Title: Aerodynamic drag characteristics and shape design of a radar antenna used for airport ground traffic control

Authors: Baris Gumusel, Cengiz Camci

Addresses: Turbomachinery Aero-Heat Transfer Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, 51A Hammond Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. ' Turbomachinery Aero-Heat Transfer Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, 223 Hammond Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Abstract: Modern air traffic control systems in airports use high-speed ground tracking radars usually rotating at 60 rpm. The flow induced vibration and noise generation of the newly developed radar antennas are the two serious problems that jeopardise the successful deployment of the ground aircraft tracking systems. The present study is an attempt to understand the viscous flow characteristics around a typical radar antenna cross section via computations. After a steady-state validation of the computations, a parametric study of possible new shape designs for the antenna is discussed. Significant aerodynamic drag reductions via careful shape design of the antenna are possible.

Keywords: ASDE-X antenna; CFD; computational fluid dynamics; flow visualisations; aerodynamic drag; shape design; radar antenna; airport ground traffic control; air traffic control; ground tracking radars; noise generation; vibration generation; viscous flow.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2010.030420

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2010 Vol.10 No.1, pp.32 - 39

Published online: 15 Dec 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article