2004 18-Clutter.

doc

CLUTTER
• One complicating factor in the study of clutter is that it means different
things to different people. For example, to an engineer developing a
missile to detect and track a tank, the return from vegetation and other
natural objects would be considered to be “clutter”. However, a remote
sensing scientist would consider the return from natural vegetation as the
primary target.
• Clutter is thus defined as the return from a physical object or a group of
objects that is undesired for a specific application.
• Clutter may be divided into sources distributed over a surface (land or
sea), within a volume (weather or chaff) or concentrated at discrete points
(structures, birds or vehicles).

Surface Clutter
• The magnitude of the signal reflected from the surface is a function of the
material, roughness and angle.
• Two main scattering types considered are diffuse and specular as shown
in the figures below

Figure 1: Specular Reflector

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Figure 2: Diffuse Reflector

• The most convenient point for modelling surface clutter is the constant γ
model in which the surface reflectivity is modelled as

σ o = γ sinψ
where σo – Reflectivity (cross section per unit area m2/m2)
ψ - Grazing angle at the surface (rad)
γ - Parameter describing the scattering effectiveness.

Ground Clutter

Figure 3: Effect of Grazing Angle on Clutter Reflectivity

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• At low grazing angles the measurements fall below the model because of
propagation factor effects that are beyond the scope of this course.
• At high grazing angles the measurements rise because of quasi specular
reflections from surface facets.
• Values for γ between –10 and –15dB are widely applicable to land covered
by crops, bushes and trees.
• Desert, grassland and marsh are more likely to have γ near –20dB
• Urban or mountainous regions will have γ near –5dB
• These values are almost independent of wavelength and polarisation, but
they only apply to modelling of mean clutter reflectivity.

Measured Clutter Reflectivity at 95GHz

Figure 4: Reflectivity, Grass and Crops at 95GHz

Figure 5: Reflectivity, Deciduous Trees at 95GHz

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Sea Clutter

Figure 6: Effect of Grazing Angle on Sea Clutter Reflectivity

• When the model is applied to sea clutter, averaging over all wind
directions, it is found that γ depends on the Beaufort wind scale KB

10 log γ = 6 K B − 10 log λ − 64
where λ - Wavelength (m)

• At low grazing angles there is also a component that is a function of the

polarisation
•
Beaufort No Description Wind Speed (kts)
0 Calm <1
1 Light air 1-3
2 Light breeze 4-6
3 Gentle breeze 7-10
4 Moderate Breeze 11-16
5 Fresh breeze 17-21
6 Strong breeze 22-27
7 Near gale 28-33
8 Gale 34-40
9 Strong gale 41-47
10 Storm 48-55
11 Violent Storm 56-63
12 Hurricane >64

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Laser Reflectivity at 0.9µm

• The reflectivity of various materials at 0.9µm is shown in the table below.
• Remembering that the beamwidth specifications for a laser system are
different from those for a radar, the cross section can be calculated from
the following reflectivities

Table: Material Reflectivities at 0.9µm

Diffusely Reflecting Material Reflectivity (%)

White paper Up to 100
Cut clean dry pine 94
Snow 80-90
Beer foam 88
White masonry 85
Limestone, clay Up to 75
Newspaper with print 69
Tissue paper 2-ply 60
Deciduous trees Typ 60
Coniferous trees Typ 30
Carbonate sand (dry) 57
Carbonate sand (wet) 41
Beach sand and bare desert Typ 50
Rough wood pallet (clean) 25
Smooth concrete 24
Asphalt with pebbles 17
Lava 8
Black neoprene 5
Black rubber tyre wall 2
Specular Reflecting Material
Reflecting foil 3M2000X 1250
Opaque white plastic1 110
Opaque black plastic1 17
Clear plastic1 50

1 Measured with the beam perpendicular to the surface to achieve maximum reflection

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ƒ Radar Cross Section

• The cross section of the ground clutter is the product of the reflectivity and
the illuminated area.

