Design and Implementation of a UWB Radar Sensor for Non-Destructive Application

[ES] Debido a la importancia de los campos de aplicación del sensor de radar de banda ultraancha, y también a los requisitos de cada aplicación específica, existe una demanda creciente de diseño compacto, de bajo coste y alta precisión del sensor de radar de banda ultraancha. Para responder a estas exigencias, esta tesis pretende proponer un sensor de radar UWB avanzado. Este trabajo de investigación se centra en el diseño del sensor de radar de banda ultraancha (UWB) para aplicaciones no destructivas (END). Los detalles de diseño incluyen el diseño de un generador de pulsos ultracorto, de alta potencia con un timbre mínimo. El radar desarrollado fue construido con una configuración biestática. El objetivo de este trabajo es medir el rango de distancia y las propiedades eléctricas de un objetivo, por ejemplo, metales y materiales dieléctricos, como el cloruro de polivinilo (PV C). Para lograr este objetivo, se ha desarrollado un novedoso generador de pulsos de alta potencia ultra-corto (pulsador de radar). El nuevo generador de pulsos consiste en un transistor que funciona en modo de avalancha y un circuito de afilado de pulsos que utiliza un nuevo modelo de diodo de recuperación de paso (SRD). Para convertir el pulso gaussiano en un monociclo, se ha añadido una red de formación de monociclo (MFN). El generador de impulsos desarrollado produce un impulso eléctrico con una amplitud de 12 V, un tiempo de subida de 112 ps y un ancho de impulso (FWHM) de 155 ps. Con el fin de aumentar la amplitud de los pulsos, se han propuesto dos técnicas útiles en este trabajo. El primero consiste en agregar dos generadores en paralelo, en este diseño propuesto se tuvo en cuenta alguna especificación para hacer que este circuito funcione. Sin embargo, la segunda técnica adoptada en este trabajo consiste en dos etapas de generadores, ambas técnicas dan lugar a un buen rendimiento; en lugar de un solo módulo de un generador de impulsos, las técnicas propuestas en este trabajo aumentan la amplitud en torno al doble. Ambas técnicas han sido investigadas en detalle. Para transmitir y recibir los impulsos ultracortos generados, se utilizaron dos tipos diferentes de antenas UWB. En primer lugar, una antena Vivaldi con un ancho de banda de unos 5,5 GHz de 600 MHz a 6 GHz. La segunda es una antena Vivaldi con un ancho de banda de 6 GHz de 400 Mhz a 6,2 GHz. Utilizando el sensor de radar de banda ultraancha desarrollado, se realizaron mediciones de prueba. Esto incluye las propiedades eléctricas, así como la medición de la distancia a las placas de metal, madera y PVC. La incertidumbre del sensor de radar es de 14 mm (datos medidos asustados a + 14 mm para un blanco fijo). El diseño y la implementación real que conduce a lograr un excelente prototipo de rendimiento para una aplicación no destructiva.[CA] A causa de la rellevància dels camps d'aplicació del sensor de radar d'ultra banda ampla, i també l'exigència de cada aplicació específica, hi ha una demanda creixent de disseny compacte, de baix cost i alta precisió del sensor de radar d'ultra banda ampla. Amb la intenció d'atendre aquestes demandes, aquesta tesi pretén proposar un sensor avançat de radar UWB. Aquest treball de recerca tracta del disseny del sensor de radar d'ultra-banda ampla (UWB) per a aplicacions no destructives (NDT). Els detalls del disseny inclouen el disseny d'un pols de monocicle amb pols de potència d'alta potència i amb un mínim de timbre. El radar desenvolupat va ser construït en configuració bi-estàtica. L'objectiu d'aquest treball és mesurar el rang de distància i les propietats elèctriques d'un objectiu, per exemple, materials metàl·lics i dielèctrics, com el clorur de polivinil (PV C). Per assolir aquest objectiu, s'ha desenvolupat un nou ultrasò, generador de pols d'alta potència (polsador de radar). El nou generador de pols està format per un transistor que funciona en mode d'allaus i un circuit d'afilat de pols mitjançant un nou model de díode de recuperació de pas (SRD). Per a convertir el pols gaussiano en un monocicle, s'ha afegit una xarxa de formació de monocicles (MFN). El generador de