Ijcea 02 TJ 32

Vol 02, Issue 03; July 2011
International Journal of Communication Engineering Applications-IJCEA

http://technicaljournals.org ISSN: 2230-8520; e-ISSN-2230-8539

2011 - TECHNICALJOURNALS
, Peer Reviewed International Journals-IJCEA, IJESR, RJCSE, PAPER, ERL, IJBEST, IJVES, IRJMWC, IRJSP,
IJEEAR, IJMEAR, IJCEAR, IJGET, ASRL, - PBPC, India;
Indexing in Process - Scopus, EMBASE, COMPENDEX, EmCARE, Electronics & Communication Abstracts, SCIRUS, SPARC, GOOGLE Database, EBSCO, NewJour, Worldcat,
DOAJ, and other major databases etc.,
166
Design and Performance Analysis of Cylindrical Microstrip
Antenna and Array using Conformal Mapping Technique

1
Samir Dev Gupta,
2
MC Srivastava,
3
Amit Singh
1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, JIIT, Noida, UP, India
2
Director, JIIT Sector-128, UP, India
3
Agilent Technologies, Manesar, Haryana, INDIA
samirdev.gupta@jiit.ac.in, mc.srivastava@jiit.ac.in, amit.singhjiit@gmail.com

Abstract
Low profile conformable antenna on a regular surface viz. cylindrical surface is easily achievable by
conforming microstrip patch antenna on the surface. Design procedure involves parameters related to cylindrical
microstrip elements to realize the desired resonant frequency, input impedance, radiation patterns etc. A
radiating microstrip patch antenna mounted, as considered in this paper, on a cylindrical surface is chosen
because major real world shapes can be approximated by cylindrical surface or cylindrical sector and uniformity
in a plane provide ease of analysis. A microstrip line has been chosen to feed the patch antenna as this feed
design provides very small stray radiation from the feed and is simplest geometry for theoretical analysis &
practical manufacturing. Computer aided design of microstrip antennas and arrays and its analysis are based on
efficient and accurate numerical methods.
Keywords: Antenna Array, Conformal Antenna, Conformal Mapping, Mutual Coupling, Rectangular
Microstrip Antenna
8. Introduction:
Planar microstrip antenna by and large can be considered to have reached its maturity. Development of
conformable antennas on non planar surfaces lags behind vis--vis planar microstrip antennas. Relatively non
planar or microstrip antennas conformable to non planar surfaces are at present topic of research. Specifically,
theoretical works reported in literature pertain to conformable microstrip antennas on non planar regular
surfaces like cylinder, sphere and cone. The need for conformal antennas is more pronounced for the large-
sized apertures that are necessary for functions like military airborne surveillance radars. Microstrip antenna and
arrays can also be conformed to curved surface of a cylinder. A conformal microstrip antenna on a cylindrical
surface with low profile has distinct advantage for applications related to fighter aircraft and spacecraft.
Specifically, considerable interest is seen and theoretical works that are reported pertains to conformable
microstrip antennas on non planar regular surfaces like cylinder, sphere and cone. Techniques exist to analyze
conformable microstrip antennas on electrically small cylindrical surfaces. Efficient analytical and numerical
tools need to be developed for microstrip antennas conformable to electrically large cylinders with identically
shaped substrates for theoretical analysis and practical manufacturing.
This paper is devoted to conformal mapping to planar surface of antenna and arrays mounted on cylinder, design
and simulation of microstrip patch antenna and arrays on cylindrical surface. A technique to analyze microstrip
antenna application on non planar surface conforming to parent structure of vehicle in use is undertaken in this
paper. The approach involves transformation to an equivalent planar rectangular microstrip antenna using
conformal mapping technique. The proposed approach analyzes the rectangular microstrip antenna on
cylindrical surface by taking into account the effect of curvature on antenna performance. Performance of
realized planar patch antenna conforms to the conformal antenna on the cylindrical surface. A relationship
showing effect of curvature on the resonant frequency has been realized.
1. Necessity of Modelling Conformal Antenna for Aircraft
A modern aircraft has many antennas causing considerable drag and increasing fuel consumption. The purpose
is to build the antenna so that it becomes integrated with the structure and does not cause extra drag. The shape
can be some part of an airplane, for example underbelly of an aircraft or the radome. They can be manufactured
using modern printed circuit techniques and can be integrated with different systems. There are specific
operational related applications related to fighter aircraft that require an antenna conforming to the aircrafts
surface. Structural, aerodynamic, and space limitation compulsions as well as a particular electromagnetic
requirement such as antenna beam shape and/or angular coverage are the main reasons for antenna design to
conform to the aircraft surface. Microstrip antenna and arrays conformed to curved surfaces viz. aerodynamic
surfaces like supersonic aircraft or missiles, can be modeled approximately in the shape of a cylinder.
2. Analysis of Cylindrical Microstrip Patch Antenna


