Millimeter wave FMCW radar for Foreign object debris (FOD) detection at airport runways

Presence of Foreign object debris (FOD) at airport runways is an immense threat to flight safety operation. Such unwanted objects may cause potential damage to the aircraft during critical phases like take off and landing. Due to the miniaturized nature of FOD parts, a very high resolution sensor is required to resolve and locate such objects with higher extent of accuracy such as less than 1 meter. The reported FOD systems operate at W-band. This paper discusses the design considerations for millimeter wave FOD radar system operating at Ka-band and presents a simulation platform comprising of FOD radar model and test setup for design evaluation. The radar model is developed using the specifications of the selected commercially off-the-shelf (COTS) components and is evaluated under different scenarios in ADS®. The design addresses inherent issues associated with FMCW architecture such as mutual coupling between transmit and receive antennae and self mixing due to substrate coupling. For improved azimuth accuracy, two channels receiver for amplitude comparison monopulse is incorporated. Transmit power is 10 dBm and receiver's minimum detectable strength is -122 dBm. The simulation results indicate radar's ability to detect very small objects - 20 dBsm radar cross section (RCS) up to 300 meter range.