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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Daniel S. Weile, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Cette thèse se focalise sur le concept du radar MIMO co-localisé. L'acronyme MIMO -- pour Multiple-Input Multiple-Output -- indique l'utilisation de plusieurs émetteurs et de plusieurs récepteurs, tandis que le terme co-localisé signifie que ces éléments sont étroitement espacés. Chaque émetteur envoie une forme d'onde qui lui est propre : un radar MIMO émet donc simultanément un ensemble de signaux.Cette thèse a ainsi pour but d'établir une méthodologie permettant de générer cet ensemble de signaux, tout en respectant certaines contraintes opérationnelles. Cela nous permettra de déterminer les apports éventuels de ce radar. Nous nous sommes intéressés en particulier aux codes de phase, pour des raisons de couplage (qu'on peut traduire ici par la capacité, lors du traitement, à distinguer la position angulaire d'une cible de sa distance).La méthodologie proposée se synthétise simplement en une modélisation sous la forme d'un problème d'optimisation. Contrairement à la littérature et à des précédents résultats théoriques, nous avons décidé d'évaluer l'orthogonalité des signaux émis par le radar en différentes directions, et non l'orthogonalité des signaux élémentaires. Ce problème, plus réaliste, est malheureusement non-convexe et à grande échelle : un benchmark sur différentes méthodes d'optimisation nous a permis de constater l'efficacité des algorithmes basées sur le gradient.Optimiser cette orthogonalité sous-entend l'utilisation de filtres adaptés. Cependant, en pratique, le traitement radar s'effectue à l'aide de filtres désadaptés. Nous suggérons ainsi un problème d'optimisation jointe, permettant de générer de manière simultanée un ensemble de formes d'onde (pour le radar MIMO, entre autres) et les filtres désadaptés associés. Des simulations ont permis de montrer l'efficacité de la méthode. Celle-ci est en particulier préférable aux algorithmes cycliques habituellement utilisés. / This thesis deals with coherent MIMO radars. MIMO stands for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, meaning that several transmitters and several receivers are used, closely-spaced in a coherent MIMO radar. Each transmitter has its own signal, providing waveform diversity. This thesis aims for defining a way to generate a set of sequences, specific for this radar, while satisfying practical constraints. It may help to determine the potential contribution of a MIMO radar. Only phase codes are concerned here, because they suffer less from the range/angle coupling effect.A simple framework is introduced, based on an optimisation problem.While literature often involves the orthogonality of the elementary signals (because of theoretical aspects), it is suggested to consider the orthogonality of signals from different directions of the surveillance space. Unfortunately, the obtained optimisation problem is non-convex and has a lot of variables. A benchmark on a simpler problem notifies us that gradient-based algorithms are surprisingly efficient.An optimisation of the correlation function corresponds to a processing with matched filters. However, in practice, mismatched filters are usually employed. A joint optimisation problem is suggested accordingly, in order to generate simultaneously a set of sequences (e.g. MIMO radar signals) and their associated mismatched filters. Obtained results are quite promising : as expected, a joint optimisation seems to perform better than a cyclic one, usually employed.

ABSTRACT This Thesis investigates ionospheric plasma flows (commonly referred to as “convection”) at high latitudes with the objectives to assess seasonal and solar cycle variations in the shape of the flow patterns and the flow intensity in terms of external drivers of the flow, first of all the magnitude and orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Multi-year (2001-1011) line-of-sight Doppler velocity data collected by the Super Dual Auroral Network (SuperDARN) HF radars are considered. Two approaches are used: 1) analysis of monthly-averaged 2-dimentional patterns inferred from data of all SuperDARN radars operated and 2) analysis of near magnetic noon data from only two SuperDARN radars, Rankin Inlet and Inuvik monitoring meridional component of the flow in the near North Pole areas (polar cap). We show and discuss seasonal and solar cycle variations of three characteristics of the flows: magnetic latitudes of the region where plasma flow direction changes from toward the noon to away from the noon (convection reversal boundary), the magnetic local time location of the near noon region with stagnated flow (throat region) and, finally, the magnitude of the flow. All three parameters show trends, although not strong and consistent all the time, which agrees with previous publications where different analysis approaches and more limited data sets were used. For two specific points, one at the magnetic latitude of 72 degrees, representing the auroral oval latitudes (region where optical arcs occur most frequently) and the other one at 82 degrees, representing the polar cap latitudes we demonstrate that the average flow magnitude increases with the IMF intensity, and the effect is much stronger for the negative vertical component of the IMF Bz. In our second approach we demonstrate that the flow velocity increases almost linearly with an increase of the reconnection electric fields characterizing processes of interaction between the solar wind/IMF and the Earth`s magnetic dipole. Saturation effect is seen for strongest electric field. More clear seasonal effects are noticeable in these data; the velocity response to the reconnection electric field enhancement is stronger summer (winter) time for positive (negative) IMF Bz. The data are consistent with previous reports, where highly smoothed velocity data were considered.

