Pulse-pair Estimates Research Articles

A Frequency Diversity Algorithm for Extending the Radar Doppler Velocity Nyquist Interval

Compact millimeter wavelength radars have been widely used for applications such as remote sensing of clouds, guidance avionics, and recently, automotive navigation. However, the short wavelength of these radars limits their maximum unambiguous Doppler velocity. A common solution to this problem is to subsequently unfold the Doppler velocity estimate with the staggered pulse repetition time (PRT) algorithm, which requires two different PRTs to be employed in sequence. This article investigates a potentially more rapid method to extend the Doppler velocity Nyquist interval. We estimate Doppler velocity using a pair of frequency diverse pulses separated by a time lag that is significantly shorter than the PRT. During the first PRT, two pulses with center frequencies f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> , followed by f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> , separated by a lag τ are transmitted. During the next PRT, the pulses transmitted are in the order f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> followed by f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> . Doppler velocity is then estimated using the sum of the Doppler phases derived from f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> /f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> and f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sub> sequences. The focus of this article is the demonstration of this algorithm in a beam-filled scenario and the error canceling algorithm design. Based on Monte-Carlo simulations and data collected with the NASA Goddard Space Flight center's Cloud Radar System, the algorithm is demonstrated on nearly static surface echoes. Projected aircraft speeds and traditional pulse-pair estimates are employed as references. The algorithm was found to perform adequately on surface echoes for a low spectrum width of the order of 0.5 m/s and SNR comparable to 20 dB. Doppler velocity retrievals in a cirrus cloud layer with low velocity turbulence retained some qualitative structure, albeit with significantly degraded precision due to the lost coherence.

A wing pod-based millimeter wavelength airborne cloud radar

Abstract. This paper describes a novel, airborne pod-based millimeter (mm) wavelength radar. Its frequency of operation is 94 GHz (3 mm wavelength). The radar has been designed to fly on the NCAR Gulfstream V HIAPER aircraft; however, it could be deployed on other similarly equipped aircraft. The pod-based configuration occupies minimum cabin space and maximizes scan coverage. The radar system is capable of collecting observations in a staring mode between zenith and nadir or in a scanning mode. Standard pulse-pair estimates of moments and raw time series of backscattered signals are recorded. The radar system design and characteristics as well as techniques for calibrating reflectivity and correcting Doppler velocity for aircraft attitude and motion are described. The radar can alternatively be deployed in a ground-based configuration, housed in the 20 ft shipping container it shares with the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). The radar was tested both on the ground and in flight. Preliminary measurements of Doppler and polarization measurements were collected and examples are presented.

ADCP에서의 스펙트럼 모멘트 추정에 관한 연구

ADCP(Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) 에서의 거리 별 유속이나 유체의 교란 정도 등에 관한 정보는 수신 도플러 스펙트럼의 첫 번째 및 두 번째 스펙트럼 모멘트를 추정함으로서 얻을 수 있다. 그러나 펄스페어(Pulse-pair) 방법으로 불리는 상관함수 추정에 의한 모멘트 추정 기법은 일반적으로 가장 많이 사용되고 있으나 수신 신호의 특성이 대칭형 도플러 스펙트럼이며 하나의 첨두치를 갖는 것을 전제 조건으로 한다. 유체의 교란정도가 심하게 나타나는 상황에서는 이러한 조건이 충족되지 않을 수 있기 때문에 심각한 문제가 발생할 수 있다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 이러한 문제점을 분석하기 위하여 여러 가지 형태를 가지는 다양한 도플러 스펙트럼 수신 신호들을 모의 구현하였으며 이러한 신호들을 이용하여 펄스페어 추정 방법에 의하여 얻어진 결과 값들을 FFT(Fast Fourier Transform) 추정 방법에 의한 결과 값들과 비교하고 그 차이점을 분석하였다. 수신 신호가 도플러 주파수 영역에서 심하게 편이 되거나 다중 첨두치를 가지는 경우에는 펄스 페어 방법에 의한 추정치들은 무의미한 값들로 나타날 수 있음을 알 수 있다. The current velocity and turbulence information in each range cell can be obtained from the first and second Doppler spectrum moment estimates. However, the very widely used correlation method often called as the pulse-pair method has the inherent restrictions under the highly turbulent conditions since it does not satisfy the assumptions that the return Doppler spectrum should be symmetric and have a single peak value. Therefore, in this paper, the quality of pulse-pair estimates were compared with that of FFT estimates for problem analysis using various shapes of simulated Doppler spectra. It can be known that the pulse-pair method often yields meaningless results if the received signals are severely biased or multi-peak Doppler spectra in the Doppler frequency domain.

적응배열 안테나를 이용한 기상 레이다에서의 클러터 제거

기상 레이다에서 급변하는 기상 상황에 관한 신뢰성 있는 정보를 추출하기 위해서는 해당 영역에서 높은 해상도를 갖는 풍속 측정이 필요하다. 그러나 정확한 펄스 페어 추정치를 얻기 위해서는 상대적으로 강력한 고정 및 이동 클러터들을 매우 효과적으로 제거하여야만 한다. 이러한 클러터 제거상의 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 간단한 위상배열 안테나를 적용할 수 있다. 모의 구현한 클러터 및 기상신호들을 이용하여 적응배열 안테나를 이용한 기상 레이다에서의 클러터 제거 능력을 분석하였다. 또한 적응배열 기상 레이다에서 얻은 펄스 페어 추정치와 원래의 추정치 값을 비교 분석하였다. High resolution windspeed profile measurements are needed in a weather radar to provide the reliable information of rapidly changing weather conditions. However, it is necessary to remove both stationary and moving clutter to obtain the accurate pulse pair estimates. To overcome these problems, a simple adaptive array antenna may be applied to clutter removal. Using the simulated weather and clutter data, the clutter cancellation capability is analyzed for a weather radar with an adaptive antenna. The pulse pair estimates obtained from the adaptive weather radar are compared with those of the raw data.

Doppler moment estimation in a weather radar

In a Doppler weather radar, high-resolution windspeed profile measurements are needed to provide reliable detection of hazardous weather conditions. For this purpose, the pulse pair method is generally considered to be the most efficient estimator. However, this estimator has some bias errors due to asymmetric spectra and may yield meaningless results in the case of a multimodal return spectrum. In this paper, the bias errors of pulse pair estimates are analysed on the basis of the skewed spectrum modeland the poly-pulse pair method is suggested to reduce these bias errors of skewed weather spectra. For the case of a multimodal or seriously skewed spectrum, the modes of the spectrum may provide more reliable information than the statistical mean. Therefore, the idea of a relatively simple mode estimator is also developed.