Ultra-Wideband Radome Design and Electromagnetic Characterization Trade Study for Airborne Remote Sensing Applications

摘要

This paper presents the design for two radome fairings and the subsequent trade study to characterize the electromagnetic performance of the existing fairings as well as alternate designs. The original designs include a small monolithic vent panel fabricated from S2-glass composite which is used to protect a 2-18 GHz Ultra-Wideband horn antenna on NASA's Gulfstream V. The second design includes a large sandwich laminate of S2-glass facesheets and Rohacell foam core, used to house two VHF antennas adjacent to the horn antenna on NASA's Gulfstream V. The design and application of these radome fairings served as an impetus for investigating alternate designs with equivalent structural performance, but potentially improved electrical performance. For this trade study, the theoretical transmissivity and reflectivity of the panels are calculated using the boundary value problem method and subsequently validated with anechoic chamber measurements. For the thinner vent panel design, a sandwich S2-glass design exhibits the best performance with near unity transmissivity over the 2-12 GHz range. The sizing of the VHF radome fairing showed a thicker laminate is better suited for narrow band applications, in this instance 8 - 12 GHz.