s valid f o r a s u r f a c e having any a r b i t r a r y shape. It i s , in f a c t , a n i n t e g r a l equation relating received power a n d s u r f a c e scattering p r o p e r t i e s . In principle, by m e a s u r i n g the t r a n s m i t t e d and r e c e i v e d power f o r all antenna positions, one can solve this i n t e g r a l equation and d e t e r m i n e the s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section, u o ( i , s). P r a c t i c a l l y , however, solution of t h i s equation i s i m p r a c t i c a l , if not impossible, unless c e r t a i n r e s t r i c t i o n s and a s s u m p tions a r e permitted. In the following section, the c a s e mentioned previously of the mean planar s u r f a c e will b e t r e a t e d , and the r e s t r i c t i o n s and assumptions applicable will be developed.

1 1

I I

11.

SOLUTION O F INTEGRAL FOR A PLANE SURFACE

In certain scattering p r o b l e m s , the effective a r e a illuminated can have a n average s u r f a c e height which is p l a n a r , a s shown i n Fig. 1. P o l a r coordinates p and a a r e used t o d e s c r i b e the mean planar surface u s e d a s a r e f e r e n c e . The f i r s t approximation made is that i f the surface i s rough, the root-mean s q u a r e height of a point on the surface above the r e f e r e n c e plane i s much l e s s than the distance f r o m the origin t o the antenna. In t h i s c a s e , integration can be c a r r i e d out over the plane r e f e r e n c e s u r f a c e instead of the a c t u a l rough surface, since p and a will not be appreciably different f o r a point on the reference s u r f a c e and the corresponding point above o r below it on the a c t u a l s u r f a c e , in the illuminated a r e a .
Since the antennas a r e highly directional, fT(t/JI ) and fR(t/J2 ) fall off rapidly, and, in m o s t c a s e s , have t h e i r half-power points only one o r two degrees on either side of the antenna axis. Thus, only a relatively small a r e a around the coordinate origin i s illuminated, and, in t h i s a r e a , the angles of incidence do not change appreciably between any two increments of a r e a . T h e r e f o r e , t h e second approximation m a d e is that the scattering c r o s s section, u o ( i , s ) , i s effectively constant over the illuminated a r e a and may be removed f r o m under t h e i n t e g r a l sign. In t h i s c a s e , u o ( i , s ) :? ~ ~ , 8( , , 4, 9 ), ~
\ 2

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1 1
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1388- 1 3

1 I I

At t h i s point r l , r 2 , f T ( $ l ) and fR(42 } will be e x p r e s s e d i n terms of Q a n d a . The steps will b e l i s t e d briefly a n d t h e reasoning will follow. F r o m the f i g u r e , cos p 1 =

- s i n I1 c o s a
+2

c o s p 2 = s i n 0, cos
t s i n 0,

cos a sin a

sin

+2

Definition of cosine of angle by dot product of two v e c t o r s

= s i n O 2 cos (+*

-a)
~ sin p 8, c o s a
~ c po s p 2

.*.

r :

=L' t o 2 - 2 ~ p cospl

= L' t

p2 t 2

.'.

r z = L'
2

t pi!

= L2 t p 2

- 2Lp

-2

sin

e,

cos(+2 - a )

The antenna gain patterns may be determined by experiment a n d Then n o r m a l i z e d t o give plots of fT(+l) and fR($2 ) v e r s u s +l and $z approximate mathematical curves may be fitted t o t h e s e points. A f a i r l y satisfactory function i n the case of many pencil beam antennas is

'1

Law of Cosines

w h e r e A and B a r e l a r g e positive constants. With t h e antennas considered h e r e , it was found that A = B 2 1100. However, A a n d B c a n v a r y f r o m t h i s considerably without appreciably affecting t h e value of the i n t e g r a l . Since fT(+l ) and fR($z ) a r e significant only at small angles (they fall off 3 db at $ = 2 O in t h i s c a s e ) , i n , sin $ , . t h i s range, +1 2 sin +1 and +2 "

