Millimeter-wave spotlight circular synthetic aperture radar (scsar) imaging for Foreign Object Debris on airport runway

Abstract

Foreign Object Debris (FOD) on airport runway is one of the greatest threats to aviation safety. The major characteristics of FOD are diversity and smallness. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has a natural advantage in high resolution imaging, and is, therefore, very suitable for small and weak targets imaging on airport runway. Firstly, a new millimeter-wave FOD imaging system called Spotlight Circular Synthetic Aperture Radar (SC-SAR) is introduced in this paper. The SC-SAR system not only can solve the practical limitations for ground-based applications but also fully exploit the advantage of existing ground-based SAR systems for FOD imaging. Secondly, based on the geometry and imaging principle of SC-SAR, the adjusted version of the Range-Doppler imaging formula was presented. Finally, the simulation results validate feasibility of SC-SAR imaging system and algorithm.