167
Array antennas with radiating elements on the surface of a cylinder, sphere, and cone without the shape being
dictated by, for example, aerodynamic or similar reasons, are also called conformal arrays. As per IEEE
Standard Definition of Terms for Antennas (IEEE STD 145-1993), Conformal antenna (conformal array) is
defined as an antenna [an array] that conforms to a surface whose shape is determined by considerations other
than electromagnetic; for example, aerodynamic or hydrodynamic. Strictly speaking, the definition includes also
planar arrays, if the planar shape is determined by considerations other than electromagnetic. This is, however,
not common practice. Usually, a conformal antenna is cylindrical, spherical, or some other shape, with the
radiating elements mounted on or integrated into the smoothly curved surface.

Low profile conformable antenna on a regular surface viz. cylindrical surface is easily achievable by
conforming microstrip patch antenna on the surface. Design procedure involves parameters related to cylindrical
microstrip elements to realize the desired resonant frequency, input impedance, radiation patterns etc.
In the structure of the conformal microstrip antenna, the surface of the metal cylinder is used as curved ground
plane. Full wave analysis is the most accurate approach to analyze the characteristics of cylindrical patch
antennas while the cavity model approach is suitable only for very thin substrate cases. The approach utilizing
full wave solution is computationally inefficient & time consuming [1]. The cavity model though provides
closed form solutions & is not time consuming, but it does not incorporate the effect of change of curvature in
the cylinder [2]. Thus, a relation for the resonant frequency of a cylindrical rectangular microstrip patch antenna
needs to be determined analytically, that not only takes into account the variation of the resonant frequency with
variation in curvature of cylinder, but is also more computationally efficient in comparison to the full wave
analysis.
The rectangular patch antenna of straight edge length 2b and the curved edge (arc) of length 2(a+h)
1
on
cylindrical ground plane of radius a is shown in Figure 1(a). The dielectric substrate of thickness h having
relative permittivity
r
, subtends an angle 2
1
on the curved edges surface of the cylinder. Assuming that for
thickness h<<, only TM modes exist, the electric field under the patch in the source-free case and the resonant
frequency may be expressed as shown in equation (1) and (2).
|
.
|
\
|
(
=
b
z n m
E E
2
cos ) (
2
cos
1
1
0
t

u
t
... (1)
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
2
2
1
2 2 2 b
n
a
m c
f
r
mn
u c
... (2)
The equivalent magnetic currents along the edges of the curved patch are obtained from n E M =
. These
magnetic currents radiate in the presence of the cylindrical surfaces. The far field can be calculated respectively
for the TM
10
and TM
01
modes as given by equations (3) and (4).
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
|
.
|
\
|
|
.
|
\
|
=

=
'
+
2
cos
sin
cos
cos
cos sin 2
:
0
0
2
1 cos
0
0
2
0
10
0
t
u
u c
u
u
t
u
p
a k H
p j
e
k
b k
r a
h E
E
TM
p
p
p
b r jk

0 ~
u
E ... (3)
:
01
TM
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
|
.
|
\
|

|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
=

=
+
2
cos
sin
sin sin
cos
2
cos
2
1
1
0
0
2
cos
2
1 0 0
t
u
u
u
c
u
u
c
t
t
u
u
u
p
p
p
a k H
j
e
r
h E
j E
p
p
p
p b r jk
r

0 ~
E ... (4)
The TM
10
mode vis--vis TM
01
is very sensitive to changes in curvature of the cylinder [3, 4]. J. S. Dahele et. al
[3] have shown that hybrid modes are generated for thick substrate, whereas pure TE or TM modes result in for
thin substrates.


168

Figure (1a & b): Cylindrical Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna
The geometry of a typical cylindrical rectangular microstrip patch antenna is shown in Figure1 (a) and 1 (b),
with the dimensions of the patch defined in z and| respectively by b 2 and
0
2u . Similarly in | plane,
0
|
indicates the position of the patch. In this approach, the region underneath the patch can be modeled as a cavity
bounded by four magnetic walls and two electric walls. The E-field in the cavity has only a component. For
thin substrate that is with a h << , the E-field is independent of . When the feed is modeled by a current
density, with an effective width w, the field
E in the cavity can be determined by a summation over all values

of cavity modes m and n [1] as follows:
( )
(
=

b
z n m
C j E
n m
mn
2
cos
2
cos
,
0
0
0
t
| |
u
t
e

(5)The modal amplitudes C
mn
are defined as:
(
+
(
+
A A
=
0 0 0
2 2
) ( 4
sin
2
cos
2
cos
) ( 4 u
t
t
u
| t
u h a
w m
c
b
z n m
b h a k k
w
C
f f
n m
mn eff
mn

