Aerodynamic, structural and electromagnetic interaction applied to conformal antennas

Abstract

Conformal phased array antennas on fighter aircraft are subject to unsteady aerodynamic loads. Mechanical forces and these aerodynamic loads will cause vibrations of the antenna aperture. As a consequence, the positions and slopes of the elements of the phased array antenna change, which in turn will change the antenna’s radiation pattern: the main beam direction can change and the beam width and/or side lobe level can increase. This paper presents a methodology to compute vibrations of the aperture of the conformal antenna in relation to atmospheric gust and unsteady aerodynamic loads. Computational electromagnetic modelling will assess the subsequent distortion of the antenna radiation pattern.