Simulation of Reflected Signal Spectrum of FMCW Radar for Different Terrain Conditions and Altitude

Abstract

FMCW Radar is the popular principle for measuring the range/altitude in military and civilian applications. FMCW radar principle is used as Radio altimeter application, where altimeter is used to measure the height above ground level. It provides the altitude information of the aircraft from the terrain over which it is flying. Radar altimeter operates in “C” band at 4.2GHz to 4.4GHz. The RAM transmits the FMCW signal and captures the reflected signal from the terrain. The altitude information is computed by analyzing the beat frequency spectrum using DSP signal processing techniques. Testing the Radio altimeter at different terrain condition such as water and grass at practical condition is not available on bench and hence needs to be tested on aircraft which involves high cost for every flight test. Hence in order to test the FMCW Radar for different terrain conditions “SYSTEMVUE” software provided by KEYSIGHT technologies is used. This software is used for developing the model to simulate the reflected signal pattern at different terrain conditions on bench, which reduces the flight cost and used to measure the altitude range for different delays. .