Radar System Engineering

UNIT – 3
TRACKING RADAR

Explain tracking principles:

A tracking-radar system
(1) Measures the coordinates of a target and
(2) Provides data which may be used to determine the target path and to predict its
future position.
All or only part of the available radar data-range, elevation angle, azimuth angle,
and Doppler frequency shift may be used in predicting future position; that is, radar might
track in range, in angle, in doppler, or with any combination. Almost any radar can be
considered tracking radar provided its output information is processed properly. But, in
general, it is the method by which angle tracking is accomplished that distinguishes what is
normal normally considered tracking radar from any other radar. It is also necessary to
distinguish between continuous tracking radar and a track-while-scan (TWS) radar.
The continuous tracking radar supplies continuous tracking data on a particular
target, while the track-while-scan supplies sampled data on one or more targets. In general,
the continuous tracking radar and the TWS radar employ different types of equipment.
The antenna beam in the continuous tracking radar is positioned in angle by a
servomechanism actuated by an error signal. The various methods for generating the error
signal may be classified as sequential lobing, conical scan, and simultaneous lobing or
monopulse. The range and Doppler frequency shift can also be continuously tracked, if
desired, by a servocontrol loop actuated by an error signal generated in the radar receiver.

Explain sequential lobing:

The antenna pattern commonly employed with tracking radars is the symmetrical
pencil beam in which the elevation and azimuth beamwidths are approximately equal.
However, a simple pencil-beam antenna is not suitable for tracking radars unless means are
provided for determining the magnitude and direction of the target's angular position with
respect to some reference direction, usually the axis of the antenna. The difference between
the target position and the reference direction is the angular error. The tracking radar

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 attempts to position the antenna to make the angular error zero. When the angular error is
zero, the target is located along the reference direction.
One method of obtaining the direction and the magnitude of the angular error in one
coordinate is by alternately switching the antenna beam between two positions (Fig.). This
is

called lobe switching, sequential switching, or sequential lobing. Fig (a) is a polar
representation of the antenna beam (minus the sidelobes) in the two switched positions. A
plot in rectangular coordinates is shown in Fig (b), and the error signal obtained from a
target not on the switching axis (reference direction) is shown in Fig (c).
The difference in amplitude between the voltages obtained in the two switched
positions is a measure of the angular displacement of the target from the switching axis. The
sign of the difference determines the direction the antenna must be moved in order to align
the switching axis with the direction of the target. When the voltages in the two switched
positions are equal, the target is on axis and, its position may be determined from the axis
direction.

Fig: Lobe-switching antenna patterns and error signal (one dimension). (a) Polar
representation of switched antenna patterns (b) rectangular representation (c) error signal.
Two additional switching positions are needed to obtain the angular error in the
orthogonal coordinate. Thus a two-dimensional sequentially lobing radar might consist of a
cluster of four feed horns illuminating a single antenna, arranged so that the right-left, up-

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 down

sectors are covered by successive antenna positions. Both transmission and reception are
accomplished at each position. A cluster of five feeds might also be employed, with the
central feed used for transmission while the outer four feeds are used for receiving. High-
power RF switches are not needed since only the receiving beams, and not the transmitting
beam, are stepped in this five-feed arrangement.
One of the limitations of a simple unswitched nonscanning pencil-beam antenna is
that the angle accuracy can be no better than the size of the antenna beamwidth. An
important feature of sequential lobing (as well as the other tracking techniques to be
discussed) is that the targetposition accuracy can be far better than that given by the antenna
beamwidth. The accuracy depends on how well equality of the signals in the switched
positions can be determined. The fundamental limitation to accuracy is system noise caused
either by mechanical or electrical fluctuations.
Sequential lobing, or lobe switching, was one of the first tracking-radar techniques
to be employed. Early applications were in airborne-interception radar, where it provided
directional information for homing on a target, and in ground-based antiaircraft fire-control
radars. It is not used as often in modern tracking-radar applications.

