Project Objectives

The project is an implementation of multi-function phased array radar to airborne hazard monitoring radar applications. The current plan is aiming at two major objectives:

• Capabilities: The multi-functional, intelligent and integrated radar platformfor aviation hazard monitoring.

• Knowledge: The better understanding of aviation hazard time-spatial statistics as well as microphysics parameters associated with polarization signatures.

Technology scope and salient milestones

• To extend the capabilities of the airborne weather radar simulators with better atmosphere modeling and specific mixed-hazadous scenarios.

• Based on a knowledge-base, spatial-temporal adaptive radar processing algorithm implementationsto generate a real-time hazard map for simulated or emulated scenarios. Proof-of-concept demos to show potential better situation-awareness, accuracies and hazard discrimination than existing airborne weather radars.

• A reconfigurable radar hardware test platform with multi-channels and multi-polarizations, capable of real-time collecting and processing for both emulated in-door and specific ground-based test environments.

The project team

The airborne sensing development is led by Dr Rockee Yan Zhang in the University of Oklahoma. The Information about ARRC project working team can be found on ARRC members website.

Industrial Partner: Intelligent Automation, Inc. MD is the subcontract of this project. The subcontract tasks include (1) Research on dual-polarizarion, dual-frequency patched antenna array (2) Time-frequency analysis of airborne array signals. The related work also received important support from Lockheed Martin Corp., NJ.

Current Progress

• 1st AvSafe 2007 conference is held on Oct 10-12, 2007 at St Louies, MO. Dr Rockee Zhang and two other ARRC members attended and met with NASA at the conference.
• (01/11/07) An IEEE IMTC conference paper is prepared about hazard scattering characterization.
• (02/11/07) The single-cell simulator has been updated with microphysics simulation capability.
• (20/11/07) The weblink for 13th conference on Aviation, Range and Aerospace Meteorology.
• (27/11/07) Improved simulation for aircraft flying close to storm by Dr Keith Brewster: Reflectivity animation and Radial velocity animation.
• (28/1/2008) Abstract submitted to 2008 SPIE Conference.
• (14/2/2008) Improved ZR and Radial velocity simulating an aircraft flying behind a sequence of storms that develop tornado hook features at 1-km resolution, Altitude is 1000 m MSL, terrain is about 300 m MSL.Contributed by Dr Keith Brewster
• (10/3/2008) Animation of F-factor evolution in 7km-7km airspace for a 99 sec flight-path. Contribued by Dr. Yasuko Umemoto.
• (6/62008) The first polarimetric (ZDR) radar parameter evolution map for simulated airborne radar, developed by Dr Keith and Dr Guifu Zhang
• (7/23/2008) Microphysical characterization of the rain/hail/snow/mixtures are being applied to ARPS simulations
• (10/23/2008) Weather hazard simulations are summarized in both ARRC seminar and the reports. Improved Dual-pol moment simulations with airborne radar are demonstrated.
• (10/26/2008) Using CAD tools in designing dual-pol subarray and the fabrication has gain significant progress.
• (11/07/2008) Final briefing of 07 NRA project is held in Hampton, VA.
• (21/05/2009) Radar simulation is extended to downward looking of convective storms and a new version of dual-pol array architecture is being developed.