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Radar radome and its design considerations

Conference Paper · December 2009

DOI: 10.1109/ICICI-BME.2009.5417229 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 Radar Radome and Its Design Considerations
Mashury Wahab
Research Centre For Electronics and Telecommunications (PPET-LIPI)
Komplek LIPI, Jl. Sangkuriang, 4th Floor, Building 20
Bandung, 40135 INA

Abstract-Radar plays a significant role in managing air and sea

transportation, monitoring a certain areas, surveying, remote
sensing, predicting weather, and defense. To protect the Radar
against enviromental factors, a radome is required. In this paper,
we present some design considerations for constructing a Radome.
Based on experience in building the ISRA LIPI Radar, the
Radome designs are presented. Measurement results on the effects
of Radome to the Radar performance are also presented.
Keyword: Radar, radome, design, environment, effects.

I. INTRODUCTION
A radome (the word is a contraction of Radar and dome) is Figure 1. Radomes at the Misawa Security Operations Center, Misawa, Japan.
a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a microwave
or Radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material that A radome prevents this by covering the antenna's exposed
minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or parts with a sturdy, weatherproof material, typically fiberglass,
received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is which keeps debris or ice away from the antenna to prevent
transparent to Radar or radio waves. Radomes protect the any serious issues. It is interesting to note that one of the main
antenna surfaces from the environment (e.g., wind, rain, ice, driving forces behind the development of fiberglass as a
sand, ultraviolet rays, etc.) and/or conceal antenna electronic structural material was the need during World War II for
equipment from public view. They also protect nearby radomes. When considering structural load, the use of a
personnel from being accidentally struck by quickly-rotating radome greatly reduces wind load in both normal and iced
antennas. conditions. Many tower sites require or prefer the use of
Radomes can be constructed in several shapes (spherical, radomes for wind loading benefits and for protection from
geodesic, planar, etc.) depending upon the particular falling ice or debris.
application using various construction materials (fiberglass, Sometimes radomes may be unsightly if near the ground,
PTFE-coated fabric, etc.). When used on UAVs (unmanned and heaters could be used instead. Usually running on direct
aerial vehicles) or other aircraft, in addition to such protection, current, the heaters do not interfere physically or electrically
the radome also streamlines the antenna system, thus reducing with the alternating current of the radio transmission.For Radar
drag. dishes, a single, large, ball-shaped dome (usually geodesic)
A radome is often used to prevent ice and freezing rain also protects the rotational mechanism and the sensitive
from accumulating directly onto the metal surface of the electronics, and is heated in colder climates to prevent icing.
antennas. In the case of a spinning Radar dish antenna, the The Menwith Hill electronic surveillance base, which
radome also protects the antenna from debris and rotational includes over 30 radomes, is widely believed to regularly
irregularities due to wind. intercept satellite communications. At Menwith Hill, the
For stationary antennas, excessive amounts of ice can de- radome enclosures have a further use in preventing observers
tune the antenna to the point where its impedance at the input from deducing the direction of the antennas, and therefore
frequency rises drastically, causing voltage standing wave ratio which satellites are being targeted. The same point was also
(VSWR) to rise as well. This reflected power goes back to the made with respect to the radomes of the ECHELON facilities.
transmitter, where it can cause overheating. A foldback circuit For maritime satellite communications service, radomes are
activates to prevent this. However, it causes the station's output widely used to protect dish antennas which are continually
power to drop dramatically, reducing its range. tracking fixed satellites while the ship experiences pitch, roll
and yaw movements. Large cruise ships and oil tankers may
have radomes over three meters in diameter to suit broadband
transmissions for television, voice, data, and the Internet. Small
private yachts may use radomes as small as 26 centimeters in
diameter for voice and low-speed data.
 Figure 2. Radar array at the Menwith Hill.
Figure 3. Transmission Loss Improvement by Impedance Matching Scattering