(6) where 0 , 2 0 , 1 = = A = = A k for and k for
k k
.
Further, other parameters are obtained as follows:
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
=
b
n
h a
m
k
mn
2 ) ( 2
0
t
u
t

(7)
( )
eff r eff
j k k o c = 1
0

(8)
x
x
x c
) sin(
) ( sin =
(9)
0 0 0
c e = k
(10) where
0
and
0
c are the permeability and permittivity of free space respectively, e and
r
c respectively
represent the radial frequency and relative permittivity of the substrate.

4(a) Transformation of Cylindrical Surface to Planar Surface using Conformal Mapping
Conformal Mapping preserves angles and preserves shape for infinitesimal figures. The transformation y=f(x)
will be conformal at x
0
if oriented angles between curves through x
0
is preserved as well as their direction. Let
the cylindrical surface be represented by S as shown in Figure 1(b). A cylindrical surface is a developable
surface; the length of a curve on the cylindrical surface is the same as the length of a curve on a plane.
Parameterization of the cylindrical surface may therefore be expressed by conformal mapping of the plane with
the transformation of the space
3 2
R R c with z = 0, can be expressed as:
2 2 2
dy dx ds + =
(11) Since lengths may be computed as the integral of the square root of the first fundamental form, the first


169
fundamental form of cylindrical surface is same as that of the plane. Further, for the cylinder with the
coordinates , sin , cos | | = = y x and z = 0, this isometric mapping is a conformal as the first fundamental
forms of the surfaces are equal. [5], [6].
Let us consider a point P = f(x, y) on the cylindrical surface S. The conformal mapping between two surfaces S
1

and S
2
, shown in Figure 2, can be defined by a diffeomorphism i.e. S
1
S
2
is said to be conformal if,
whenever the angle subtended by the patch along the central axis takes two intersecting curves
1
(t) and
2
(t)
on S
1
, and maps them to curves
1
(t) and
2
(t) on S
2
[7]. The angle of intersection between
1
(t) and
2
(t)
along with sense of angle is equal to the angle of intersection between
1
(t) and
2
(t) along with same sense of
angle. In other words, is conformal if it preserves angles. In other words, Diffeomorphism : S
1
S
2
is
conformal, if and only if for any surface patch
1
on S
1
, the first fundamental forms of
1
and (
1
) are
proportional.

Figure (2): Conformal Mapping
For the cylindrical surface shown in Figure 3, S
1
corresponds to a circular cylinder of radius r
2
with the
transformation
1
(x, y) into rectangular patch on the cylindrical surface defined by
L y x s s + s s 0 ,
1 1
| | |
(12)

Figure (3): A Cylindrical Surface
With S
2
being in the xy-plane, we can define
2
(x, y) as the patch upon this plane
given by the parametric equation:
2
(x, y) =
2
(x, y, 0) (13)

Figure 4 shows the transformation from Cylindrical to Planar with axial length L.
The circumferential width of the patch is given by W' = r
2
. As stated earlier, the
patch subtends an angle of along the central axis. The patch dimension subtends an
angle
1
from the x axis.

Figure (4): Transformation from Cylindrical to Planar
The circumferential dimension will extend from the angle
1
to
1
+ , along the x-axis. The Cartesian equation
of the cylindrical surface can thus be written as
2
2
2 2
r y x = + (14)
It is seen that the first fundamental forms of a cylindrical surface and a plane are same hence the above theorem
holds true and the mapping will be conformal. Thus the cylindrical rectangular patch when transformed into its
planar equivalent has the dimensions:
Width W = ( )
2 1 1 2
) ( r r = + and axial length L (15)



170
Expressions used for calculation of resonant edge input impedance in respect of microstrip patch antenna are as
follows [8].
( )
12 1
2
1
G G
Z
in
=
(16)
where
2
0
1
90
1
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
W
G
for
1
0
<<
W
where W is the transformed patch width.
and
( ) u u u
u
u
t
t
d L k J
W k
G
3
0 0
2
0
0
2
12
sin sin
cos
cos
2
sin
120
1
}
(
(
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
=