polsos desenvolupat produeix un pols elèctric amb una amplitud de 12 V, un temps d'augment de 112 ps i un ample de pols (FWHM) de 155 ps. Amb l'objectiu d'augmentar l'amplitud dels polsos, s'han proposat dues tècniques útils en aquest treball. El primer consisteix a afegir dos generadors de forma paral·lela, en aquest disseny proposat, cal tenir en compte algunes especificacions per a fer la viabilitat d'aquest circuit. No obstant això, la segona tècnica adoptada en aquest treball consisteix en una doble etapa de generadors, ambdues tècniques donen lloc a una bona actuació; en lloc d'un únic mòdul d'un generador de pols, les tècniques proposades en aquest treball augmenten l'amplitud al voltant del doble. Per transmetre i rebre polsos ultra-curts generats, s'han utilitzat dos tipus diferents d'antenes UWB. En primer lloc, una antena de Vivaldi amb un ample de banda d'uns 5,5 GHz de 600 MHz a 6 GHz. Mentre que la segona és una antena Vivaldi amb un ample de banda de 6 GHz de 400 MHz a 6.2 GHz. Mitjançant el sensor de radar ultra-ampla desenvolupat, es va realitzar la mesura de la prova. Incloïen propietats elèctriques i mesures de distància a les plaques metàl·liques, fusta i PVC. S'ha trobat que la incertesa del sensor de radar és de 14 mm (dades mesurades espantades entre + 14 mm per a un objectiu fix). El disseny i la implementació real condueixen a aconseguir un excel·lent prototip de rendiment per a una aplicació no destructiva.[EN] Due to the relevance of application fields of ultra-wideband radar sensor, and also the requirement of each specific application, there is an increasing demand of compact, low cost and high accuracy design of ultra-wideband radar sensor. With a view to addressing these demands, this thesis aims to propose an advanced UWB radar sensor. This research work deals with the design of the ultra-wideband (UWB) radar sensor for non-destructive (NDT) application. The design details include the design of ultra-short, high power pulse generator monocycle pulse with a minimum of ringing. The developed radar was build in bi-static configuration. The goal of this work is to measure the distance range and electrical properties of a target e.g, metal and dielectric materials, such as Polyvinyl chloride (PV C). To achieve this goal, a novel ultrashort, high power pulse generator (radar pulser) has been developed. The new pulse generator consists of a transistor operating in avalanche mode and a pulse sharpening circuit using a new model of step recovery diode (SRD). In order to converts the Gaussian pulse to a monocycle, a monocycle forming network (MFN) has been added. The developed pulse generator produces an electrical pulse with an amplitude of 12 V, a rise-time of 112 ps and pulse width (FWHM) of 155 ps. For the purpose to increase the amplitude of the pulses, two useful techniques have been proposed in this work. The first one consist of adding two generators in parallel, in this proposed design some specification was be taking into account to making the workability of this circuit. However, the second technic adopted in this work consists of a two-stage of generators, both technics give rise to a good performance; instead of a single module of a pulse generator, the techniques proposed in this work increase the amplitude around the double. In order to transmit and receive the generated ultra-short pulses, two different types of UWB antennas have been used. First, a Vivaldi antenna with a bandwidth of about 5.5 GHz from 600 MHz to 6 GHz. While the second is a Vivaldi antenna with a bandwidth of 6 GHz from 400 Mhz to 6,2 GHz. Using the developed ultra-wideband radar sensor, test measurement was performed. These included electrical properties as well as distance measurement towards metal plates, wood, and PVC. The uncertainty of the radar sensor has been found to be 14 mm (measured data scared within + 14 mm for a fixed target). The design and real implementation leading to achieve excellent performance prototype for a non-destructive application.Ahajjam, Y. (2019). Design and Implementation of a UWB Radar Sensor for Non-Destructive Application [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/124057TESI

Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments, part 1

This meeting was conceived in response to new challenges facing NASA's robotic solar system exploration program. This volume contains papers presented at the Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Planetary Instruments on 28-30 Apr. 1993. This meeting was conceived in response to new challenges facing NASA's robotic solar system exploration program. Over the past several years, SDIO has sponsored a significant technology development program aimed, in part, at the production of instruments with these characteristics. This workshop provided an opportunity for specialists from the planetary science and DoD communities to establish contacts, to explore common technical ground in an open forum, and more specifically, to discuss the applicability of SDIO's technology base to planetary science instruments

Spaceborne sensors (1983-2000 AD): A forecast of technology

A technical review and forecast of space technology as it applies to spaceborne sensors for future NASA missions is presented. A format for categorization of sensor systems covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including particles and fields is developed. Major generic sensor systems are related to their subsystems, components, and to basic research and development. General supporting technologies such as cryogenics, optical design, and data processing electronics are addressed where appropriate. The dependence of many classes of instruments on common components, basic R&D and support technologies is also illustrated. A forecast of important system designs and instrument and component performance parameters is provided for the 1983-2000 AD time frame. Some insight into the scientific and applications capabilities and goals of the sensor systems is also given

Bandwidth optimization of ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna

This project presents the design with optimum geometry of an UWB rectangular patch antenna. To achieve an UWB characteristic, a patch antenna is designed before proceeding to the bandwidth optimization technique for the proposed antenna. The configuration of patch antenna has a partial ground and addition of two steps in the bottom edge of the patch and one slot in the middle of the patch. The antenna was designed and optimized using CST Microwave Studio (CSTMWS). The proposed antenna’s parameters were optimized with various options such as differing the ground plane length, differing the width of feed line, with different slot positions and different slot widths, and found to operate satisfactorily. An optimized bandwidth has been noticed in this design. Moreover, the antennas structure offers great advantages due to its simple designs and small dimensions. The antenna has been fabricated using FR-4 substrate and tested using the network analyzer which has range between to 3GHz to 13GHz at the Radio Frequency (RF) Laboratory. The antenna performance showed agreement between both simulation and measurement results with only some small deviation and this observed deviation is due to the different numerical modeling and meshing techniques

A micropower ultra-wideband RADAR profiling system

Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-75).Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology can be used in many applications, including radar, communications, and geo-location. In this dissertation, UWB technology is utilized to directly generate sub-nanosecond pulses with more than 1 GHz bandwidth to implement radio detection and ranging (RADAR) for distances up to 5 or 10 metres. This low-cost, rnicropower radiation, short-range radar profiling system consists of the radar circuitry, the data-acquisition subsystem, the signal processing subsystem and the graphical user interface. Additional modules such as a front-end RF amplifier can be integrated into the complete system. The performance was analysed, particularly the circuitry performance and system performance. The capability for detecting metal objects was demonstrated, along with discussion of preliminary "seeing-through-wall" experiments

Towards localisation with Doppler radar

In this thesis the author introduces a novel method for Geo Localisation via Doppler Radar. The area of research is in the three dimensional space using amplitude and magnitude measurements. Geo Localisation in mobile applications is a useful technology that enables monitoring and gathering information about objects of interest

Advanced technologies for planetary instruments

The planetary science community described instrumentation needed for missions that may go into development during the next 5 to 10 years. Then the DoD community to informed their counterparts in planetary science about their interests and capabilities, and to described the BMDO technology base, flight programs, and future directions. The working group sessions and the panel discussion synthesized technical and programmatic issues from all the presentations, with a specific goal of assessing the applicability of BMDO technologies to science instrumentation for planetary exploration.edited by J. Appleby.Clementine II: A Double Asteroid Flyby and Impactor Mission / Boain, R.J. -- The APX Spectrometer for Martian Missions / Economou, T. -- Clementine Sensor Processing System / Feldstein, A.A. -- The Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI) / Horan, D.M. -- New Technologies for UV Detectors / Joseph, C.L

Synchronising coherent networked radar using low-cost GPS-disciplined oscillators

