RF Sensor Performance in Electrically Large, Complex Environments

Modern aircraft include numerous RF systems and associated antennas of diverse types. The designed performance of antennas is typically degraded by their installation on the airframe. Also, the presence of many RF systems in a small region creates enormous opportunity for undesired interference via antenna-to-antenna coupling. These conditions present serious challenges for engineers tasked with integrating antennas onto platforms. To address the above problem, we proposed for Phase II to develop Savant, a simulation tool that implements ray tracing on electrically large, high-fidelity airframe CAD models to predict installed antenna patterns, antenna-to-antenna coupling, and spatial field distributions. A GUI emphasizing 3-D visualization of problem set-up and results was also proposed. We have been successful in meeting these objectives. For Phase II.5, we propose to make substantial improvements to Savant. The simulation engine will be upgraded to improve accuracy in the platform shadow region. Algorithmic improvements will accelerate run-time without sacrificing accuracy. Savant’s CAD pre-processor will be upgraded to enhance ease-of-use. Post-processing capabilities will be added for time-domain analysis, feed network modeling, and dynamic scenarios. The end result will be a new tool that significantly advances Savant’s development maturity and commercial competitiveness.