Explain conical scanning method:

The logical extension of the sequential lobing technique is to rotate continuously an
offset antenna beam rather than discontinuously step the beam between four discrete
positions. This is known as conical scanning (Fig). The angle between the axis of rotation
(which is usually, but not always, the axis of the antenna reflector) and the axis of the
antenna beam is called the squint angle.
Consider a target at position A. The echo signal will be modulated at a frequency
equal to the rotation frequency of the beam. The amplitude of the echo-signal modulation
will depend upon the shape of the antenna pattern, the squint angle and the angle between
the target line of sight and the rotation axis. The phase of the modulation depends on the
angle between the target and the rotation axis. The conical scan modulation is extracted
from the echo signal and applied to a servo-control system which continually positions the
antenna on the target. When the antenna is on target, as in B of Fig, the line of sight to the
target and the rotation axis coincide, and the conical-scan modulation is zero.

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 Fig: Conical-scan tracking

A block diagram of the angle-tracking portion of typical conical-scan tracking radar is

shown in Fig. The antenna is mounted so that it can be positioned in both azimuth and
elevation by separate motors, which might be either electric- or hydraulic-driven. The
antenna beam is offset by tilting either the feed or the reflector with respect to one another.

Fig: Block diagram of conical-scan tracking radar

One of the simplest conical-scan antennas is a parabola with an offset rear feed
rotated about the axis of the reflector. If the feed maintains the plane of polarization fixed
as it rotates, it is called a nutating feed. A rotating feed causes the polarization to rotate. The
latter type of feed requires a rotary joint. The nutating feed requires a flexible joint. If the
antenna is small, it may
be easier to rotate the dish, which is offset, rather than the feed, thus avoiding the problem
of a rotary or flexible RF joint in the feed.

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 A typical conical-scan rotation speed might be 30 r/s. The same motor that provides
the conical-scan rotation of the antenna beam also drives a two phase reference generator
with two outputs 90° apart in phase. These two outputs serve as a reference to extract the
elevation and azimuth errors. The received echo signal is fed to the receiver from the
antenna via two rotary joints (not shown in the block diagram). One rotary joint permits
motion in azimuth, the other, in elevation.
The receiver is a conventional superheterodyne except for features peculiar to the
conical scan tracking radar. One feature not found in other radar receivers is a means of
extracting the conical-scan modulation, or error signal. This is accomplished after the
second detector in the video portion of the receiver.
The error signal is compared with the elevation and azimuth reference signals in the
angle-error detectors, which are phase-sensitive detectors. A phasesensitive detector is a
nonlinear device in which the input signal (in this case the angle-error signal) is mixed with
the reference signal. The input and reference signals are of the same frequency. The output
d-c voltage reverses polarity as the phase of the input signal changes through 180°.
The magnitude of the d-c output from the angle-error detector is proportional to the
error, and the sign (polarity) is an indication of the direction of the error. The angle-
errordetector outputs are amplified and drive the antenna elevation and azimuth servo
motors.
The angular position of the target may be determined from the elevation and azimuth
o the antenna axis. The position can be read out by means of standard angle transducers
such as synchros, potentiometers, or analog-to-digital-data converters.

Explain the Block diagram of amplitude-comparison

monopulse radar for single angular coordinate and explain
its operation:
The amplitude-comparison monopulse employs two overlapping antenna patterns (Fig (a))
to obtain the angular error in one coordinate. The two overlapping antenna beams may be
generated with a single reflector or with a lens antenna illuminated by two adjacent feeds.
(A cluster of four feeds may be used if both elevation- and azimuth-error signals are
wanted.) The sum of the two antenna patterns of Fig (a) is shown in Fig (b), and the
difference in Fig (c). The sum patterns are used for transmission, while both the sum and
the difference pattern are used on reception.
The signal received with the difference pattern provides the magnitude of the angle
error. The sum signal provides the range measurement and is also used as a reference to

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 extract the sign of the error signal. Signals received from the sum and the difference patterns
are amplified separately and combined in a phase-sensitive detector to produce the error-
signal characteristic shown in Fig (d).
A block diagram of the amplitude-comparison-monopulse tracking radar for a single
angular coordinate is shown in Fig. The two adjacent antenna feeds are connected to the
two arms of a hybrid junction such as a magic T, a rat race, or a short-slot coupler. The sum
and difference signals appear at the two other arms of the hybrid. On reception, the outputs
of the sum arm and the difference arm are each heterodyned to an intermediate frequency
and amplified as in any superheterodyne receiver.