(17)
where k
0
= 2/
0
and
0
, the wavelength corresponds to frequency f
r
and Jo is Bessel function of first kind and
zero order.
4(b) Transformed Planar Patch Antenna Design
A conformal microstrip patch antenna mounted on a cylindrical surface, with conductor thickness of 8m is
chosen. The radius r
1
of the cylindrical ground plane has been considered as 20 cm. The relative permittivity
r
and thickness h of the cylindrical ground plane, covered with a substrate RT Duroid 5870 (with loss tangent tan
= 0.0012), have been taken as 2.32 and 0.0795 cm respectively. As shown in this figure, the angle subtended
by the two axial lines of the patch antenna passing through centre of cylinder to the edges of patch at angles 48
0

and 45
0
is 3
0
.
Thus, the axial length of patch = 041 . 1 ) 20 (
180
3
= t cm
A single microstrip patch antenna using dielectric substrate RT Duroid 5870 of thickness h= 0.0795 cm with
loss tangent tan = 0.0012 has been designed to resonate at frequency f
r
=10 GHz. Based on the solution of the
equation (16), we obtain R
in ,
the value of the real part of
in
Z that is under the matched condition, to be 249.58
. The maximum power transfer from the source to the antenna over the frequency range is dependent not only
on the frequency response of the antenna but on the antenna, transmission line and the feed source as a whole.
To ensure the same, the antenna edge input impedance needs to match the impedance of the source-transmission
line system. Thus efficient matching networks must be designed to match the resonant edge input impedance of
the microstrip antenna to the characteristic impedance of the source and the transmission line. Use of a quarter
wave transformer can aid in impedance match. Under the condition of impedance match, the characteristic
impedance of the /4 transformer Z
0
can be computed by the following expression:
50
0
=
in
Z Z

50
0
- =
in
R Z = 111.712
where 50 ohms is the default port impedance provided in ADS Momentum software which has been used to
simulate the patch antenna. Hence, the length and the thickness of the feed are obtained as 1.09 cm and 0.0635
cm respectively. Figure 5 shows the transformed planar patch.
The design of transmission line feed corresponding to wavelength () of 3cm is as follows:
To determine the width of the feed based on its characteristics impedanceof the line should satisfy following two
conditions I and II
Condition I: For 91 . 89
0
>
re
Z c , we have
2
8
2
=
A
A
e
e
h
W

where
)
`
+
+
+
)
`
+
=
r r
r r
Z
A
c c
c c 11 . 0
23 . 0
1
1
2
1
60
2 1
0
(18)


171
Condition II: For 91 . 89
0
<
re
Z c , we have
( ) ( )
)
`
+ =
r r
r
B B B
h
W
c c
c
t
61 . 0
39 . 0 1 ln
1
1 2 ln 1
2
where
r
B
c
t
2
60
= (19)
where
ab
r r
re
u
|
.
|
\
|
+
+
+
=
10
1
2
1
2
1 c c
c (20)
( )
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
+
+
+ =
3
4
2
4
1 . 18
1 ln
7 . 18
1
432 . 0
52
ln
49
1
1
u
u
u
u
a (21)
and
053 . 0
3 . 0
9 . 0
564 . 0
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
=
r
r
b
c
c
(22)
Design of microstrip antenna under consideration having width W=1.164cm, with the substrate height
h=0.0795cm, the parameter u=W/h works out to be 14.64. Using equations (21) and (22), respective values of a
and b are determined as 1.023 and 0.55. Using these values of a and b, and equation (20),
re
c is found to be
1.74.
The condition I stated above for 15 . 170
0
=
re
Z c , that is with
91 . 89
0
>
re
Z c is therefore satisfied.
Using equation (18), we obtain A=2.55 and W/h=0.637.
Hence, the length of the feed and its thickness are respectively determined as 0.75cm, and 0.05 cm.
The resonant frequency of the antenna for TM
10
mode can be expressed as
1
2
2 +
=
r
W
c
f
c

where W = 1.164cm
The effective dielectric constant, fringing length L A and
10
f can be determined from the expressions given
below as
2 / 1
12 1
2
1
2
1

(
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
.
|
\
|
+
+
=
W
h
r r eff
r
c c
c
= 2.15
( )
(
(
(
(
+
(
(
(
+ +
=
A
8 . 0 ) 258 . 0 (
264 . 0 3 . 0
0.412
eff
r
h
W
h
W
h
L
eff
r
c
c
=0.515 or 041 . 0 515 . 0 0795 . 0 = = AL cm
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
L
c
f
r
1
2
10
c
,
where L is the effective length which is determined as 1.044 cm, using the following relation:
L L L A = ' 2