En 1995, la technologie LIDAR fait émergence en télédétection et entraîne avec elle une nouvelle forme de concurrence dans un domaine jusqu'alors dominé par les systèmes RADAR. Contrairement à ces derniers, l'émetteur d'un LIDAR opère à des fréquences au-delà des ondes radios, habituellement dans l'infrarouge, ce qui fait qu'une détection non cohérente doit être employée et que seule l'enveloppe des signaux est récupérée, formant ainsi des signaux réels. Alors que de multiples algorithmes ont été développés au l des années pour faire le traitement des signaux captés par l'antenne-réseau d'un RADAR, aucun n'était reconnu jusqu'à présent comme étant particulièrement performant lorsque utilisé avec des signaux réels. En 2015, dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche visant à améliorer la distance et la précision de la détection des objets à l'aide d'un LIDAR, une adaptation [1] du très populaire algorithme MUSIC développé par Schmidt fut réalisée a n de pouvoir l'utiliser selon le principe du temps de vol plutôt que pour les directions d'arrivée. Cette adaptation ouvrit la voie à l'utilisation d'algorithmes statistiques, à l'origine conçus pour les signaux avec information de phase, pour des signaux réels. Malheureusement, l'application directe de ces algorithmes requiert un temps d'exécution considérable et ce, en particulier lors de la formation, du traitement et de la décomposition propre de la matrice ReXX. Par conséquent, des optimisations doivent être considérées pour être en mesure d'en faire l'implantation dans du matériel à faible coût lorsqu'il est question d'opération en temps réel. Parmi ces optimisations, c'est l'utilisation de méthodes de suivi fondées sur la notion de sous-espace qui fait l'objet de cet ouvrage. Ces algorithmes reposent sur l'idée qu'il est possible d'oublier, de façon graduelle, les données du passé au pro t des nouvelles données sans avoir à passer par la formation de la matrice ReXX à chaque fois. Ainsi, les résultats démontrent qu'une réduction de 25% à 95% du temps d'exécution est possible dans un contexte d'utilisation conjointe, mais moins fréquente, avec une méthode à complexité algorithmique plus élevée. Par ailleurs, les résultats des essais réalisés par [1] ne couvrent que les cibles stationnaires. Par conséquent, ce projet vise à étendre cette étude aux cibles en mouvement. Les résultats obtenus permettent de démontrer l'efficacité des méthodes de suivi du sous-espace pour de tels cas. / In 1995, LIDAR systems emerged as a new alternative to the well-known RADAR systems for remote sensing applications. However, unlike RADAR, the operating frequency of LIDAR systems is above the radio frequencies and usually in the infrared which means that a non-coherent detection has to be used to retrieve the signal's enveloppe. While several signal processing algorithms have been developped for RADAR phased arrays, none of these algorithms are known, to this day, to be e cient when dealing with real, phaseless signals. In 2015, as part of a research project to enhance the detection precision and maximal distance of a LIDAR system, an adaptation [1] of the so-called MUSIC algorithm developped by Schmidt was realised to be used with the time-of- ight principle instead of the direction of arrival principle. Unfortunately, the direct application of the adapted algorithm was time consuming, especially the creation, processing and eigendecomposition stages of the ReXX matrix. As so, optimizations are required to allow its implementation into a low-cost system for real-time purposes. Among those optimizations, the use of subspace tracking methods will be studied in this thesis. Subspace tracking algorithms are based on the idea that instead of having to create ReXX at each data update, one can use the known data while adding the new data with a forgetting factor. The result of these optimizations is that a decrease of 25% to 95% in execution time is observed when subspace tracking is used together with a higher complexity method to initialize its parameters. The study realised by [1] was mostly done for stationary objects. This thesis aims to extend that study to non stationary objects. Results show that using subspace tracking methods is even more efficient in these cases.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’améliorer la détection de cibles lentes et de faible réflectivité dans le cas de radars de sol Doppler pulsés à fréquence de récurrence intermédiaire. Ces radars, hautement ambigus en distance et en vitesse, émettent de façon consécutive des trains d’impulsions de périodes de récurrence différentes, afin de lever les ambiguïtés.L’émission successive de trains d’impulsions de courtes durées conduit à une faible capacité de séparation sur l’axe Doppler. Par conséquent, les objets lents de faible réflectivité, comme les drones, sont difficiles à distinguer du fouillis de sol. A l’issue du traitement Doppler conventionnel qui vise à éliminer les échos de fouillis, les performances de détection de ces cibles sont fortement atténuées. Pour palier à ce problème, nous avons développé une