The transmitter is connected to the sum arm. Range information is also extracted
from the sum channel. A duplexer is included in the sum arm for the protection of the
receiver. The output of the phase-sensitive detector is an error signal whose magnitude is
proportional to the angular error and whose sign is proportional to the direction.
The output of the monopulse radar is used to perform automatic tracking. The
angular error signal actuates a servo-control system to position the antenna, and the range
output from the sum channel feeds into an automatic-range-tracking unit.

Fig: Monopulse antenna patterns and error signal

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 Fig: Block diagram of amplitude-comparison monopulse radar
The sign of the difference signal (and the direction of the angular error) is
determined by comparing the phase of the difference signal with the phase of the sum signal.
If the sum signal in the IF portion of the receiver were As cos ωIF t, the difference signal
would be either -Ad cos ( ωIFt) or – Ad cos (ωIFt) (As > 0, Ad >0), depending on which side
of center is the target. Since Adcos (ωIFt) = – Ad cos [ωIF(t + π)], the sign of the difference
signal may be measured by determining whether the difference signal is in phase with the
sum or 1800 out of phase.

Explain Phase-comparison monopulse tracking radar technique:

The measurement of angle of arrival by comparison of the phase relationships in the
signals from the separated antennas of a radio interferometer has been widely used by the
radio astronomers for precise measurements of the positions of radio stars. The
interferometer as used by the radio astronomer is a passive instrument, the source of energy
being radiated by the target itself. Tracking radar which operates with phase information is
similar to an active interferometer and might be called an interfero meter radar. It has also
been called Simultaneous phase comparison radar, or phase-comparison monopulse.

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 In Fig. two antennas are shown separated by a distance d. The distance to the target
is R and is assumed large compared with the antenna separation d. The line of sight to the
target

makes an angle θ to the perpendicular bisector of the line joining the two antennas. The
distance from antenna 1 to the target is
R1 = R+(dsinθ)/2
And the distance from antenna 2 to the target is
R2 = R–(dsinθ)/2
The phase difference between the echo signals in the two antennas is
approximately Δφ = 2πd sinθ/λ
For small angles where sin θ = 0, the phase difference is a linear function of the angular
error and may be used to position the antenna via a servo-control loop.

Fig: Wavefront phase relationships in phase- comparison monopulse radar

In the early versions of the phase-comparison monopulse radar, the angular error
was determined by measuring the phase difference between the outputs of receivers
connected to each antenna.
The output from one of the antennas was used for transmission and for providing
the range information. With such an arrangement it was difficult to obtain the desired
aperture illuminations and to maintain a stable boresight. A more satisfactory method of
operation is to form the sum and difference patterns in the RF and to process the signals as
in conventional amplitude-comparison monopulse radar.

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Explain how tracking in range is achieved using split range
gates:
The technique for automatically tracking in range is based on the split range gate.
Two range gates are generated as shown in Fig. One is the early gate, and the other is the
late gate. The echo pulse is shown in Fig., the relative position of the gates at a particular
instant in Fig., and the error signal in Fig. The portion of the signal energy contained in the
early gate is less than that in the late gate. If the outputs of the two gates are subtracted, an
error signal will result which may be used to reposition the center of the gates. The
magnitude of the error signal is a measure of the difference between the center of the pulse
and the center of the gates. The sign of the error signal determines the direction in which
the gates must be repositioned by a feedback- control system. When the error signal is zero
the range gates are centered on the pulse.
The range gating necessary to perform automatic tracking offers several advantages
as by products. It isolates one target excluding targets at other ranges. This permits the
boxcar generator to be employed. Also range gating improves the signal-to-noise ratio since
it eliminates the noise from the other range intervals. Hence the width of the gate should be
sufficiently narrow to minimize extraneous noise. On the other hand, it must not be so
narrow that an appreciable fraction of the signal energy is excluded. A reasonable
compromise is to make the gate width of the order of the pulse width.

Fig: Split-range-gate tracking (a) Echo pulse; (h) early-late range gates; (c) difference signal
between early and late range gates.

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 A target of finite length can cause noise in range-tracking circuits in an analogous manner
to angle-fluctuation noise (glint) in the angle-tracking circuits. Range-tracking noise
depends or the length of the target and its shape. It has been reported that the rms value of
the range noise is approximately 0.8 of the target length when tracking is accomplished with
a video split-range- gate error detector.

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