172
The actual length L' of the transformed patch is thus obtained as 0.962cm by substituting the values of L and
L in the above expression.
For thin substrate TE or TM modes are generated. When substrate thickness is comparable to radius of the
cylinder, hybrid modes are generated. Rectangular microstrip antenna mounted on cylindrical surface operating
in TM
10
mode is sensitive to changes in curvature of cylinder unlike TM
01
mode which is affected slightly due to
variation in the radius of the cylinder. For a patch fed symmetrically in the z-direction and circumferentially
polarized, TM
10
is the dominant mode.
The study of the effect of resonant frequency variation with the variation in the radius of the cylinder of the
rectangular microstrip patch, excited in the TM
10
mode has been carried out. An effort has therefore been made
to study the variation in the resonant frequency for cylinders of larger radius.
The width of transformed planar patch W' is calculated using the following relation:
W' = (r
1
+ thickness of the substrate) *
where r
1
is the radius of the cylindrical ground plane and is the angle subtended by the patch along the central
axis.
Following Balanis [8], the input impedance of the transformed planar rectangular microstrip antenna can be
determined corresponding to the condition W' / < 0.35. Solution of equation (17) yields the values of
1
G and
12
G
which are used to determine R
in
, the real part of
in
Z using (16) as follows:
2
1
1
90
W
G
| |
=
|
\ .
= 0.001355 Siemens
( ) Siemens 0.0006483 sin sin
cos
cos
2
sin
120
1
3
0 0
2
0
0
2 12
=
(
(
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
=
}
u u u
u
u
t
t
d L k J
W k
G

and
( )
12 1
2
1
G G
R
in
+
= =249.58
Figure 5 shows the transformed patch with transformed width and length of the patch respectively computed as
1.164 cm and 0.962cm. The length and thickness of the microstrip feed line have respectively been computed as
0.75 cm and 0.05cm with quarter wave microstrip line edge feeding technique. A substrate with the
specifications
r
= 2.32, tan =0.0012 and thickness of 0.0795 cm has been employed. Figure 6 shows the
microstrip patch antenna mounted on a cylindrical conformal surface.

Figure (5): Transformed Planar Patch



173

Figure (6): Microstrip Patch Antenna Mounted on a Cylindrical Conformal Surface
5 Performance Analysis of Transformed Rectangular Microstrip Antenna
The performance of the transformed rectangular microstrip antenna may be analyzed using Method of Moments,
Finite Difference Time Domain Analysis or Finite Element Method. In this section ADS Momentum based on
Method of Moments (MOM) has been used. Figure 7 shows the layout of transformed rectangular microstrip
antenna using ADS Momentum. In the following subsections in addition to antenna performance analysis, the
effect of curvature on resonant frequency has been discussed.
5.1 ADS based Antenna Performance Analysis
The current distribution of the excited patch, showing the uniform excitation of the patch with hot zones along
two radiating edges is depicted in Figure 8 and Figure 9 shows the Smith chart.
.
Figure (7): Basic Patch Layout on Momentum

Figure (8): Current Plot of the Designed Patch

Figure (9): Smith Chart
Table 1 shows the antenna parameters of the designed antenna simulated using Momentum (ADS) with
radiating power of 2.3mW, Directivity is 7.22 dB and Gain 6.93 dB. Thus the radiation efficiency of 96% is
achieved.
Table (1): Antenna Parameters from Momentum (ADS)


174

Figure 10 shows the return loss (S
11
) of -20dB at resonant frequency of 10GHz, which may be considered to be
an acceptable design.

Figure (10): Return loss at Resonant Frequency
Figure 11 shows the field distribution in Cartesian coordinates, indicating perfect nulls in both and plane.
The field distributions of polar plots in and plane are respectively shown in Figure 12(a) and Figure 13(a)
with perfect nulls and no side lobes. Three dimensional views of these polar plots are respectively shown in
Figure 12(b) and Figure 13(b).

Figure (11): Cartesian plot of the field in and plane

Figure (12a): Polar plot of the field in the -plane Figure (12b):3D view of the radiations in - plane


