Title :
Optimized RF test range for educational purposes
Author :
Eskelinen, Pekka ; Tiusanen, Matti
Author_Institution :
Kotka Inst. of Technol., Finland
fDate :
7/1/1995 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Both the design and construction of a composite scale airframe and the equipment for an anechoic test range plus the in-house production of absorptive wall covering-all for engineering education-are briefly described. It is shown, that low cost home-made absorbing material with an attenuation of 30 dB or more can be designed. Waveguide and ground plane antennas for test purposes can be constructed from surplus materials. In this case the design and measurements of a 3 GHz antenna pair are shown. Finally, as a test object, a cheap yet effective scale model of a modern fighter aircraft is used for measurements of radar cross section and antenna installations. As a demonstration of the total system capabilities, the measurement of installed F-18 antennas is shown
Keywords :
aerospace test facilities; aircraft communication; anechoic chambers; antenna radiation patterns; antenna testing; electrical engineering education; military aircraft; mobile antennas; radar cross-sections; waveguide antennas; 3 GHz; 3 GHz antenna pair; F-18 antenna measurement; RF test range; absorptive wall covering; anechoic test range; antenna installations; composite scale airframe; engineering education; fighter aircraft scale model; ground plane antennas; polyurethane block shape; radar cross section; radiation pattern; waveguide antennas; Aerospace materials; Aircraft; Antenna measurements; Attenuation; Costs; Design engineering; Materials testing; Planar waveguides; Production; Radio frequency;
Journal_Title :
Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, IEEE
