Estimation of bistatic radar cross-section from simplified leaf structures

Radiative energy transfer based models have been shown to provide accurate predictions of propagation effects in foliage media. One of the important parameters for such radiative transfer models is the directionality of the scattering that occurs in the medium. This paper describes a method for estimating the directionality of the scattering from deciduous leaves that occurs in such foliage media. The leaves are modeled as thin dielectric disks, and the bistatic radar cross section of the medium are approximated using the generalized Rayleigh Gans approximation. The approximated results are then compared to a numerical solution based on the Method of Moments.