nouvelle chaîne de traitement 2D distance/Doppler pour les radars à fréquence de récurrence intermédiaire. Celle-ci s’appuie, en premier lieu, sur un algorithme itératif permettant d’exploiter la diversité temporelle entre les trains d’impulsions émis, afin de lever les ambiguïtés en distance et en vitesse et de détecter les cibles rapides exo-fouillis. La détection des cibles lentes endo-fouillis est ensuite réalisée à l’aide d’un détecteur adaptatif. Une nouvelle approche, permettant d’associer les signaux issus de rafales de caractéristiques différentes pour l’estimation de la matrice de covariance, est utilisée en vue d’optimiser les performances de détection. Les différents tests effectués sur données simulées et réelles pour évaluer les traitements développés et la nouvelle chaîne de traitement, ont montré l’intérêt de ces derniers. / The aim of this thesis is to enhance the detection of slow-moving targets with low reflectivity in case of ground-based pulse Doppler radars operating in intermediate pulse repetition frequency. These radars are highly ambiguous in range and Doppler. To resolve ambiguities, they transmit successively short pulse trains with different pulse repetition intervals. The transmission of short pulse trains results in a poor Doppler resolution. As consequence, slow-moving targets with low reflectivity, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, are buried into clutter returns. One of the main drawbacks of the classical Doppler processing of intermediate pulse repetition frequency pulse Doppler radars is the low detection performance of small and slowly-moving targets after ground clutter rejection. In order to address this problem, a two-dimensional range / Dopper processing chain including new techniques is proposed in this thesis. First, an iterative algorithm allows to exploit transmitted pulse trains temporal diversity to resolve range and Doppler ambiguities and detect fast, exo-clutter, targets. The detection of slow, endo-clutter, targets is then performed by an adaptive detection scheme. It uses a new covariance matrix estimation approach allowing the association of pulse trains with different characteristics in order to enhance detection performance. The different tests performed on simulated and real data to evaluate the proposed techniques and the new processing chain have shown their effectiveness.

Le radar haute fréquence (HF : 3 MHz à 30 MHz) à mode hybride est une solution prometteuse pour assurer la surveillance permanente, jusqu'à 2000 km, de zones maritimes et terrestres. Ce mode est une combinaison des modes de fonctionnement des radars à onde de ciel et à ondes de surface. Lorsque l'intégration du signal est effectuée sur une cible lente, les instabilités ionosphériques affectent les images Doppler-distance. Pour rendre compte de ce phénomène en simulation, un module logiciel basé sur des modèles probabilistes du fouillis ionosphérique a été développé dans le but de simuler le comportement spatial et temporel de l'ionosphère dans le traitement radar. La version finale de ce module est basée sur le profil de densité électronique de Booker, aléatoirement modifié en espace à partir de la fonction de densité spectrale de puissance de Shkarofsky. L'aspect temporel a été aussi pris en compte dans le traitement radar en appliquant aux chemins de phase aléatoires ainsi générés un filtrage passe-bas en prenant en considération les variations du TEC (Contenu Électronique Total). La sensibilité des étalements en décalage Doppler et en distance aux paramètres de la densité spectrale de puissance et à la valeur de la fréquence de coupure du filtre passe-bas, a également été étudiée. Enfin, les images synthétisées ont été comparées aux images réelles obtenues à partir d'un radar HF situé dans le Sud de la France. / High-frequency (HF: 3 MHz to 30 MHz) hybrid mode radar is a promising solution for continuous monitoring of sea and land areas up to 2000 km. This mode is a combination of the modes of operation of the sky wave and surface wave radars. When signal processing is performed on a slow target, the ionospheric irregularities degrade the Doppler-distance images. To take this phenomenon into account in simulation, a software module based on probabilistic models of the ionospheric clutter has been developed with the aim of simulating the spatial and temporal behavior of the ionosphere in radar processing.The final version of this module is based on Booker's electron density profile, randomly modified in space from the Shkarofsky power spectral density function. The temporal aspect has also been taken into account in the radar processing by applying to the random phase paths thus generated a low-pass filtering taking into consideration the TEC (Total Electron Content) variation. The sensitivity of the Doppler shift and distance spreading to the parameters of the power spectral density and the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter has also been studied. Finally, the synthesized images have been compared with the actual images obtained from an HF radar located in the South of France.