175

Figure (13a): Polar plot of the field in -plane Figure (13b):3D view of the radiation plot in -
plane
5.2 Effect of Curvature on Resonant Frequency
Resonant frequencies f
conformal
on the rectangular microstrip antenna conformal on cylindrical surface, are
compared to resonant frequencies f
planar
of the planar patch antenna in order to confirm the validity of the
commonly used assumption that conformally mounted microstrip antennas may be treated as planar. Conformal
cylindrical patch antenna transformed to planar patch as depicted in Figure 7 is obtained utilizing the
transformation technique. Since the resonant frequency is dependent on the chosen length of the patch, a curve
plotted as shown in Figure 14 is carried out to compare resonant frequency changes in the cylindrical patch
antenna due to change in the radius r
1
vis--vis change in the frequency due to changes in the length L of the
transformed planar antenna. Result based on a set of data which relates to variation in resonant frequency of the
transformed planar patch vis--vis the patch on the curved cylindrical surface, demonstrates that this assumption
holds good for the height h being small compared to the surface curvature r
2
. This assumption provides excellent
result when considering excitation of the antenna with no spatial field variation normal to the surface. The curve
of Figure 14 shows the variation of the ratios f
conformal
/f
planar
versus Cylindrical Radius (r
1
)/Transformed Length
( L' ) with r
1
representing the radius of the cylinder and L' , the length of the transformed planar rectangular
microstrip patch. Using this figure, the following empirical relation is obtained using curve fitting:
'
L
1
r
6 -
10 3.527 -
e
'
L
1
r
1.332 -
e
planar
f
conformal
f
- -
+
-
= 0856 . 1

Smaller patch size might be preferred to reduce space requirements compared to larger patch width as it has
constraint since it results in generation of grating lobes in antenna arrays. The patch width also affects cross
polarization characteristics. The patch width selected to obtain good radiation efficiency if space requirements
or grating lobes are not the overriding factors. The resonant frequency is dependent on the chosen length hence
W/L is chosen to be nearly equal to 1. Expression to determine the ratio of frequency of the patch antenna on
cylindrical curved surface vis--vis planar is determined using curve fitting technique. Technique determines the
coefficients that provide the least error between the actual ordinate values and the ordinate values predicted by
the curve fitting formula. Least Square method, also known as regression analysis, has been used in the present
work to obtain values of the frequency ratio f
conformal
/f
planar
for the ratio r
1
/ L' of the curved surface. The best fit
in the method of least squares is characterized by the sum of squared residuals have its least value, a residual
being the difference between an observed value and the value given by the model.

Figure (14): Curve of f
conformal
/ f
planar
versus r
1
/ L'


176
6. Antenna Array Conformal on Cylindrical Surface
Single element radiation pattern is relatively wide and provides low value of directivity. Certain applications
demands design of antennas with directive characteristics. Directive antenna can be realised by increasing the
size of the antenna. Alternatively an array can achieve the same. Performance of conformal array antennas are
based on the array shape, element lattice, and array excitation are among other factors that must be known in
order to determine its characteristics. The conformal shapes can be classified as slightly curved (almost planar);
singly curved, including ring arrays and cylindrical arrays; and doubly curved. The slightly curved antennas
behave more or less like planar antennas and exhibit the same limitations; the design principles are roughly the
same. For other types, it is hard to make general statements, since dimensions, shapes, element types,
requirements etc. can be so different.
Early studies of conformal array and its analysis involved rudimentary simplifications that were necessary as
tools were not available to simulate and understand antenna array behaviour. Assumptions were made based on
cosine (dipole type) element patterns or isotropic patterns. The general behavior of the radiation patterns of
array elements for an initial analysis can be sufficient with such an assumption. A better approach is to compute
the element pattern in a planar environment and then use this for all element positions in the conformal array.
The ideal approach is, however, to calculate the element patterns in the actual curved environment with the
effects of mutual coupling included. It may be worthwhile to consider simple models that can provide results
that are near accurate and easy to understand in many cases. Some of the calculations in the array designs are
based on simple models. They are accurate as well serve our purpose of illustrating fundamental characteristics
of conformal array antennas.
Antenna arrays are expected to function as per design parameters provided important aspects such as mutual
coupling between the antenna elements effects are accounted for at the design stage. Analyzing radiation pattern
of the antenna array under the matched condition is an important factor especially if the array is designed for
scanning. Electromagnetic compatibility with other RF radiators that are close by or co-located is one such
issue. Feeding systems leakage and other components that could be involved in interference with adjacent or
co-located electronics subsystem (analog and digital) needs to considered during design stage. One should,
therefore, check what electrical modes can be excited in the antenna structure both internally and externally.
Effect of mutual coupling can result in creation of grating lobes. For grating-lobe suppression the element
density should be sufficiently high (roughly half-wavelength spacing) and the elements distributed evenly over
the surface. However, regular periodic-element grids can only be defined for a few canonical shapes, such as the
cylinder. Calculations of the patch dimensions of microstrip antenna array resonant at a frequency f
r
= 10 Ghz
has already been explained in sections 3 and 4. Transformed patch width W' and length L' are found to be
1.164 cm and 0.962cm respectively.
In the following subsections the design of the microstrip antenna array feed designed to be conformal on the
cylindrical surface and its transformation along with the antenna array elements are discussed. Subsequently the
performance of the designed conformal antenna array with feed is considered.
6.1 Design Considerations for Microstrip Antenna Array Feed Conformal to Cylindrical Surface
Conformal mapping technique has been employed to transform 2 element microstrip patch antenna array with a
corporate feeding network on a cylindrical surface as shown in Figure 15. In order to achieve the mapping, there
is a need to transform array and the feed on a cylindrical surface to a corporate fed array on a planar surface
while maintaining the electromagnetic properties of the cylindrical conformal array. Reason for feed
transformation is that the curvature changes the characteristic impedance of the microstrip lines used to feed the
array elements. Effect of mutual coupling between the two array elements affect the radiation pattern. It may
cause deviation in the resonant frequency of the array and also lead to impedance mismatch between the
elements and the feed network. All these factors lead to unpredictability and deterioration in the array
performance. Hence the effect of mutual coupling and the curvature must also be incorporated in the
transformation of the cylindrical microstrip array to a planar microstrip array.

