Application of FDTD to HRRP Generation of a Cavity Model for NCTI Purposes

The application of a time-domain electromagnetic simulation code to a realistic and challenging problem like the high-resolution range profile (HRRP) generation of an inlet cavity model is presented in this paper. HRRPs can be used to accomplish noncooperative target identification (NCTI) of aircrafts by means of radar, and the database needed in this technique tends to be populated with predicted data obtained with software tools. Most codes employed with these purposes are frequency domain methods, which need multiple simulations at different adequately chosen frequencies, as well as some postprocessing, to get a radar signature. Instead, this paper focuses on finite difference time domain (FDTD) analysis of the response of a cavity, because of the relevance of these parts of an aircraft in the overall signature, and numerical results are compared with measurements performed by the authors in an anechoic chamber. This work also shows the advantages of using an electromagnetic code based on time domain for HRRP generation.