A multistatic radar concept for increased robustness in level measurements

Monostatic radar systems are the state-of-the-art solution for precise and robust level measurements in industrial tank environments. Dielectric antennas enable highly directive measurements and allow the application in harsh environments [1]. However, the physical aperture size of the antenna is restricted by the standardized nozzle and flange diameters of the tank. This limits the beam sharpness of the antenna which is necessary to prevent unwanted backscattering from objects surrounding the medium surface such as stirrers, pipes or the tank wall. These parasitic reflectors lead to disturbances of the radar output signal and even jeopardize the unambiguity of the measurement task. To overcome these drawbacks, this contribution evaluates a multistatic antenna approach offering the capability of beamforming to exploit the information of the scatterer positions in order to separate the level reflection from parasitic reflections. This leads to an increase of the robustness of the measurement.