Development of Advanced Model of Radar and Communication Signals Scattering on Wind Turbines

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Abstract

In the recent years, there has been an increase in the popularity of renewable energy sources. One such being the wind energy. With the development in the field of wind energy, the structure of the wind turbines (WT) has also increased. The huge wind turbine structure (WTS) and the wind farms, both offshore and onshore, has a strong impact on the radar signal communication. The wind turbine clutters (WTC), which is a result of strong Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), has affected the existing radar system such as air-traffic control, weather radars, etc. Thus, to mitigate the wind turbine clutters (WTC), there is a need to understand the scattering properties of the wind turbine structure (WTS).The thesis proposes a development of a radar model to study the radar signal scattering on the wind turbine blades (WTB). The proposed model is developed in a simplified approach to studying the time domain simulationof signal scattered on the WTS. The blades of the model are represented as linear wire structures, which are designed using thin wire approximation. It is implemented for arbitrary orientation of the WT with full 3-D polarimetry observation, which can be applied to different azimuth and aspect angle. The signal scattering from theWTB will be developed for mono-static scattering and bi-static scattering case. The scattering matrix was derived for the cases and the results of the different polarizations are analyzed.The models developed until the date has been focused on the high-frequency range (> 1GHz). To bring noveltyto the model, it will be analyzed for very-high (VH) and ultra-high (UH)frequencies (50, 280, and 600 MHz).Another feature of the model proposed includes the capability to simulate the range profile with arbitrary resolution. To implement this, pulse compression and stepped frequency waveform is used to attain high resolution with narrow-bandwidth. The results of the model will be validated using measurements data provided by the Agentschap Telecom, the Netherlands. The model is further extended to study the contribution of the mast in the signal scattering characteristics of theWTS.