Supressing Radar Clutter

About

Description A system to mitigate the wind turbine interference in radar observations using just a few key parameters describing the wind turbine’s state. Applicable to any kind of wind turbine or other cyclostationary process. ​At a Glance Simple method for determining and suppressing radar clutter from wind turbines. Utilizes turbine state information and look-up tables or basic models to estimate turbine radar signature. State information provided by turbine’s own telemetry and/or via remote sensing. Suitable for single or multiple turbines, stationary or mobile radars. Applicable to any type of radar, including weather, air-surveillance, and synthetic aperture radar. ​Detailed Description The installed wind power in the U.S. and abroad has experienced tremendous growth in recent years and wind farms are becoming an increasingly common sight. Unfortunately, wind turbines are dynamic radar scatterers that interfere with all bands of radio waves, whether for weather, air-surveillance, or synthetic aperture radar. Because it is time-varying and often very complex (particularly for larger wind farms), the wind turbine’s radar signature is difficult to suppress. This is challenging for many applications, as the signature has characteristics similar to weather and aircraft. This innovation presents a simple method for reliably mitigating the wind turbine signature in radar observations. Whereas previous approaches have considered the wind turbine as a non-cooperative target, this innovation utilizes state information provided by the turbine itself to predict the radar signature. With just a few key parameters from the turbine that are precisely time-synchronized with the radar system, look-up tables or simple models can be used to determine, isolate and remove the turbine radar signature from the radar observation. Excitingly, this approach is also applicable to approaches using remote sensing of the turbine state, with or without state information provided by the wind turbine itself. By removing or suppressing the echo contributed by the wind turbine, the desired targets can be more effectively detected and relevant target parameters can be more accurately estimated. The innovation can be implemented in an operational environment with minimal processing delay and is effective for a single turbine or a multitude of turbines within the radar’s domain. This innovation is very general and may be applied to any type of wind turbine, including three-blade, two-blade, and vertical axis wind turbines. The radar may be stationary or in motion (e.g., airplane or drone mounted radars, land-based vehicles or any other mobile unit). Although designed with wind turbines in mind, this innovation may be applied to any other cyclostationary process that introduces unwanted radar clutter. Contact us for more information regarding licensing opportunities for this innovation.