Predictive Assessment for Phased Array Antenna Scheduling
Abstract
In contrast to traditional parabolic dish antennas which must be mechanically steered to point at satellites, phased array antennas operate by electronically activating subarrays in configurations that can be maneuvered across the surface of the antenna without any physical movement. This leads to many benefits including an increase in capacity from the fact that multiple active areas can be enabled simultaneously on the same phased array. Under this concept, a single antenna can support multiple simultaneous contacts, although there are still constraints specific to any implementation. The phased array is made up of subarrays with Transmit and Receive modules, which present their own specific limitations. In one implementation, an individual Transmit / Receive module can simultaneously support two Receive beams from two distinct satellites, but only one Transmit beam. As the active areas for separate beams move across the surface of the antenna, the conditions where they overlap may overload specific modules in the overlapping area. Thus when constructing automated logic for allocating supports to antennas, a predictive compatibility assessment mechanism is required to determine if a trial allocation will lead to conditions that violate the constraints of the antenna hardware. When two or more supports will be active on the same phased array, a predictive assessment must consider their active areas and their paths across the surface over time to identify conflicts and then determine if such conflicts can be remedied. A phased array antenna allows active areas to be shifted away from their optimal positions, as long as they are also increased in size to compensate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA569722
Entities
People
- Bart Presnell
- David Breeden
- Gary Scalzi
- Kyle Mahan
- Randy Jensen
- Richard Stottler
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory