1 | P a g e

Summer Training Project Report

On
Phased Array Radar Study And Modelling



Submitted to: Submitted by:
Pranav Kumar Ankita Singh
Scientist C Roll no. 110207
ISSA, DRDO, Delhi B.Tech- 7
th
Semester




2014


2 | P a g e


Acknowledgement

Through this acknowledgment, I express my sincere gratitude to all
those people who have been associated with this project and have
helped me with it and made it a worthwhile experience.

Firstly, I extend my thanks to the various people who have shared
their opinions and experiences through which I received the required
information crucial for our report.

I am highly indebted to Mr. Pranav Kumar (Scientist C), our project
guide, and his team for their guidance and constant supervision as
well as for providing necessary information regarding the project &
also for their support in completing the project.

My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleagues in developing
the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their
abilities.

Finally, I express my thanks to A Kumar who guided me and gave me
valuable suggestions regarding the project environment.

3 | P a g e


ABSTRACT

The technologies keep generating new ways of improving on the
performance of the old systems. Array antennas, one of the
continuously improving technologies, brought many benefits to our
life. The superiorities of array antennas remove the disadvantages of
the old technology radars such as great sidelobes, vulnerability to the
jammers, and degradation effect of the clutter. Array antennas find
many applications on different areas.


If the radiating elements of the array are excited by the relatively
phased currents, the array is called a phased array. The main beam of
these types of arrays can scan the desired field continuously. Phased
arrays are particularly used in radars, but are gaining wider use in
communications applications.


A single phased array can serve several systems. This feature of
phased arrays removes the need for individual antennas for each
system and reduces the RCS arising from the extensions on the ship
mast and structure. Radars can search the airspace and then track the
desired targets in order to extract the azimuth, elevation, course and
speed information from the movement of the targets. It enables the
operator to predict where the target will be next.


The search radars detect the target via their wide beamwidth and
once the target is designated, the tracking radar, which could be
another mode of the same radar system, tracks the target with its
narrow beamwidth (i.e. pencil beam) of the tracking antenna.


Phased array radars can track many targets on a time-shared basis
with a higher data rate than the types of tracking radar. The purpose
of this research is to track the target through Phased Array Radar.
4 | P a g e

C O N T E N T S

1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 ISSA 8
1.2 Antenna array 10
1.3 Radar Fundamentals 14

2: PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2.1 Phased Array Radar 18
2.2 Multifunction Radar 18
2.3 Bandwidth of Phased Array Radar 19
2.4 Tracking Errors 22

3: FUNCTIONALITY
3.1 Tracking Techniques 27
3.2 Determining the design parameters 30
3.3 GUI in matlab 34
4: CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES
4.1 Conclusion 36
4.2 Future Scope for Modification 37
4.3 References/Bibliography 38





5 | P a g e

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Description
1. Array of two point source.
2. The sum and difference patterns of array
antenna.
3. Basic principle of RADAR
4. Centre Fed Series Feed
5. Sequential Lobing
6. Conical Scanning
7. Geometry of multi-path tracking
8. Element spacing vs. scan angle
9. Gain vs. number of element











6 | P a g e


LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Description
1. Parameters for use in computing the
directivity of uniform current amplitude.







LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Description
MB Megabyte
RAM Random Access Memory
EM Electro Magnetic




7 | P a g e

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction about the Company
1.2 Antenna Array
1.3 Radar Fundamentals

8 | P a g e



CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction about the Company
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) works under
Department of Defence Research and Development of Ministry of
Defence. DRDO dedicatedly working towards enhancing self-reliance
in Defence Systems and undertakes design & development leading to
production of world class weapon systems and equipment in
accordance with the expressed needs and the qualitative
requirements laid down by the three services.

DRDO is working in various areas of military technology which
include aeronautics, armaments, combat vehicles, electronics,
instrumentation engineering systems, missiles, materials, naval
systems, advanced computing, simulation and life sciences. DRDO
while striving to meet the Cutting edge weapons technology
requirements provides ample spinoff benefits to the society at large
thereby contributing to the nation building.

