Antenna Impact on the Gauging Accuracy of Industrial Radar Level Measurements

This paper deals with a systematic evaluation of the antenna impact on the gauging accuracy of industrial radar level measurements for process automation. By this means, a framework is provided by which the antenna parameters of major influence on the gauging accuracy can be identified. Guidelines are given to what extent an improvement of these parameters results in a measurable accuracy increase. Firstly, the radar system theory for monostatic level gauging and the emulation of such radar systems by software and hardware are briefly reviewed. Secondly, an analytical model of traveling-wave endfire antennas is introduced, allowing to separately study the influence of individual antenna parameters on the distance measurement accuracy. Thus, a direct relationship between characteristic antenna properties, such as the level of the pattern attenuation in the direction of a parasitic scatterer, and the gauging performance is obtained. The investigations are conducted for one specific pulse-based barycentric signal-processing scheme, which is predestined for industrial level gauging due to its low complexity and reliability. Finally, the results are verified by measurements within a compact radar test range.