RADAR ENGINEERING

Course Code: ECE5310

CHAPTER:1
By

ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGG. AND COMPUTING
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

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 Introduction
 The full form of RADAR is Radio Detection And Ranging. Detection refers to
whether the target is present or not. The target can be stationary or movable, i.e., non-
stationary. Ranging refers to the distance between the Radar and the target.
 RADAR is an electromagnetic based detection system that works by radiating
electromagnetic waves and then studying the echo or the reflected back waves.

 Applications of RADAR

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Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Antenna parameters

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 Basic Block Diagram & Principle of RADAR

Radar is used for detecting the objects and finding their location. We can understand the basic
principle of Radar from the following figure (1).

(R)

Figure (1)

Radar mainly consists of a transmitter and a receiver. It

uses the may be same Antenna or different Antenna for
transmitting and receiving the signals. The function of the
transmitter is to transmit the Radar signal in the direction
of the target present. Target reflects this received signal in
various directions. The signal, which is reflected back
towards the Antenna gets received by the receiver. 11
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 Terminology of Radar Systems

Range (R): The distance between Radar and target is called Range of the target or simply range
( R ). We know that Radar transmits a signal to the target and accordingly the target sends an echo
signal to the Radar with the speed of light ( C ).

Let the time taken for the signal to travel from Radar to target and back to Radar be ‘T’. The two way
distance between the Radar and target will be 2R, since the distance between the Radar and the target
is R.

Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF): Radar signals should be transmitted at every clock
pulse. The duration between the two clock pulses should be properly chosen in such a way that the echo
signal corresponding to present clock pulse should be received before the next clock pulse. A typical Radar
wave form is shown in the following figure 2.

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 Figure 2

Radar transmits a periodic signal. It is having a series of

narrow rectangular shaped pulses. The time interval
between the successive clock pulses is called pulse
repetition time (𝑇𝑃).

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Maximum Unambiguous Range (Run):
We know that Radar signals should be transmitted at every clock pulse. If we select a shorter
duration between the two clock pulses, then the echo signal corresponding to present clock
pulse will be received after the next clock pulse. Due to this, the range of the target seems to be
smaller than the actual range.
So, to select the duration between the two clock pulses in such a way that the echo signal
corresponding to present clock pulse will be received before the next clock pulse starts.
Then, we will get the true range of the target and it is also called maximum unambiguous
range of the target or simply, maximum unambiguous range.

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 Standard Form of Radar Range Equation

Power density is the ratio of power and area. So, the power density, 𝑑𝑖 at a distance, R
from the Radar can be mathematically represented as for isotropic antenna:

In general, Radars use directional Antennas. Therefore, the power density, 𝑃𝑑𝑑 due to directional Antenna
will be

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Substitute, Equation 2 in Equation 3.

The amount of power, 𝑷𝒓 received by the Radar

depends on the effective aperture, 𝐴𝑒 of the
receiving Antenna.

Substitute, Equation 4 in Equation 5.

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Limitations of the simple form of Radar equation:
 Does not adequately describe the performance of practical radar.
 Many important factors that affect range are not explicitly included.
 In practice, the observed maximum radar ranges are usually much smaller than what would be
predicted by the above equations, sometimes by as much as a factor of two.

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 Minimum Detectable Signal:
 The ability of a radar receiver to detect a weak echo signal is limited by the noise energy that occupies
the same portion of the frequency spectrum as does the signal energy and accompanies the signal.

 The weakest signal the receiver can detect is called the minimum detectable signal. It is difficult to
define minimum detectable signal (MDS) because of its statistical nature and because the criterion for
deciding whether a target is present or not is not too well defined.

 Detection is normally based on establishing a threshold level at the output of the receiver (as shown by
the dotted line in the figure below.)Whenever Rx output signal which is a mixture of echo and noise
crosses this threshold, then it is detected as a target. This is called threshold detection.

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Many pulses are usually returned from any target on each radar scan and can be used to improve detection.
The number of pulses nB returned from a point target as the radar antenna scans through its beam width is

Integration may be accomplished in the radar receiver either before the second detector (in
the IF) or after the second detector (in the video).

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MODIFIED RADAR RANGE EQUATION

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 Radar Clutter

 Radar returns are produced from nearly all surfaces when illuminated by a radar.
 Therefore, in competition with the return from an aircraft, there are many sources of unwanted
signals. Unwanted signals in a search radar are generally described as noise and clutter. (Noise
was discussed earlier in detail concerning the Radar Basics.)
 Clutter is the term used and includes ground returns, sea returns, weather, buildings, birds and
insects.
 The definition of clutter depends on the function of the radar. Weather is not clutter in a weather
detecting radar.
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 Three Basic Types of Clutter Can Be Classified
Surface Clutter
Volume Clutter
Point Clutter

 Surface Clutter
 Ground or sea returns are typical surface clutter.
 Returns from geographical land masses are generally stationary, however, the effect of wind
on trees etc. means that the target can introduce a Doppler Shift to the radar return.
 This Doppler shift is an important method of removing unwanted signals in the signal
processing part of a radar system.
 Clutter returned from the sea generally also has movement associated with the waves.
 Volume Clutter
 Weather or chaff are typical volume clutter.
 In the air, the most significant problem is weather clutter.
 This can be produced from rain or snow and can have a significant Doppler content.
 Point Clutter
 Birds, windmills and individual tall buildings are typical point clutter and are not extended in
nature.
 Moving point clutter is sometimes described as angels.
 Birds and insects produce clutter, which can be very difficult to remove because the
characteristics are very much like aircraft.
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