Rotor-blade modulation on antenna amplitude pattern and polarization: predictions and measurements

Author

Birtcher, Craig R. ; Balanis, Constantine A. ; DeCarlo, Dennis

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ, USA

Volume

41

Issue

4

fYear

1999

fDate

11/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

384

Lastpage

393

Abstract

The rotation of lift- and thrust-generating airfoils causes a periodic variation in aircraft communication signals. This effect is called rotor-blade modulation (RBM). The RBM on the radiation characteristics of helicopter-mounted antennas are predicted using the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and are compared with scale model measurements and full-scale in-flight measurements. In addition, the effects of electric field polarization on RBM are studied using the FDTD

Keywords

aircraft antennas; aircraft communication; antenna radiation patterns; electromagnetic wave polarisation; finite difference time-domain analysis; geometrical theory of diffraction; helicopters; modulation; radiowave propagation; FDTD method; RBM; UTD; aircraft communication signals; antenna amplitude pattern; electric field polarization; finite-difference time-domain method; helicopter-mounted antennas; lift-generating airfoils; polarization; rotor-blade modulation; thrust-generating airfoils; uniform theory of diffraction; Aircraft; Amplitude modulation; Antenna measurements; Antenna theory; Automotive components; Finite difference methods; Physical theory of diffraction; Polarization; Predictive models; Time domain analysis;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electromagnetic Compatibility, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9375

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/15.809828

Filename

809828