This text evaluates the feasibility of synchronising coherent, pulsed-Doppler, networked, radars with carrier frequencies of a few gigahertz and moderate bandwidths of tens of megahertz across short baselines of a few kilometres using low-cost quartz GPSDOs based on one-way GPS time transfer. It further assesses the use of line-of-sight (LOS) phase compensation, where the direct sidelobe breakthrough is used as the phase reference, to improve the GPS-disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) synchronised bistatic Doppler performance. Coherent bistatic, multistatic, and networked radars require accurate time, frequency, and phase synchronisation. Global positioning system (GPS) synchronisation is precise, low-cost, passive and covert, and appears well-suited to synchronise networked radar. However, very few published examples exist. An imperfectly synchronised bistatic transmitter-receiver is modelled. Measures and plots are developed enabling the rapid selection of appropriate synchronisation technologies. Three low-cost, open, versatile, and extensible, quartz-based GPSDOs are designed and calibrated at zero-baselines. These GPSDOs are uniquely capable of acquiring phase-lock four times faster than conventional phase-locked loops (PLLs) and a new time synchronisation mechanism enables low-jitter sub-10 ns oneway GPS time synchronisation. In collaboration with University College London, UK, the 2.4 GHz coherent pulsed-Doppler networked radar, called NetRAD, is synchronised using the University of Cape Town developed GPSDOs. This resulted in the first published example of pulsed-Doppler phase synchronisation using GPS. A tri-static experiment is set up in Simon’s Bay, South Africa, with a maximum baseline of 2.3 km. The Roman Rock lighthouse was used as a static target to simultaneously assess the range, frequency, phase, and Doppler performance of the monostatic, bistatic, and LOS phase corrected bistatic returns. The real-world results compare well to that predicted by the earlier developed bistatic model and zero-baseline calibrations. GPS timing limits the radar bandwidth to less than 37.5 MHz when it is required to synchronise to within the range resolution. Low-cost quartz GPSDOs offer adequate frequency synchronisation to ensure a target radial velocity accuracy of better than 1 km/h and frequency drift of less than the Doppler resolution over integration periods of one second or less. LOS phase compensation, when used in combination with low-cost GPSDOs, results in near monostatic pulsed-Doppler performance with a subclutter visibility improvement of about 30 dB

An investigation of the microwave upset of avionic circuitry

Circuit technology of the 1970-90 era appears fairly resilient to microwave radio frequency interference, with few reported occurrences of interference. However, a proposition has been developed which substantiates fears that new technologies, with their extremely high packing densities, small device p-n junctions and very high clock rates, will be very susceptible to interference throughout the microwave band It has been postulated that the mechanism for this upset is demodulation and that it will come about by either the predicted changes in the microwave RF environment by the year 2000, or by a suitable choice of phasing and frequency at high power. The postulation is studied by developing an overall ingress equation, relating incident power density at the aircraft to the load voltage at an avionic circuit component. The equation's terms are investigated to quantif' their contribution to the likelihood of interference. The operational RF environment for aircraft is studied and predictions of the current and maximum future environments are made. A practical investigation of 2-18 GH.z airframe shielding is described, with comparison of the results with those from a number of other aircraft and helicopter types. A study of ingress into avionic boxes is presented and is followed by the results of an investigation of energy coupling via the cables and connectors, including the development and practical examination of a coupling model based on transmission line theory. A study is then presented of circuit technology developments, electronic component interference and damage mechanisms, and evidence of upset of electronic equipment is given. Investigations show that there is more 1-18 GHz upset of electronic equipment than originally thought and data suggest that thermal damage of active devices may dominate over-voltage stressing of p-n junctions. Aircraft investigations have shown that incident microwave radiation is attenuated approximately 20 dB by the airframe, in a complex fashion which does not lend itself to being modelled easily. Under some conditions this value of airframe attenuation is seen to approach zero, removing any shielding of avionics by the airframe for these cases. A predictor for airframe shielding independent of air vehicle type has been developed, based on cumulative density ftrnctions of all data from each of the aircraft types examined. The cable coupling model gives good agreement with measured data except for the dependency of load voltage on cable length and illuminating antenna position along the cable, for which an empirical equation has been developed. Computer power limitations and significant variations of most of the parameters in the overall ingress equation suggest that modelling of the complex innards of aircraft and avionics at these frequencies will remain impractical for the foreseeable future and that probabilistic models are the only achievable goal. It is concluded that all avionic circuit technologies may well be upset as postulated above or by speculative High Power Microwave weapons, but that careful use of existing aircraft and equipment design methodologies can offer adequate protection. An improved protection regime is proposed for future aircraft and a number of fUture research areas are identified to enable better understanding of the microwave hazard to aircraft. The three areas which will add most to this understanding are modelling of the precise microwave environment to be encountered, further airframe shielding measurements and analyses, from all incidence angles and on different aircraft types, and the construction and cumulative probability fUnction analyses of electronic component and equipment upset databases