1388-1 3

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(1

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L , t

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e,

cos (+,

- a)

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f,($,)

--A
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L, tp'
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fR($

% %

- -B
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8, cos' (4, - a ) ) ~ ~ t p z - zs i~ ne pz c o s ( + 2 - a )

' (1 - sin'

1388- 13

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L-

A 2

(I-sin' el c o s z a ) L2 t p t Z L sin ~ el cos a

p

- -B 2

p (1-sin' 0, c o s ' (+2 - a ) ) L~ t p - 2 ~ p sin e 2 c o s ( + 2 - a )

'

'

dp da All lengths i n t h e i n t e g r a l can be n o r m a l i z e d by a change of v a r i a b l e t o a dimensionless ratio, x = p / L,

..
0
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0
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~

xz (l-sin' 8 , c o s ' a ) 1tx' tZxsinel C O

S ~

x' (I-sin' 8, c o s 2 -a)) _B _ 2 1 t x 2 - Z x s i n e L cos(+, - a )

(+2

[ I + x2 t 2 x sin

el

cos a ] [ I t x2

- 2x sin 0,

dx da c o s (+'-a)]

, , I $) ~ w e r e computed at At t h i s point, values of the i n t e g r a l I ( % , 8 v a r i o u s scattering angles e l , B 2 , and + z using the 7090 Digital Computer a n d SCRATRAN programming. The upper limit on the integral i n x was s e t at 0.15 instead of infinity, since, at t h i s value, and with angles 8, and + 2 a r e always g r e a t e r than 5O, making t h e a n d 8 2 l e s s than 60, magnitude of t h e integrand negligible. At angles 8, and 0, of 80, a slight e r r o r , exceeding no m o r e than 870, i s p r e s e n t due t o t h i s i n t e g r a l limit on x.

The values of t h e integral 1(01 , e 2 , +z ) a r e tabulated i n t h e next section and t h e i r u s e is discussed i n Section IV,

1388-1 3

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1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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IV.
DETERMINATION O F SCATTERING CROSS SECTION FROM THE TABLES F r o m t h e t a b l e s i n Section II1,the values of s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section f o r various angles of incidence and s c a t t e r i n g can b e determined readily. Even in c a s e s w h e r e t h e pencil b e a m antennas u s e d have somewhat different normalized gain functions, f(+), t h e s e t a b l e s will still b e f a i r l y a c c u r a t e due t o t h e extremely n a r r o w concentration of b e a m power. The scattering cross section can b e determined by m e a s u r i n g t r a n s m i t t e d and r e c e i v e d power with t h e following formula:

I 8
1

I
R I I
However, t h e m o r e common and convenient p r o c e d u r e is t o c o m p a r e the received power t o that r e c e i v e d f r o m a s t a n d a r d t a r g e t having a known s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section, us, where us r e p r e s e n t s a n a c t u a l c r o s s sectional area and i s not dimensionless. In this c a s e , the relationship between power t r a n s m i t t e d and r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e s t a n d a r d t a r g e t is

I
I 1 R R
w h e r e t h e t a r g e t is located a n equal distance, L, f r o m both t r a n s m i t t e r a n d r e c e i v e r . Multiplying t h e original e x p r e s s i o n of u 0 ( e 1 , 8, , + 2 ) by t h i s equation, one a r r i v e s at the relationship

8
I 1 1

Thus, the s c a t t e r i n g c r o s s section may e a s i l y be d e t e r m i n e d using t h e s e t a b l e s i n conjunction with the easily m e a s u r a b l e p a r a m e t e r s PRI PRS, and us. The t a b l e s a r e a c c u r a t e t o within about 5% and can even be used with pencil beam antennas with a gain function which v a r i e s somewhat f r o m t h e mathematical model used h e r e , s i n c e , i n most c a s e s , a high d e g r e e of a c c u r a c y in t h e determination of uo i s neither p r a c t i c a l o r attainable.

1388- 1 3

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