Figure (15): Two element Microstrip Patch Antenna Array with Corporate feed network


177
6.2 Design of Feed Network using Conformal Mapping
Figure 16 and Figure 17 respectively show the feed network and the cross section of an axially directed
cylindrical microstrip line. Corresponding transformation of feed conformal to cylindrical surface is shown in
Figure 18. As shown in the figure, the strip subtends an angle 2 about the central axis. The inner conducting
cylinder
1
S' has a radius r
1
and is covered with dielectric substrate of permittivity
r
of thickness (r
2
-r
1)
, where r
2

is the radius of outer cylinder. Using the following transformation
2
ln
t
+ = j w ; where jv u w + = and q j + =
the width of the strip formed by the arc is conformally transformed to planar form as shown in Figure18.

Figure (16): Feed Network Figure (17): Axially directed cylindrical microstrip line

Figure (18): Transformation of Feed Conformal to Cylindrical Surface
Using this transformation Z
0,
the characteristic impedance of the transformed microstrip line for the following
two conditions I and II are given by
6.2.1 Condition I: Narrow width microstrip line 1
ln
2
1
2
<
(
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
r
r

( )

)
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
(
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
=
t c
t
c
c
c t
4
ln
1
2
ln
1
1
2
1
ln / 2
32
1
ln
4
ln
1 2
687 . 376
2
1
2
1
2
0
r r
r
r
r
r
r
r
Z
6.2.2 Condition 2: Wide microstrip line i.e. 1
ln
2
1
2
>
(
(
(
|
.
|
\
|
r
r

1
1
2
1
2
0
94 . 0 ln / ln 451 . 1
2
1 1
082 . 0 441 . 0 ln /
2
687 . 376

|
|
.
|
\
|
(
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
| +
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
r
r
r
r
Z
r
r
r
r
r
tc
c
c
c
c

Length of the feed has been found to be 1.09cm and the thickness of the feed obtained is 0.0635cm. Figure 19
shows the ADS momentum based layout of the conformal microstrip patch antenna array with corporate feed
network to excite the two element array.


178

Figure (19): Basic Patch Layout of Antenna array on Momentum

Figure (20): Current plot of Designed Patch
Figure 20 explicitly shows the uniform excitation of the patch with hot zones along with two radiating edges.
7. Performance of Microstrip Antenna Array Feed Conformal to Cylindrical Surface
Two element rectangular microstrip antenna conformal on cylindrical surface with corporate feed network is
simulated using ADS Momentum. Performance analysis based on ADS Momentum is explained in subsequent
paragraphs. Table 2 highlights the antenna parameters. The table shows that the antenna array is radiating a
power of 1.97mW; with Directivity of 7.979 dB and Gain of 6.988 dB. The efficiency of the microstrip array
antenna is 87.6%. When compared to antenna parameters of the single patch antenna with radiating power of
2.3mW, Directivity =7.22 dB, Gain of 6.93 dB and radiation efficiency of 96%, the performance of the array has
been found to be deteriorated. It is due to the effect of mutual coupling between the two array elements affecting
the performance and the radiation pattern.
Table (2): Antenna Parameters from Momentum (ADS)

Figure 21 shows the return loss (S
11
) of -21.8dB at resonant frequency of 10GHz. It can be seen that there is no
deviation in the resonant frequency of the array; this shows that impedance match exists between the elements
and the feed network. In order to improve the array performance it is therefore necessary to take into account the
effect of mutual coupling. Further, the design consideration must also take into account the curvature of the
parent structure in the transformation of the cylindrical microstrip array to a planar microstrip array.