σ = σ oA

• Two cases are considered; in the first, the area is limited by the antenna
beamwidth, and in the second it is limited by the pulse width.
Beamwidth Limited

Figure 7: Beamwidth Limited Resolution Cell

• The footprint area is calculated using the formula for the area of an ellipse
A = πr1r2
 πR 2  φ  φ 
A =  2  tan AZ  tan EL  cscθ
 α  2  2 

where r1 and r2 are defined in the diagram above (m)

A – Area illuminated on the surface (m2)
R – Slant range to the surface (m)
α - Beam shape factor =1.33 for a Gaussian shaped beam
φAZ – Azimuth 3dB two-way beamwidth (rad)
φEL – Elevation 3dB two-way beamwidth (rad)
θ - Grazing angle (angle wrt horizon) (rad)

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Pulsewidth Limited

Figure 8: Pulsewidth Limited Resolution Cell

• For low grazing angles, the length of the illuminated area is determined by
the transmitted pulsewidth rather than the elevation beamwidth
• If the pulse area mapped onto the ground is small compared to the length
of the ellipse defined by the elevation beamwidth, then the area can be
approximated by a rectangle.

Rcτ  φ 
A=  tan AZ  secθ
α  2 
where c – Speed of light (3x108 m/s)
τ - Transmitted pulsewidth (sec)

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Volume Clutter
• An analogous normalisation parameter to σo exists for volume scatterers in
the atmosphere such as dust particles or raindrops. It is called η

η - RCS of illuminated volume / illuminated volume (m2/m3)

• The illuminated volume can be calculated from the geometry shown below.
It is the volume of an elliptical cylinder with diameters RφAZ and RφEL with
length cτ/2

πR 2φ AZφ EL cτ
V =
8α 2

Figure 9: Volume Clutter Resolution Cell

• The radar cross section is just the product of the volume reflectivity η and
the volume.

σ = ηV

• Values for η depend on the material (usually water, ice or dust in the
atmosphere)
Rain
• The graphs below show the theoretical values for the reflectivity as a
function of rainfall rate at different frequencies.

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Figure 10: Raindrop Reflectivity vs Rainfall Rate

• This data is determined using the relationship between the reflected and
incident power on small spherical targets.
• This was discussed earlier in the section on the RCS of a sphere.
• In the Rayleigh region (πD/λ < 1), the RCS is given by the following
formula

S refl 2 D6
σ = 4πR 2 =π5 K
Sinc λ4
ε −1
K=
ε +2
where ε - Relative dielectric constant of the material
D – Diameter of the scattering object
λ - Wavelength
• When πD/λ > 10 the equation for RCS reduces to the geometric optics
form

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πD 2
σ =
4

• These equations can be combined with the density of particles in the

medium to determine the total reflectivity η.
N
η= ∑σ
i =1
i

Dust
• The volume of dust that can be supported in the atmosphere is extremely
small, and so the reflectivity can generally be neglected for EM radiation
with wavelengths of 3mm or more.

Figure 11: Backscatter from Dust after Explosion

• Dust reflectivity at IR and optical frequencies is significant and must be

considered when analysing the performance of LIDAR systems

References
[1] M.Skolnik, Radar handbook, McGraw-Hill, 1970.
[2] M.Skolnik, Introduction to Radar Systems, McGraw-Hill, 1980.
[3] P.Bhartia, I.Bahl, Millimeter Wave Engineering and Applications, John Wiley & Sons, 1984
[4] Principle of a Pulsed Laser Sensor, http://www.riegl.co.at, 26/02/2001.
[5] D.Barton, Radar Systems Analysis, Artech 1976.
[6] C.Currie (ed), Principles and Applications of Millimeter Wave Radar, Artech, 1987.
[7] H. Jensen et. al., Side-Looking Airborne Radar, Scientific American, October 1977.

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