AN ANALYSIS OF RADIO FREQUENCY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL. VOLUME I. TEXT

Performance criteria that afford quantitative evaluation of a variety of current and proposed configurations of the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) are described in detail. Two analytic system models are developed to allow application of these performance criteria. A simple system model, based on the assumption of a flat earth, enables closed-form analytic expressions for some of the performance criteria to be developed for a wide range of desired areas of coverage. An extremely accurate complex system model provides a tool for simulation of operating characteristics that would be observed in the course of actual flight tests. The complex model includes a new solution for the grazing angle of radiation over a spherical earth that is shown to be more accurate than the commonly-used solution of Fishback. Applications and limitations of both models in the evaluation of four new ATCRBS antennas and of the proposed receiver side-lobe suppression feature are discussed. Both numerical results and a computer-generated representation of an air traffic controller's display are presented. (Author)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Doctoral thesis. See also Volume 2, AD-A023 504.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142
• Authors:
  • Kleiman, L A
• Publication Date: 1976-2

Media Info

• Pagination: 225 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air traffic control; Air traffic control radar beacon system; Air traffic controllers; Antennas; Data displays; Flight tests; Least squares method; Mathematical models; Radar air traffic control; Radiation patterns; Radio frequency; Simulation; Surveillance; Theses; Traffic simulation; Traffic surveillance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Antenna radiation patterns; Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Propagation; Suppression
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Operations and Traffic Management; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00133138
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: FAA-RD-76-20-Vol-1 Final Rpt., TSC-FAA-75-10-Vol-1
• Files: NTIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 23 1976 12:00AM