Airborne Mimo Radar Clutter Modeling

As a new type of radar system, MIMO radar is the further development of traditional phased-array radar, and the research on MIMO radar is becoming a hot issue both at home and abroad. Based on the application of MIMO technology to airborne radar, performance of radar target identification, target detection, and capability of anti-interception are significantly improved. Like traditional array radar, airborne MIMO radar will encounter strong clutters when operating in a looking-down mode, which affects the target estimation and analysis seriously. Consequently, ground clutter simulation for airborne MIMO radar is becoming the most basic and important research topic, serving as the interest of researchers all over the world.In view of the relationship between MIMO radar and phased-array radar, this paper applies the clutter simulation principle of the phased-array radar to airborne MIMO radar. an algorithm which is used to simulate airborne MIMO radar clutter is proposed. The main contents are as follows:(1) The signal model and signal processing flow of MIMO radar system are analyzed at first. At the same time, the advantages of the MIMO radar compared to traditional phased-array radar are also derived.(2) The simulation of airborne MIMO radar clutter is studied. Further more, the principle and factors of modeling are discussed in detail. In the process of modeling, a method utilizing ground scattering units is employed. In order to enhance the authenticity of clutter simulation, fluctuating of clutter ehcoes is consided. At the same time, the directional diagram and gain model of airborne MIMO radar in the case of sub-array are analyzed in details, and the use of transmitting and receiving direction map are explained.(3) The characteristics of airborne MIMO radar clutter are investigated. In this paper, clutter trajectory for airborne MIMO radar is deduced at first, then the characteristic of signal-to-noise-ratio for airborne MIMO radar and phased array radar is analyzed. In addition, the effect of range-angle coupling is also provided. This paper simulates clutter with a variety of configuration parameters and analyzes the causes by using a simulation platform. The characteristics of theoretical model for airborne MIMO radar clutter are valuated by simulation. In view of the actual working environment, the effects of array error and channel mismatch are also considered by establishing the model and simulating.(4) Considering that too many parameters need to be dealt with, it is not convenient to view and modify them in airborne MIMO radar clutter simulation platform, the airborne MIMO radar GUI input and output display interface are designed, and the interface is packaged into EXE files.