II. THEORY AND TYPES OF RADOME at C-band.
The construction of a radome combines the expertise of
materials science, geodesic domes, structures and To reduce scattering loss, there is a technique known as
electromagnetics. Currently, there are four types of dielectric impedance matching to "tune out" framework loss [3]. As
radomes [3]. The four types identify themselves primarily by required by sophisticated electrical performance requirements,
the radome wall construction. In each case, the dielectric panel inductive elements (wire, metallic strips etc.) may be laminated
edges are reinforced into flanges for adjacent panel assembly. into the dielectric flanges to impedance match scattering loss.
After assembly, the radome dielectric flanges form a Any of the four DSF radome types may be impedance
framework establishing the general terminology Dielectric matched.
Space Frame (DSF) [3]. Depending on radome wall As it is shown in Figure 3, every DSF radome exhibits the
parameters, adjacent panel flanges may also serve as RF property that the total transmission loss, scattering plus wall
environmental load bearing beams or struts. Each panel is a insertion loss, approaches zero dB at low frequencies (as
molded one piece unit without bond or seam lines. When opposed to "Metal Space Frame Radomes" whose loss
assembled to the other panels, the panel array forms a truncated increases without limit. This property is important for
spherical surface. Individual panels may be doubly curved or UHF/VHF emergency radio communications contained within
flat yielding a faceted or spherically smooth appearance. Foam the radome).
insulation is often added to the wall producing a two or three To enhance RF performance, a design-balancing process
layer sandwich configuration. occurs between a stronger structure at maximum rated wind
The four types of DSF Radome are as follows [3]: speed and improved RF performance. This balancing act
determines that the radomes are designed with appropriate
• Thin Membrane structural safety factors.
The thin membrane wall DSF radome where adjacent The superior performance and advantages of DSF Radome
panel flanges carry all the wind loads. Wall thickness is technology are evident in the worldwide Defense Satellite
usually 0.040 inch or less. Communications System (DSCS), weather satellite and Radar,
• Solid Laminate air surveillance Radar and Intelsat Communications
The solid laminate wall DSF radome. Wall thickness is applications.
typically 0.090 inch. The material of radome and its thickness should not
bend/change the direction of transmission and arrival of the
• 2-Layer Sandwich
transmitted and received signals. This can be shown on Figure
Adding a layer of foam to the inside thin membrane
4. If there is a change of transmitted and received signal paths
wall DSF radome forms a 2-layer sandwich wall
then the beamwidth and antenna radiation pattern will also
radome. Foam thickness is chosen primarily for thermal
change.
insulation and cost objectives.
• 3-Layer Sandwich Bend
The composite 3-layer sandwich foam core wall path
Antena
radome. Core thickness is chosen as 1/4 wavelength for
modul
the highest RF signal frequency.
Not commonly known to most engineers, radome Correct
transmission loss is composed of the insertion loss from the RF path
signal passing through the radome wall and from the scattering
loss off the panel flange framework. In most cases, the reflector Subsection
scattering loss from the framework is several times greater than of Radome
the wall insertion loss. Figure 4 The effect of radome to the transmitted signal’s path.
 III. ISRA LIPI RADOME
Research Centre for Electronics and Telecommunications
of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, which is known as
PPET-LIPI, has been developing a coastal surveillance Radar
since 2006. At the moment, the first prototype is being tested
intensively outdoor in the field near to a coastal area.
Meanwhile, the second prototype is being implemented and
expected to be completed at the end of 2009. This LIPI Radar
is named ISRA (Indonesian Surveillance Radar). This ISRA
Radar uses FM-CW (frequency modulated continuous wave)
technique, which has separate antennas for transmitting and
receiving signals. Figure 6. The implementation of radome to the ISRA Radar.
In this section, we present some designs of Radar radome
that have been implemented to ISRA. The design
considerations for the radome are:
1. Lightweight.
2. Attenuation is < 2 dB.
3. The material thickness is < 3 mm.
4. No change of beam path of transmitting and receiving
signals through radome.
5. Waterproof and moistproof.
6. Low wind resistance.
7. Do not absorb heat.
8. Easy to mount/demount.
9. The surface has a smooth finish.
10. Sufficient strength. (a)

