Wind turbines located near a radar installation can significantly interfere with the ability of the radar to operate properly. Remcom has used our tools and expertise in radar scattering to perform a number of government-funded and internal research efforts into the impact that wind turbines and wind farms have on radar returns for Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar, early warning radar, weather radar, and instrumentation radar. Highlights of some of these effects and relevant samples and white papers are provided in this brief overview.
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Application Examples
Lightning Strike on Wind Turbine
In this example, the impacts of a lightning strike on a simplified wind turbine are compared for different strike locations by comparing the magnetic fields created inside the nacelle.
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Publications
Modeling the Effects of Wind Turbines on Radar Returns
Wind turbines located near radar installations can significantly interfere with a radar’s ability to detect its intended targets. Remcom’s XGtd software is a high frequency solver capable of calculating the radar cross section of electrically large objects. In this paper, interference from wind turbines is predicted using XGtd simulations.
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Publications
High Fidelity RCS Simulation of a Turbine Blade
Radar scattering from a turbine’s moving blades can interfere with Doppler radar systems, producing ghost images. Understanding the scattering properties of a blade helps to mitigate any potential issues. This study compares the radar cross section of a metal turbine blade, a hollow fiberglass turbine blade, and a hollow fiberglass turbine blade with a metal spar using XFdtd.a
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