A flexible system simulator for antenna performance evaluation of radar level measurements

In this contribution, a flexible radar system simulator is introduced emulating a widely used radar test range to efficiently evaluate the effects of antenna design in terms of monostatic radar operation for tank level measurements. Typically, prototypes of novel antenna designs are tested in a scenario consisting of distinct reflectors, like e.g. trihedral corner reflectors. In order to accelerate and to cheapen the antenna design and verification process, the number of required hardware prototype setups needs to be reduced. Hence, a MATLAB-implemented hybrid simulator is set up including arbitrary 3D antenna pattern and full-wave reflector models, ray-based wave propagation as well as FMCW signal processing algorithms, thus providing the overall relationship between the characteristic antenna properties and the obtainable level distance accuracy. The simulated results are verified by measurements in a frequency range from 8.5 to 10.5 GHz.