There are two designs that have been fabricated and applied
to ISRA. The first design has a curly shape, see Figure 5. The
shapes of the upper part and the lower part are identical. In the
middle, there is a notch which stretch from left to right. The
thickness for this radome is about 2 mm. The radome should
withstand the wind. After evaluating the implemented radome,
it is considered that the radome has several weaknesses and
they are:
1. This radome has a high wind resistance due to the notch
in the middle of the radome. Therefore, the use of this
radome in the long term, i.e., rotates 24 hours/7 days a (b)
week all year round, will cost a damage to the antenna’s Figure 7. The drawing of the new radome for ISRA.
motor. This is due to the motor has to rotate the antenna
and to combat against the wind. Based on evaluation of the first radome, a new radome was
2. The surface of the radome is not really smooth and this designed. The design of this new radome should overcome the
may cause the dropped water stays on the surface. problems with the first radome. The drawing of this radome is
3. The thickness of the material is not even on all parts of shown on Figure 7. The ISRA Radar with the new radome is
the radome. shown on Figure 8.
4. It is not easy to mount and demount the radome.

Figure 5. 1st Radome design.

Figure 8. ISRA Radar using the new radome.
 IV. RADAR MEASUREMENT WITH RADOME

In this section, we present measurement results of the

ISRA’s antenna pattern with and without radome so that we
can see the effect of radome to the Radar performance.

(bottom)
Figure 10. SWR measurement for RX antenna: (top) without radome, (bottom)
with radome.

According to Figure 9, there is a small different between

the reflection loss S11 of the received antenna without and with
(top) radome. The difference is about 0.3 dB at the frequency of 9.4
GHz. This shows that the attenuation introduced by radome is
still acceptable.
The standing wave ratio (SWR) of the RX antenna without
and with radome are depicted on Figure 10. Based on the
results of measurement, the difference is also very small that is
about 0.014 at the frequency of 9.4 GHz. This result states that
the radome only has a negligible effect to the Radar
performance.

V. DISCUSSION

Radome is one of the important parts of Radar mechanical

construction. The radome protects a Radar against
environmental disturbances. There are some signal attenuation
(bottom) or signal losses introduced by the radome and this level of
Figure 9. Reflection loss S11 measurement for RX antenna: (top) without attenuation should be kept to the minimum. The strength of
radome, (bottom) with radome. radome is one of its important properties. However, a strong
radome should not increase significantly the total Radar’s
weight. Another consideration for radome is the cost. The cost
for a radome should be much less than the cost of the Radar.
Research on material, mechanical properties and effects of a
radome to the transmitted or received signals should be further
investigated. At the moment, in Indonesia, there are no
intensive researches on radome performed by R & Centres and
Institutions involved in Radar development and applications.
This kind of research should be encouraged to increase the
knowledge and expertise of Indonesian human resources and
also to reduce the imports on Radome.

VI. CONCLUSION

Some aspects on Radome for Radar applications have been

presented, i.e., introduction on Radar dan radome, theory and
Figure 10. (top)
types of Radome, and radome design considerations. Two
radomes were built for ISRA LIPI Radar. Some measurements
were performed to evaluate the radomes. Both radomes only
introduce a very small signal attenuation and do not affect the
antenna radiation pattern. The 2nd radome of ISRA LIPI Radar
has a better mechanical properties against the environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The development of ISRA LIPI Radar is in a cooperation with

the International Research Centre for Telecommunications and
Radar of the Technical University of Delft. The funding for the
Radar development comes from the LIPI research grants
(DIPA and Kompetitif programmes) and from the Ministry for
Research and Technology (Insentif Programmes).

REFERENCES
[1]. M.I. Skolnik, “Radar Handbook”, McGraw-Hill, 1990.
[2]. Wikipedia, “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radome”.
[3]. Antennas For Communications, http://www.radome.net/.
[4]. Leo P. Ligthart, ’Short Course on Radar Technologies’, International
Research Centre for Telecommunications and Radar, TU Delft, September
2005.
[5]. Mark Richards, ’Radar Signal Processing’, McGraw-Hill, 2005.
[6]. Bassem R. Mahafza, ‘Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using
MATLAB’, Chapman & Hall, 2005.

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