This paper presents a unique instrument for characterizing the impact of wet radomes in radar systems. The proposed technique enables full radio frequency (RF) characterization of the radome, by evaluating its performance under a variety of conditions, including dirtiness, wetness, ice formation, and varying temperature, and providing a potential solution for future wet radome calibration methods. The reflections generated from the wet radome surface, measured from a high-resolution probe, are combined with an estimation of water absorption as a function of the precipitation rain rate, to calculate the attenuation introduced by the wet radome. This instrument is a cost-effective solution that can be integrated into an existing or new radar system.
The concept and theory of a novel instrument to characterize the radio frequency performance of a radome under different conditions, including dirtiness, wetness, and varying temperature, was presented and discussed in Part I. The proposed concept estimates the transmittance through the radome using the reflected signal, directly measured, and an algorithm to evaluate the water absorption on the radome surface. In this second part of the paper, the proposed concept was employed to characterize the radome of an operative X-band weather radar in both dry and wet conditions.
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