Neste trabalho é avaliado o impacto do emprego de radares fixos na velocidade e na acidentalidade no trecho compreendido entre o Km 153,350 e o Km 227,800 da Rodovia Washington Luís - SP-310 (extensão de 74,450 km), localizado no interior do estado de São Paulo e cuja concessão pertence à empresa Centrovias. A avaliação do impacto na velocidade e na acidentalidade foi realizada em segmentos curtos situados no entorno dos radares e em toda a extensão do trecho. As medições de velocidade foram realizadas nos pontos onde se localizam os radares fixos, em pontos próximos (cerca de 2km antes e 2km depois) e em pontos distantes. Os resultados mostram que o limite legal de velocidade é mais respeitado no local onde se localizam os radares e um pouco antes dos mesmos. Logo depois dos radares e em pontos distantes, o limite máximo de velocidade é muito menos respeitado. É muito alta a porcentagem de veículos que passam pelos radares com velocidade acima do limite legal mais a tolerância de 7km/h (8,4%), e que, portanto, cometem infração e deveriam ser multados. Claramente, a abrangência espacial dos radares fixos no sentido de reduzir as velocidades é limitada a um pequeno segmento localizado, na sua maior parte, imediatamente antes dos mesmos. A evolução dos índices de acidentes mostra que não houve melhoria na segurança com a colocação dos radares nos segmentos localizados no entorno dos mesmos. Praticamente todos os índices apresentaram crescimento. Isso também acontece quando se analisa a evolução dos índices de acidentes ao longo de toda a extensão do trecho de rodovia estudado, pois todos os índices experimentaram crescimento / In this work the impact of the use of fixed radars in the speed and in the analysis of accidents in the segment between the Km 153,350 and the km 227,800 of the Washington Luís Highway is evaluated - SP-310 (extension of 74,450 km), located in the interior of the state of São Paulo and whose concession belongs to the Centrovias company. The evaluation of the impact in the speed and in the analysis of accidents was carried out in short segments situated around of the radars and in all the extension of the segment. The measurements of speed had been done in the points where the fixed radars were located, in points near (about of 2km before and 2km after) and in distant points. The results show that the legal limit of speed is more respected in the place where the radars are located and just before them. Soon after the radars and in distant points, the maximum limit of speed is much less respected. The percentage of vehicles that pass by the radars with speed above of the legal limit plus the tolerance of 7km/h (8,4%), is very high, resulting in infraction that should be fined. Clearly, the use of the fixed radars intending to reduce the speeds is limited to a small segment located, normally immediately before them. The evolution of the indices of accidents shows that did not have improvement in the security using radars in the segments located near them. Practically all the indices had presented growth. This also happens when it is analyzed the evolution of the indices of accidents in all the extension of the studied segment of highway, because all the indices had growth

This thesis discusses mathematical optimization techniques for waveform design in cognitive radars. These techniques have been designed with an increasing level of sophistication, starting from a bistatic model (i.e. two transmitters and a single receiver) and ending with a cognitive network (i.e. multiple transmitting and multiple receiving radars). The environment under investigation always features strong signal-dependent clutter and noise. All algorithms are based on an iterative waveform-filter optimization. The waveform optimization is based on convex optimization techniques and the exploitation of initial radar waveforms characterized by desired auto and cross-correlation properties. Finally, robust optimization techniques are introduced to account for the assumptions made by cognitive radars on certain second order statistics such as the covariance matrix of the clutter. More specifically, initial optimization techniques were proposed for the case of bistatic radars. By maximizing the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) under certain constraints on the transmitted signals, it was possible to iteratively optimize both the orthogonal transmission waveforms and the receiver filter. Subsequently, the above work was extended to a convex optimization framework for a waveform design technique for bistatic radars where both radars transmit and receive to detect targets. The method exploited prior knowledge of the environment to maximize the accumulated target return signal power while keeping the disturbance power to unity at both radar receivers. The thesis further proposes convex optimization based waveform designs for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) based cognitive radars. All radars within