The large radar cross section of wind turbine generator (WTG) blades combined with high tip speeds can produce significant Doppler returns when illuminated by a radar. Normally, an air traffic control radar system will filter out large returns from stationary targets, however the Doppler shifts introduced by the WTG are interpreted as moving aircraft that can confuse radar operators and compromise safety. A possible solution to this problem that we are investigating is to incorporate an active layer into the structure of the WTG blades that can be used to dynamically modulate the RCS of the blade return. The active blade can operate in one of two modes: firstly the blade RCS can be modulated to provide a Doppler return that is outside the detectable range of the radar receiver system so that it is rejected: a second mode of operation is to introduce specific coding on to the Doppler returns so that they may be uniquely identified and rejected. The active layer used in the system consists of a frequency selective surface controlled by semiconductor diodes and is a development of techniques that we have developed for active radar absorbers. Results of experimental work using a 10GHz Doppler radar and scale model WTG with active Doppler imparting blades are presented.
Conventional (i.e. passive) radar absorbers are widely used for modifying the radar cross-section (RCS) of current
military platforms but such absorbers may not have adequate performance to satisfy future requirements. Active absorbers, however, offer the potential to overcome the so-called Rozanov performance limit and to enable additional 'smart' functionality such as monitoring damage, adaptive control of RCS or target appearance, Identification-Friend-or-Foe (IFF) and Absorb-While-Scan (AWS) This paper outlines the concept and basic properties of a novel type of
active radar absorber, the so-called Phase-Switched Screen (PSS). The basic PSS topology is then modified so as to enable it to operate as a smart radar absorber when used together with an external sensor and feedback control loop. The theoretical predictions are confirmed using data measured on transmission-line analogues of the smart PSS
structure.
A brief description of the theory of passive and active absorbers is presented followed by details of an experimental study into a new design of adaptive absorber. The absorber is a single-layer planar structure based upon the topology of a Salisbury screen, but in which the conventional resistive layer is replaced by an active frequency selective surface (FSS) controlled by pin diodes. The resulting structure has superior reflectivity-bandwidth characteristics compared to conventional passive absorbers of corresponding thickness. Experimental results are presented and compared to those obtained from a transmission line model, and show that the reflectivity response of the absorber can be dynamically controlled over the frequency band from 9-13GHz
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.