179

Figure (21): Return loss at Resonant Frequency
Figure 22 show the field distribution in Cartesian coordinate, indicating perfect nulls in both and plane.
Figure 23 (a) and (b) and Figure 24 (a) and (b) show the respective polar plots both in 3-D and cut section in
and plane. The radiation plots show perfect radiation pattern in both and plane with no side lobes. The
uniformity in both current distribution in the patch and field distribution is indicative of the fact that the antenna
is excited for with minimum losses occurring in terms of reflection due to mismatch. However there is drastic
reduction in the amplitude of radiation pattern in both and plane.

Figure (22): Cartesian plot of Field in (blue) and (yellow) plane

Figure (23a): 3D View of Radiations in Plane Figure (23b): Polar plot of Field in plane

Figure (24a): 3D View of Radiations in Plane Figure (24b): Polar plot of Field in plane
Figure 25 shows the curve of f
conformal
/f
planar
versus Cylindrical Radius (r
1
)/Transformed Length (L), where r
1
is
the radius of the cylinder and L is the length of the transformed planar rectangular microstrip patch. This curve
is similar to that obtained with a single patch on the cylindrical surface.
The empirical relation obtained using curve fitting of the plot shown Figure 25, is obtained as:


180
'
L
1
r
6 -
10 3.527 -
e
'
L
1
r
1.332 -
e
planar
f
conformal
f
- -
+
-
= 3411 . 1

Figure (25): Curve of f
conformal
/f
planar
versus r
1
/ L'
Figure 14 and Figure 25 respectively show the f
conformal
/f
planar
versus r
1
/ L' plots for conformally transformed
single patch and two element array microstrip patch antenna on the cylindrical surface transformed into planar
antenna. Comparing plots for both single element and two element array microstrip antenna it is inferred that
increase in array size results in significant changes in frequency in conformal vis--vis planar antenna due to
effect of curvature and mutual coupling on account of inter element spacing. In the analysis it is necessary to
consider the effect of mutual coupling affecting on the frequency and antenna parameters when inter element
spacing in both H & E plane is changed. In subsequent sections this effect on antenna parameters has been
considered independently. The effect of inter element spacing for both planar arrays and array elements
conformal on cylindrical surface has also been compared. An optimum spacing is arrived for both conformal
microstrip antennas on cylindrical surface. Thereafter a comparative study has been carried out on optimum
inter element spacing of planar microstrip antenna when compared with rectangular microstrip antenna
conformal on cylindrical surface.
8. Conclusion
An effort has been made to design the antenna to be conformal on the surface of an aircraft due to various
restrictions imposed by the aerodynamic design. Structural surfaces viz. fuselage, wings, tailfin etc. of an
aircraft can be approximated as either cylindrical or cylindrical sectored geometry e.g. the underbelly of an
aircraft. There is a need to realize an antenna on planar surface with one to one correspondence with the antenna
on non planar surface for accurate analysis and designing purpose.
The design approach utilizes the application of elements of conformal mapping to transform cylindrical surface
to planar surface. A simple analytic technique has been devised to analyze cylindrical rectangular microstrip
antenna. Based on this technique and analyzing the structure using cavity model, a relation has been developed
determining the effect of curvature on resonant frequency. Transformed rectangular microstrip patch antenna
has been simulated using ADS Momentum software. The results obtained are in accordance with the behavior of
the conformal antenna.
9. References
[1] Kin-Lu Wong, Design of Nonplanar Microstrip Antennas and Transmission Lines, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1999.
[2] Lars Josefsson and Patrick Persson, Conformal Array Antenna Theory and Design, IEEE Press Series,
2006.
[3] J. S. Dahele, R. J. Mitchell, K. M. Luk and K. F. Lee, Effect of curvature on characteristics of rectangular
patch antenna, Electronic Letters, vol. 23, No. 14, pp. 748-749, Jul 1987.
[4] Mang He and Xiaowen Xu, Closed form solutions for analysis of cylindrically conformal microstrip
antennas wth arbitrary radii, IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation, vol. 53, No.1, Jan 2005.
[5] Michael Spivak, A Comprehensive Introduction to Differential Geometry, vol. I and II. Publish or Perish,
1979.
[6] Andrew Pressley, Elementary Differential Geometry, Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series,
Springer-Verlag, 2003.
[7] Wu, Tsun, Tai, "Theory of the Microstrip", Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 299302, Mar.
1957.
[8] C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory Analysis and Design, John Willy & Sons, 2
nd
Edition, Chapter 14, pp.730-
734, 1997.

Ijcea 02 TJ 32

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Ijcea 02 TJ 32

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Vol 02, Issue 03; July 2011

International Journal of Communication Engineering Applications-IJCEA

E in the cavity can be determined by a summation over all values

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen