Radar Principles

❑ Introduction Developed prior to World War

II
• Radar stands for
• It was used both on the
RAdio Detection And
ground as well as in the air
Ranging.
by the military.
 but subsequently continuous
…
wave (CW) techniques were also
• Originally it used developed for other functions such
pulses for its as the radio altimeter,
operation because CW radars have no
minimum range limitation.
 • It is used by ground based
radars in the control,
• Todays use of radar separation and navigation of
in civil aviation: aircraft as well as in airborne
systems for weather warning
and navigation.
 • A Secondary Radar transmits
❑ Types of Pulsed pulses on one frequency, but
Radars receives on a different
frequency i.e. the object transmits
• A Primary Radar its own energy.
uses pulses of radio
• It is a system utilizing an
energy reflected
interrogator and transponder;
from a target
the transponder can be located in
i.e. it uses one the aircraft or on the ground.
frequency throughout.
 • provide information regarding
weather e.g. storm clouds.
❑ Radar Applications
• monitor aircraft in relation to
• Air Traffic Control each other whilst they are flying
uses radar to: on airways, in control zones
or in the airfield vicinity, and
to vector the aircraft if
necessary.
 …(Surveillance Radar Approach
(SRA) or a military Precision
• provide radar talk- Approach Radar (PAR)).
down to a given • control and monitor aircraft on
runway… ILS let-downs, or during airfield
instrument approaches
 … • Secondary Surveillance Radar
provides ATC with information
• Air/Ground regarding an aircraft’s call sign,
navigational systems altitude, speed, track history,
use radar: destination and type of emergency
when appropriate.
 …very accurate slant ranges from
• Distance Measuring a ground based
Equipment (DME) receiver/transmitter known as a
provides a pilot transponder.
with…
 • depict the range and bearing of
… clouds.
• Indicate areas of the heaviest
• Airborne Weather precipitation and associated
Radar (AWR) is used turbulence.
to:
• calculate the height of cloud.
• ground map.
 ❑ Radar • these frequencies are free from
Frequencies external noise/static and
ionospheric scatter.
• Radar systems are in
• the shorter wavelengths produce
the VHF and above
narrow, efficient beams for target
frequency bands
discrimination and bearing
because:
measurement.
 … • efficient reflection from an
object depends upon its size in
• the shorter relation to the wavelength;
wavelengths can shorter wavelengths are
produce shorter pulses. reflected more efficiently.
 ….which is the transmission of
radio energy in very short bursts.
❑ Pulse Technique
• Each burst of energy is in a
• Primary and secondary pulse form of a predetermined
radar systems use the shape.
pulse technique… • The duration of the pulse is
equal to the pulse length or
width.
 …
• Pulse Recurrence Frequency
Pulse Recurrence (PRF)
Interval (PRI) or is the number of pulses transmitted
PRP in one second (pps).
o is the time
interval between
two pulses.
 Example 1
If the PRF is 250 pps
what is the PRI of the
transmission?
❑ Distance Measurement
- Echo Principle

• The distance to an object is found by timing the

interval between the instant of the pulse’s
transmission and its return as an echo
Example 2
Calculate the range the time between transmission and
of the radio wave, reception is 500 µs
 Example 3
Example 4
We wish a radar to An AWR has a 420 pps PRR.
measure a range of up to Calculate the maximum range in
165 km. nautical miles for this equipment.
What should the PRF
(PRR) be?
 ❑ Primary Radars
• The beam uses the ‘echo’
• The pulses are principle to determine range
concentrated into the and the ‘searchlight’ principle to
beam dimensions indicate bearing or height.
designed for the particular
radar.
 ❑ Typical radar
antennae

• The transmitter
and receiver
share the same
antenna.
❑ The Range of o The range of a primary radar
Primary Radar depends upon the strength of
the returning pulses that
o Maximum Range determines the quality of the
target depiction on the PPI.
• The range is affected by several
factors:
 o Characteristics of reflecting objects
o Aircraft height and the height of
the radar head
o Transmission power. o Wavelength and attenuation by
o Atmospheric raindrops
conditions. o Restoration Time
o Pulse width
 ❑ Radar
Measurements • Radio pulses are concentrated into
very narrow beams which are
Bearing produced by shortening the
wavelength or increasing the aerial
• Bearing measurement size and in advanced systems this is
is obtained by using
done electronically.
the searchlight
principle.
 • The PPI display is synchronized
with the antenna rotation.
The beam is rotated at a • The direction of an object is the
constant speed. direction of the beam, measured
from a fixed datum, at the time
when the echo is received.
 Harmonization
• In order that bearing and
… range information can be
determined from the radar
Range system it is necessary to
harmonize the rotary speed of
Calculated from the time the antenna, the pulse
interval between the duration or width, the pulse
transmission and repetition frequency,
reception of the radar focusing and transmission
pulse. power.
 Moving Target
…from stationary objects such as
Indication
hills or buildings which would
(MTI)
give returns that would mask the
• Surveillance radar smaller returns from aircraft.
equipment • By erasing the permanent
incorporates circuitry echoes the radar is able to
designed to eliminate display only the moving targets
returns such as aircraft.
 i.e. a return of the preceding pulse
…
from a target beyond the
• It is possible for a maximum range selected,
radar receiver on appearing during the period of
MTI to produce the next pulse as a moving target
false targets as a within the selected range.
result of second trace
returns
 MTI radars remove second trace
returns by changing the PRI between
• In order to overcome consecutive pulses,
this problem,
a technique known as ‘jittering the
PRF’.