the system are able to both transmit and receive signals for detecting targets. The proposed model investigated two complementary optimization techniques. The first one aims at optimizing the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) of a specific radar while keeping the SINR of the remaining radars at desired levels. The second approach optimizes the SINR of all radars using a max-min optimization criterion. To account for possible mismatches between actual parameters and estimated ones, this thesis includes robust optimization techniques. Initially, the multistatic, signal-dependent model was tested against existing worst-case and probabilistic methods. These methods appeared to be over conservative and generic for the considered signal-dependent clutter scenario. Therefore a new approach was derived where uncertainty was assumed directly on the radar cross-section and Doppler parameters of the clutters. Approximations based on Taylor series were invoked to make the optimization problem convex and {subsequently} determine robust waveforms with specific SINR outage constraints. Finally, this thesis introduces robust optimization techniques for through-the-wall radars. These are also cognitive but rely on different optimization techniques than the ones previously discussed. By noticing the similarities between the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) problem and the matched-illumination one, this thesis introduces robust optimization techniques that consider uncertainty on environment-related parameters. Various performance analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of all the above algorithms in providing a significant increase in SINR in an environment affected by very strong clutter and noise.

Neste trabalho é avaliado o impacto do emprego de radares fixos na velocidade e na acidentalidade no trecho compreendido entre o Km 153,350 e o Km 227,800 da Rodovia Washington Luís - SP-310 (extensão de 74,450 km), localizado no interior do estado de São Paulo e cuja concessão pertence à empresa Centrovias. A avaliação do impacto na velocidade e na acidentalidade foi realizada em segmentos curtos situados no entorno dos radares e em toda a extensão do trecho. As medições de velocidade foram realizadas nos pontos onde se localizam os radares fixos, em pontos próximos (cerca de 2km antes e 2km depois) e em pontos distantes. Os resultados mostram que o limite legal de velocidade é mais respeitado no local onde se localizam os radares e um pouco antes dos mesmos. Logo depois dos radares e em pontos distantes, o limite máximo de velocidade é muito menos respeitado. É muito alta a porcentagem de veículos que passam pelos radares com velocidade acima do limite legal mais a tolerância de 7km/h (8,4%), e que, portanto, cometem infração e deveriam ser multados. Claramente, a abrangência espacial dos radares fixos no sentido de reduzir as velocidades é limitada a um pequeno segmento localizado, na sua maior parte, imediatamente antes dos mesmos. A evolução dos índices de acidentes mostra que não houve melhoria na segurança com a colocação dos radares nos segmentos localizados no entorno dos mesmos. Praticamente todos os índices apresentaram crescimento. Isso também acontece quando se analisa a evolução dos índices de acidentes ao longo de toda a extensão do trecho de rodovia estudado, pois todos os índices experimentaram crescimento / In this work the impact of the use of fixed radars in the speed and in the analysis of accidents in the segment between the Km 153,350 and the km 227,800 of the Washington Luís Highway is evaluated - SP-310 (extension of 74,450 km), located in the interior of the state of São Paulo and whose concession belongs to the Centrovias company. The evaluation of the impact in the speed and in the analysis of accidents was carried out in short segments situated around of the radars and in all the extension of the segment. The measurements of speed had been done in the points where the fixed radars were located, in points near (about of 2km before and 2km after) and in distant points. The results show that the legal limit of speed is more respected in the place where the radars are located and just before them. Soon after the radars and in distant points, the maximum limit of speed is much less respected. The percentage of vehicles that pass by the radars with speed above of the legal limit plus the tolerance of 7km/h (8,4%), is very high, resulting in infraction that should be fined. Clearly, the use of the fixed radars intending to reduce the speeds is limited to a small segment located, normally immediately before them. The evolution of the indices of accidents shows that did not have improvement in the security using radars in the segments located near them. Practically all the indices had presented growth. This also happens when it is analyzed the evolution of the indices of accidents in all the extension of the studied segment of highway, because all the indices had growth