Radome Electromagnetic Theory and Design

Chapter 7Measurement Methods

Radomes in general and large ground-based radomes in particular are composed of two main components: panels and beams. Therefore, to closely monitor the design and fabrication process, these two components need to be individually characterized and measured. Moreover, at the end of the design process, the performance of the entire radome is also evaluated by measuring the far-field radiation pattern of the enclosed antenna covered by the radome for different antenna orientations, dual polarizations, and in the entire frequency band. Usually, a comparison is made to the radiation pattern of the antenna without the radome. The panel characterization procedure is mainly focused to determine the transmission and reflection through the panel and is described in section 7.1. This measurement determines the accuracy of the simulation and the assumptions made for the electrical parameters of the materials used in the multilayer structure of the panel.

Accurate characterization of the scattering properties of dielectric and metal beams is essential in the electromagnetic analysis of large sandwich and dielectric/metal space frame radomes assembled from a large number of beams and panels. The fundamental basis for such an analysis is the knowledge of the scattering characteristics from an individual beam located and oriented at a specified point in space and illuminated by a plane wave propagating in a particular direction. Computation of the scattering parameters ...