DRDO has various R&D labs working on different technologies. The
lab under which I am working is Institute for Systems Studies &
Analyses (ISSA).


9 | P a g e


ISSA specializes in systems analysis, modeling & simulation of
defense systems using state-of-the-art info-technologies such as
Computer Networking, Software Engineering, Distributed Database,
Distributed Simulation, Web Technologies, Situational Awareness,
and Soft-Computing techniques in development of complex
simulation products.
Its activities include:
Evolution and evaluation of strategic and tactical plans
Threat analysis, Force mix studies and Strategic decision
making
Design trade-off and performance evaluation of systems
Cost-effectiveness analysis, Weapon selection and acquisition
Development of computer war games for teaching & training
Integrated software for mission planning, tactical training and
operational planning
Development of software as decision aid with Military GIS.
System reliability studies

Vision
Transform ISSA into centre of excellence in system analysis,
modelling & simulation of defence systems to meet the challenges of
the present and future requirements of the armed forces.

Mission
10 | P a g e

Conduct system study and develop high quality integrated software
for system analysis & decision support in application areas of Sensors
& Weapons, Electronic Combat, Land & Naval Combat, Air-to-Air
Combat and Air Defence for effective use by DRDO and Services for
Design,
Mission Planning, Tactics development and Training.


1.2 ANTENNA ARRAYS


A single-element antenna is usually not enough to achieve technical
needs. That happens because its performance is limited. A set of
discrete elements, which constitute an antenna array, offers the
solution to the transmission and/or reception of electromagnetic
energy. The geometry and the type of elements characterize an
antenna array. For simplicity, implementation and fabrication
reasons, the elements are chosen in such a way so as to be identical
and parallel. For the same reasons, uniformly spaced linear arrays
are mostly encountered in practice. In the following paragraphs, the
properties of various antenna arrays will be presented.

An array consisting of identical and identically oriented elements.

A uniform linear array is one, in which elements are fed with equal
magnitude of current and with equal phase shift along the line.

VARIOUS TYPES OF ANTENNA ARRAY :

1. Broadside Array:
In this, a number of identical parallel antennas are set up along
a line drawn perpendicular to their respective axes. Each
element is fed with equal magnitude, all in the same phase.

2. End Fire Array:
End fire is nothing but broadside array except that individual
elements are fed in, out of phase (usually 180). Thus in the end
fire array, a number of identical antennas are spaced equally
11 | P a g e

along a line and individual elements are fed with current of
equal magnitude and their phases varies progressively.

3. Collinear Array:
In collinear array, the antennas are arranged co-axially that is
antennas are mounted end to end in a single line. In other
words, one antenna is stacked over other antenna.

4. Parasitic Array:
Parasitic element is not fed directly instead a parasitic element
derives power by the radiation from nearby driven element.
Array with a number of parasitic elements is called Parasitic
Array.







Figure 1- Array of two point source


To distant point P



12 | P a g e









theta


d


Path difference = d*cos(theta)/lamda

Phase angle, = 2*pi*Path difference

= dcos(theta)
E = E1e
-j /2
+ E2e
+j /2
E = 2E0(dcos(theta)/2)


1. Equal amplitude and same phase:
E = cos(/2cos)
Maxima is at =90,270
Minima is at =0,360
2. Equal amplitude and opposite phase:
E = sin( /2cos )
Maxima is at =0,360
Minima is at =90,270
3. Unequal amplitude and any phase : In this amplitude transmitted
by point sources is different and they have phase difference.









13 | P a g e

ARRAY OF n POINT SOURCES





For Linear Array

Et=Eo(1+ej+e2j +e3j +e(n-1)j )

After manipulations :

Et=Eo {(sin n/2)/(sin /2)}

= .cos +

For Broadside antennas, =0.

For End fire antennas, 0.




For Broasdside
Direction of pattern maxima:
sin(n/2)=1
n/2=(2N+1)/2
After manipulations :
m.max=cos-1{(d)-1[(2N+1). /n - ]}

Direction of pattern minima:
sin(n/2)=0
n/2=N
After manipulations :
m.min=cos-1{(d)-1[(2N. /n) - ]}




For End Fire

=0,=-d and = d.cos- d
14 | P a g e


Direction of pattern maxima:
sin (n/2)=1, n /2=(2N+1)./2
d.cos -d=(2N+1)/n
m.minor=cos-1{[(2N+1)/nd]+1}

Direction of pattern minima:
Similarly, dcos- d=2N/n
min=cos-1[(N/nd)+1]


FIGURE- 2. The sum and difference patterns of array antenna.



1.3 Radar fundamentals

15 | P a g e

The word RADAR is an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging. It
is basically means of gathering information about distant objects or
targets by sending electromagnetic (EM) waves to them and
thereafter analyzing reflected waves or the echo signals.
Advantages:
1. Radars can see through darkness, haze, fog, rain, and snow.
2. They can determine the range and angle i.e the location of the
target very accurately.
Limitations:
1. Radars cannot resolve in detail like the human eye, especially at
short distances.
2. They cannot recognize the colour of the target.
Applications:
1. Navigational aid on ground and sea.
2. Radar altimeters for determining the height of plane above
ground.
3. Airborne radar for satellite surveillance.

Radar range equation :

R max =[Pt.Ae
2
./4.
2.
Pr]
Where, Pt = transmitted power
Ae = capture area of the receiving antenna
= radar cross-section of target
= wavelength of radiated energy
Pr = power received


16 | P a g e


Factors affecting Range of a Radar:
1. Transmitted power
2. Frequency
3. Target cross sectional areas
4. Minimum received signal (Pr(min))



Basic principle of RADAR:




Figure 3- Radar Principle


17 | P a g e






CHAPTER 2
Project Dsecription

2.1 Phased Array Radar
2.2 Multifunction Radar
2.3 Bandwidth of Phased Array Radar
2.4 Tracking Errors












18 | P a g e


Chapter-2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2.1. PHASE ARRAY RADARS
Early radar systems used antenna arrays formed by the combination
of individual radiators. Antenna characteristics are determined by
the geometric position of the radiators and the amplitude and phase
of their excitation. As radars progressed to shorter wavelengths,
arrays were displaced by simpler antennas such as parabolic
reflectors. But now days, electronically controlled phase shifter,
switches, and transmit/receive modules are used to steer beam,
rather than rotating antenna mechanically. These types of radars are
known as Phase Array Radars.

Advantages of Phase Array Radar
1. Flexibility in beam steering
2. Less time to steer the beams (in microseconds)

2.2. Multifunction Radars
The capability of rapidly and accurately switching beams permits
multiple radar function to be performed, interlaced in time. An
Electronically steered array radar may track a great multiplicity of
targets, illuminate a number of targets with RF energy and guide
missiles toward them, and perform complete hemispherical search
with automatic target selection and handover to tracking. Phase
array are very expensive.


Phased Array Antennas
The phased array antenna has an aperture that is assembled from a
great many similar radiating elements, such as slots, dipoles, or
19 | P a g e

patches, each element being individually controlled in phase and
amplitude.
Elements are spaced by /2( = wavelength) distance to avoid the
generation of multiple beams.
The number of radiating elements N for a pencil beam is
approximately related to the beam width by
N = 10,000/ ( B )
2

Where B is the 3-dB beam width in degrees.
The antenna gain , when the beam points broadside to the aperture
,is
G0 = .N.
Where accounts for antenna losses and reduction in gain.

2.3. BANDWIDTH OF PHASED ARRAYS



The phenomenon of focusing an array is a result of the energy of each
element adding in phase at some desired point within the antenna.
When energy is incident normally to the array, each element receives
the same phase independent of frequency. When energy is incident
from some angle other than normal, the phase difference from the
planar phase front to each element is the function of frequency and
most phased array with phase shifter becomes frequency dependant.
This same phenomenon can be viewed in the time domain. When
pulse of energy is incident at an angle other than normal, the energy
is received earlier at one edge of the array than at the other edge and
a period of time must elapse before energy appears in all element.
The bandwidth of phased array is composed of two effects, namely :
1. Aperture Effect
2. Feed Effect
20 | P a g e

In both effects, it is the path length difference that contribute to the
bandwidth sensitivity of the phased array.
For a parallel-fed array (equal line length), the feed network does not
contribute to a change with frequency, and so only the aperture effect
remains.

