Investigation of dipole antennas embedded in wing of HALE aircraft Preliminary for design of Angle Of Arrival array antenna for use at 20km altitude

摘要

High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft offer many advantages over geo-stationary satellites as communications platforms: lower path attenuation, lower launch cost, ease of repair, ease of repositioning, and ease of payload change. Additionally, HALE aircraft have the advantages of geo-stationary satellites of being above weather systems, and having a wide field of view (horizon of 500km for an aircraft flying at an altitude of 20km). However, the design of antennas for HALE aircraft is not simple as antenna weight must be kept to an absolute minimum, low profile is a necessity, and the ambient environmental conditions are severe. Any antennas used must be able to withstand a temperature cycle of +50° at ground level to -60° at 20km altitude. In this initial investigation, the interactions between 1.5GHz dipole antennas embedded within a 2.5m section of simplified typical HALE aircraft wing were examined. This was the first step in the design of an Angle Of Arrival array, in which antenna and aircraft wing component interaction must be considered throughout the design process.