Scattering analysis of high performance large sandwich radomes

Large radomes are assembled from many panels connected together forming joints or seams. When the panels are type A sandwiches that are optimized for minimum transmission loss over moderately narrow bandwidths, the seams and joints introduce scattering effects that can degrade the overall electromagnetic performance. Tuning the dielectric seams with conductive wires and optimizing their geometry is, therefore, crucial to enhancing the electromagnetic performance of the radome. The authors address the problem of systematically tuning the dielectric seams and present both numerical and experimental results to illustrate the tuning procedure. Included are results showing the effect of the tuning of the radome on the radiation of an enclosed aperture of circular or elliptic shape