APERTURE EFFECT

When energy is incident on an array at angle other than broadside,
the phase required on the edge element:
= 2L/sin
This indicates that required phase is frequency dependant.
If frequency is changed and the phase shifters are not changed, the
beam will move. For an equal-line-length feed the beam shape will be
undistorted and the beam will move towards broadside as the
frequency is increased. If the phase shifters are replaced by time
delay networks than the phase through time delay network will
change with frequency and the beam will remain stationary.
As the frequency is increased, the beam scans toward broadside by
an angle that is independent of aperture size or beamwidth. The
angle that beam actually scans, is related to % bandwidth.
Bandwidth factor, K = Bandwidth(%) /Beamwidth(degree)
Permissible amount that a beam may scan with frequency is related
to the beamwidth, since pattern and gain deteriorations are a
function of fractional beamwidth scanned.
Above is valid for antenna operating at a single (CW) frequency.
However, most radars are pulsed and radiate over a band of
frequencies.
21 | P a g e

And in above explanations it was assumed that we are using equal
path length feed, but practically it is nit possible to have the path
lengths within one wavelength.

FEED EFFECT
When an equal-path-length feed is not in use, feed networks will
produce a change in phase with frequency. In some cases the feed can
actually compensate for the aperture effect and produce a beam
direction which is independent of frequency.
Types of feed:
1. End fed series feed
2. Centre fed series feed

End fed series feed

The radiating elements are in series and progressively farther
removed from the feed point. When the frequency is changed, the
phase at the radiating element changes proportionally to the length
of the feed line, so that the phase at the aperture tilts in a linear and
beam is scanned.
his effect is used for frequency scanning technique.
But in case of phased array it is undesirable and reduces the
bandwidth.
22 | P a g e

Centre Fed Series Feed

Figure- 4
A Centre Feed array can be considered as two end feeds. Each feed
controls an aperture which is half the total and therefore, has the
twice beam width.
As the frequency is changed, each half of t he aperture scans in
opposite direction. This initially creates a broader beam with
reduced gain. As frequency continues to change, the two beams will
eventually split apart. At broadside, the centre fed antenna has
poorer performance the a parallel feed since each half scans.
However, at 60
0
scan the compensation on one half of the array
assists in keeping the gain comparable to that of a parallel feed. From
the view point of gain reduction the criterion for a centre fed is:
Bandwidth (%) = (*beam width (degree))/ g










23 | P a g e


2.4.TRACKING ERRORS


The measure of error is the root mean square (rms) of the difference
between the measured angle (estimated) values and the true values.
The tracking errors can be divided into two main groups: range
tracking errors and angle tracking errors. Thermal noise, angular
glint (angle noise), scintillation, manufacturing qualities and
alignment are factors contributing to angular tracking errors. There
are some more errors caused by external factors.

1. Thermal Noise

Thermal noise is a very important factor degrading the performance
of the system and limiting the accuracy of the angle measurements.
Noise is a function of probability as well. If the Friis equation is
divided by the noise power, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is
obtained. It is seen that the signal-to-noise ratio is inversely
proportional to the square of range. This relationship in the well-
known Friis equation gives the limiting effect of noise on radar in
terms of range. The angular rms error in a tracking radar due to
thermal noise can be calculated with the general formula:


where k=1 for a monopulse and 1.4 for a conical-scan, B is the half-
power beamwidth, S/N the signal-to-noise ratio, fp pulse repetition
frequency, and n servo bandwidth.
The product of B (bandwidth) and (pulse width) is approximately
equal to unity, and/ 2 f p n gives the number of pulses integrated.
The constant k s seen in the denominator is the monopulse slope
constant, which is approximately equal to 1.7 for monopulse radars
and 1.3 for conical-scan radar. However, its exact value must be
determined for the specific antenna used in tracking.



2. Angular Glint
24 | P a g e

A source of angle tracking error is angular glint, also called angular
noise, angle scintillation, angle fluctuations, or target noise. The
tracker determines the direction of the vector sum of all signals
arriving. Glint is the difference in the apparent location compared to
the actual. Sometimes it can even result in tracking points off the
target. The tracker angle-sensing devices sense the phase front of the
transmitted wave and indicate the source to be in a direction normal
to the wavefront.
For a single source, the wave arrives at the antenna in the form of a
uniform planar wave. Thus, the incident wavefront is tilted with
respect to the antenna base line. The spread of the scatterers leads to
multipath and the angle measurement gets worse. The vector sum of
these incident wavefronts give a wavefront whose amplitude and
phase is not uniform across the antenna aperture. Glint can be a
major problem in angle measurements especially for short ranges.
Angle noise is an issue on the performance of all the continuous
tracking radars with closed-loop angle tracking whatever tracking
type it has. The rms error of the angular location of the point on the
target with respect to the center of the scatterer can be calculated by-




where the error is in radians, L i is the distance to the ith scattering
point and 1 ki is the ratio of the ith signal component amplitude to
that of the main element.


3. Total Error
Assuming independent error sources that are normally distributed,
the total error
of the system is the sum of the variances:-




25 | P a g e






Figure- 7 :




26 | P a g e



CHAPTER 3
Functionality

3.1 Tracking Techniques
3.2 Determining the design parameters

















27 | P a g e


Chapter 3.Functinality

3.1.TRACKING TECHNIQUES




There are three major methods that can be used to track a
target: sequential lobing, conical scan, and monopulse tracking.




1. Sequential Lobing
This technique involves sequential switching between two
beams with overlapping but offset patterns. Figure 5 shows the
antenna output when a target is present, and the beam
switched between two positions. Each position of the target on
the beam corresponds to a voltage value. The rectangles A and
B in Figure 5 are the beam position 1 and 2 returns
respectively. The goal is to bring the target on the antenna
boresight. The difference of the voltage amplitudes between
the two positions gives the angular measurement error. The
beam is moved to the direction in which the amplitude of the
voltage is larger.
If the amplitude of the voltages corresponding to the two
positions of the target are the same, then the target is said to be
on the switching axis.
28 | P a g e


Figure-5



2. Conical Scanning
Conical scanning takes its name from the shape that a pencil beam
makes by rotating the beam around an axis as seen in Figure 6.
The angle between the rotating axis and the beam axis, where the
gain of the antenna is greatest, is called a squint angle. The
amplitude of the echo signal is modulated at a frequency called
conical scan frequency. Conical scan frequency is actually the beam
rotation frequency. This modulation occurs due to the rotation of
the squinted beam and the targets offset from the rotation axis.
The phase of conical scan modulation gives the location of the
target. The error signal obtained from the modulated signal
combines the elevation-angle error and azimuth angle error.
These error signals are applied to elevation and azimuth servo
29 | P a g e

motors to position the antenna. If the antenna is on target, the
amplitude of conical-scan modulation is zero.

Figure-6
3. Monopulse Scanning
Monopulse scanning is the most efficient and robust tracking
technique. Thetracking techniques discussed above need more
than one signal sample, theoretically four target returns, two of
which are for the vertical direction and two for the horizontal
direction, to determine the tracking error. The signals returning
from the target will have different phase and amplitude due to the
signal fluctuations. The fluctuations in the signal results in
tracking errors. As evident from its name, monopulse scanning
radars use only one pulse to determine the tracking error. Using
one pulse (single sample) eliminates theproblem of signal
fluctuation. Several samples can be used to improve the accuracy
of the angle estimate.
Monopulse systems can be divided into two types; amplitude
comparison monopulse systems and phase comparison monopulse
systems.
30 | P a g e


3.2Determining the design parameters

This chapter addresses the overall tracking antenna design




Figure- 8. element spacing vs. scan angle







31 | P a g e





The gain of the linear array can be calculated with the following
formula:




Figure- 9. Gain vs. number of elements



32 | P a g e




Table 1. Parameters for use in computing the directivity of uniform
current amplitude. Equally spaced linear arrays.




3.3 GUI in matlab

Purpose- To check target is in the range of radar or not and to
show the distance of target if it is in the range.


