On the effects of a changing cylindrical surface on the nulls of a conformal beamforming array

Research results on the characteristics of a conformal beamforming array attached to a cylindrical-shaped surface with a changing radius is presented in this paper. In particular, the manner in which the nulls of two different beamformations change with the radius of the cylindrical surface is investigated. It will be shown, and validated with measurements, that if the radius of the surface is smaller than ≈ 2λ of the source, the nulls past ±50° can change by as much as 10°. This can have a significant impact on a wireless systems, especially if this direction is associated with an unwanted user or noise source.