► Promo video of ELVA-1 FOD radar
See Report on field trial experiment of FOD Radar (March 2020)
See more: ELVA-1 FOD radar presentation (Please send us a request).
The history of aviation knows many cases in which debris objects on the runway caused sufficient damage to the aircraft during take-off or landing. Due to the relatively small size of FOD debris, a high-resolution radar is required to find and locate such objects.
ELVA-1 FOD radar operates at 76 GHz (3.9 mm wavelength) in frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) mode. FMCW radar determines the distance to the target (FOD object) by detecting the frequency difference between the received and emitted radar signals.
The advantage of ELVA-1 FMCW radar is very low transpired power which doesn’t harm airport personnel or people inside aircraft when getting into the beam. Other pros of ELVA-1 radar are market-winning range distance, motorized radar positioner with 180-degree search area, and relatively small size of the radar.
FOD Radar Features
ELVA-1 FOD 76 GHz radar is intended for 24/7/365 all-weather search for debris at airport runway with the following features:
- Cyclical detection of the location of foreign objects in the zone of operation by ½ of runway width along its length,
- Ability to detect debris which is equivalent to FOD reference sample as metal cylinder sized 3.1 cm length and 3.8 cm in diameter, at 1000 m distance.
ELVA-1 FOD radar is a long-range device with a 1000 m radius of operation. On the market, this range is one of the longest, allowing to use of 1 to 3 FOD radars for the runway.
1x FOD radar for runway at regional airports with a runway of at least 1,829 m in length is usually adequate for aircraft weights below approximately 90 tons as Airbus 319, Airbus 320-100 or Boeing 737-800.
2x or 3x FOD radars for runway at any international airport. The world’s most busy airports like Frankfurt or Singapore have runways of 4000 m in length to land Boeing 747 or Airbus 380. Thus, 2x FOD radars will be required for each runway.
The world’s longest runways are the ones at Qamdo Bamda Airport in China (5,500 m) and Zhukovsky Airport, Moscow (5,400 m). In such cases, 3x FOD radars will be required, similarly.
FOD Radar Schematics
FOD radar provides raw binary data, so it has to be connected via an Ethernet network to an airport control/monitoring system for data processing and visualization. The structure of each FOD radar (also named as mm-sensor) consists of FMCW radar and Positioner (rotation device).
Interface Converter consists of Ethernet switch and connects:
- Ethernet channel to FMCW radar by UDP protocol,
- RS-485 to control unit of Positioner device.
FOD Radar Delivery Kit includes
- 2x 76 GHz FMCW radar modules (Tx и Rx) in IP-67 cases with sealed cable for DC power and Ethernet
- 2x antennas with radomes
- 1x Positioner (rotation device) with electric motors and control electronics
- Detailed description of radar raw data specification, intended for external computerized control system.
- Radar Operation Manual in PDF.
Additional software for radar output data conversion can be developed by the ELVA-1 team according to customer requirements.
Specifications
|
Radar Transceiver | |
|
Detection Range in radius |
50 to 1000 m (up to 1200 m) |
|
Distance Sensor resolution |
0.3 m |
|
Min target RCS |
-14.4 dBsm 1) |
|
Operating frequency |
76.5 GHz |
|
Operation mode |
FMCW |
|
1) RCS of a vertically standing cylinder with a height of 3.1 cm and a diameter of 3.8 cm | |
|
Radar Positioner | |
|
Max. pan rotation |
200 degrees |
|
Max. tilt rotation |
±5 degrees |
|
Angle resolution Azimuth / Elevation |
0.1 / 0.1 degrees |
|
Backlash |
± 0.1 degrees |
|
Speed ranges, max |
Pan: 24 deg/s, Tilt: 12 deg/s |
|
Allowable antenna wind load |
150 km/h or 0.3 kN |
|
Software provides complete scan of runway |
2 times 160 deg azimuth scan with 0.4 deg elevation shift within 3 min |
|
Radar Interface | |
|
Interface |
100Base-Tx |
|
Protocol |
UDP |
|
Transfer data |
Position of radar + FFT, 4096 points@16 bits |
|
Communication connector |
RJ-45 |
|
Power supply and environmental conditions | |
|
Case protection |
IP67 |
|
Power supply voltage |
54 V DC, optionally 110/220V AC |
|
Power consumption |
500 W max |
|
Ambient temperature |
-30 to +50 °C |
|
Atmospheric pressure |
84.0 to 106.7 kPa (630 to 800 Torr) |
|
Relative humidity at 35°С and lower, no more than |
95 % |
Scan Diagram for FOD Radar
Radar scans runway within 180-degree from its point automatically adjusting beam elevation angle to keep it over runway surface. Radar realizes loop-like scan by ½ of runway width along its length.
