| Along with the rapid development and huge applications of both the computer and microelectronics technologies, the artificial intelligence techniques have been improved too.In addition, the newly developed shipborne radars have become more and more advanced and complicated recently, and therefore are having more and more test items which are more demanding in test speed, accuracy, and practicability. It has been quite hard for conventional test means to satisfy the current requirements;and rapid, convenient, practicable, and efficient ways of making performance tests, and fault detection, diagnosis, and elimination for shipborne radars have been highly valued. At the same time, substituting manual performance tests with automatic ones have become a trend in the field of modern tests.The Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) for shipborne radars is universal, open, network-based, and standardized, and therefore more widely applicable, all-purpose, and more powerful in fault test and diagnosis. With full considerations in cost saving in tests and making the best of test resources, the ATE carries out the tests of technical performances and the fault diagnosis and reasoning of whole radar equipment. This paper presents the automatic test means for radar performances, the design of the ATE test platform, and the fault diagnosis and reasoning. The following contents are included:1)The test methods for major technical performances of shipborne radars. Related technical performances of each subunit, such as the antenna and feeder, the transmitter, the receiver, the signal processor, the servo, as well as the terminal, are given; and the test methods for the performances are presented in this regard.2) The general ideas of making the design of the ATE system architecture. According to the characteristics of the distributed layout of shipborne radar units, and in order to realize favorable versatility, serialization, modularization, and expandability, analysis is made on the selection of system bus, the logic functions, and the operation flow of the ATE system. In addition, emphasis is placed on the system functions of the ATE.3)The design and implementation of the LXI (LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation)-based ATE. A systematical demonstration is made on the design and implementation of both the hardware and software of the ATE.Emphasis is placed on the design of and the expert system and the TPS.4) The analysis and implementation of the key technologies. Analysis is made on the key technologies of the ATE system; and a presentation is made on the interfacing test between the ATE prototype and the radar equipment.Through the design of the universal ATE system and the research on the fault diagnosis, the related theories and methods are presented in this regard; and the verification of the ATE system helps to accumulate the experience of further modifications. |