CODE

functionvarargout = one(varargin)
gui_Singleton = 1;
gui_State = struct('gui_Name', mfilename, ...
'gui_Singleton', gui_Singleton, ...
'gui_OpeningFcn', @one_OpeningFcn, ...
'gui_OutputFcn', @one_OutputFcn, ...
'gui_LayoutFcn', [], ...
'gui_Callback', []);
ifnargin&&ischar(varargin{1})
gui_State.gui_Callback = str2func(varargin{1});
end

ifnargout
[varargout{1:nargout}] = gui_mainfcn(gui_State, varargin{:});
else
gui_mainfcn(gui_State, varargin{:});
end
% End initialization code - DO NOT EDIT


% --- Executes just before one is made visible.
functionone_OpeningFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles, varargin)
33 | P a g e

handles.output = hObject;

% Update handles structure
guidata(hObject, handles);

functionvarargout = one_OutputFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)
varargout{1} = handles.output;


% --- Executes on button press in pushbutton1.
function pushbutton1_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
textstring = get(handles.text1,'string');
x = randi([0,100],1,1);
if(x<50)
textstring = 'target in range';
else
textstring = 'nothing in range';
end;

set(handles.text1,'string',textstring);


% --- Executes on button press in pushbutton2.
function pushbutton2_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
% hObject handle to pushbutton2 (see GCBO)
% eventdata reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
% handles structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)
y = randi([0,100],1,1);
textstring = get(handles.text1,'string');

textstring = 'y*100 ';
textstring = eval(textstring);
set(handles.text1,'string',textstring);


function edit1_Callback(hObject, eventdata, handles)
% hObject handle to edit1 (see GCBO)
% eventdata reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
% handles structure with handles and user data (see GUIDATA)

% Hints: get(hObject,'String') returns contents of edit1 as text
% str2double(get(hObject,'String')) returns contents of edit1
as a double


% --- Executes during object creation, after setting all properties.
function edit1_CreateFcn(hObject, eventdata, handles)
% hObject handle to edit1 (see GCBO)
% eventdata reserved - to be defined in a future version of MATLAB
% handles empty - handles not created until after all CreateFcns
called

% Hint: edit controls usually have a white background on Windows.
% See ISPC and COMPUTER.
ifispc&&isequal(get(hObject,'BackgroundColor'),
get(0,'defaultUicontrolBackgroundColor'))
set(hObject,'BackgroundColor','white');
end
34 | P a g e



GUI figure:










35 | P a g e














CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES

4.1 Conclusion
4.2 Limitations
4.3 Future Scope for Modification
4.4 Reference











36 | P a g e









CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES

4.1 CONCLUSION


As a part of an ongoing project, this research aimed to track a
signal transmitted continuously by a target via an array of
antennas. Tracking this signal will be the first step towards
maintaining a data link between a target and ground station for
any kind data transfer such as video , image , or audio. This
research has covered the design and development of the
tracking array beginning with background about tracking systems
and techniques and the causes of tracking errors.


MATLAB programs and GUI designed for this research made the
tracking of the signal possible.










37 | P a g e




4.2 FUTURE SCOPE FOR MODIFICATION



1. Circularly Polarized Antennas
The dipoles that are set in the array are linearly polarized. The
antennas should preferably be circularly polarized for the best
performance.



2. Acquisition System
The array system designed for this research project does not
have the capability of acquiring the target. Hence, the target is
acquired manually. Sweeping the sum and difference beams
simultaneously, the signal transmitted continuously from the
target can be acquired and tracked.



3. Operational Testing
After the array has been tested, it should be taken to the field
and its operability with a real target should be checked. This
last step will reveal the vulnerabilities of the system and lead to
further improvements.













38 | P a g e






4.3 REFRENCE

1. Radar Handbook Merrill Skolnik
2. Radar Engineering M. Kulkarni
3. Antenna Fundamentals K.D.Prasad
4. Electromagnetic Waves and radiating system E.C Jordan, K.G.
Balmain
5. Introduction to Airborne Radar(SciTech-1998)
6. www.radar tutorials.com
7. Matlab help guide