Universidad Rey Juan Carlos I

Aeroespace Engineering in Air Navigation

Aerospace Materials

RAM (Radar Absorbing Materials)

Authors: Santiago Garca Benito Aydin Nakaee-Zadeh

December 3, 2013

1. INTRODUCTION

The stealth technologies is referred to dierent forms of visual camouage, electronic, optical and electro-acoustic, mostly used in aircraft and ships, to make them less visible to radar. Stealth technologies are based on the design and composition of the vehicle to drastically reduce the radar echo reected. Attacking using the element of surprise, do it at high speed and maximising the use of stealth technology increases the eectiveness of the attack, which makes the enemy weaker. On the other hand, the design that involves a completely stealth weapon make, in case of being detected, no chance of escape. The radar cross section (RSC) measures the detectability. The RCS is a property of the targets size, shape and the material from which it is fabricated and is a ratio of the incident and reected power. For targets that are small in comparison to the radiation wavelength Rayleigh scattering occurs. Large objects, compared to the wavelength, result in optical scattering including diraction and specular scattering. For these large objects geometrical optics with diraction theory (geometrical theory of diraction) are used to determine the RCS. There are four methods of reducing the radar cross-section; shaping, active loading, passive loading and distributed loading. (1) Shaping is the primary method of reducing the backscattered signal. Altgough shaping is very important, it redirects the radiation through specular reection hence increasing the probability of detection from bistatic radars. (2) Active loading aims to reduce the scattering from hotspot regions through the application of patches, also the passive materials. Active materials detect the incident radiation and emit signals of equal amplitude and opposite phase to cancel the signal. (3) Passive materials are designed to modify the surface impedance so as to cancel the scattered signal. (4) Distributed loading involves covering the surface with a radar absorbing material that has imaginary components of permittivity and/or permeability (i.e. the electric or magnetic elds of the radiation couple with the material properties and energy is consumed).

In this assignment, we will focus on the eld of microwave (radar) absorbing materials (RAM) with consideration of the physical theory, design optimization and materials behind these devices. A larger RCS indicates that an object is easier to detect. The RCS is a fundamental parameter of any military machine design with stealth technology, not only related to aircraft and missile applications, also helicopters, boats, etc. All les aboutthe RCS on the current military aviation are highly classied information, due to its tactical interest.

Figure 1. RCS comparation In the photo appear some images of dierent objects and its reactions due to radar of 10GHz . The RCS is measured in m2 , which represents the length of an ideal mirror that reects the waves. This variation changes in a dierent way in dierent objects, depending on the frequency of the radar signal. For example, for frequencies higher than 40GHz the Stealth aircraft RCS is higher, in this case, than the adult human.

2. HOW TO MINIMIZE THE REFLECTIVITY

In an attempt to minimise the reection from a surface it is useful to consider the physical equation that represent the reection coecient:

r=

M 0 ZM Z0 = M + 0 ZM + Z0

where r is the reection coecient and the admittance of the propagating medium ( 0 for incident medium or air and M for the material). Also, Z = 1/ . The reection coecient falls to zero when M = 0 , or in other words the material in the layer is impedance matched to the incident medium. The intrinsic impedance of free space is eectively given by: r

E Z0 = = H

0 377ohms 0

where E and H are the electric and magnetic eld vectors and 0 and 0 are the permeability and permittivity of free space. Therefore, if the material has an impedance of 377 ohms, it will not reect microwaves.

3. TYPES OF RADAR ABSORBING MATERIALS

There are two principles group of RAM: impedance matching and resonant matching. But the RAM typically have characteristics of both groups. Resonant matching materials are also called quarter wavelength resonant layers.

3.1. Graded Interfaces. Impedance Matching. A propagating wave will experience some reection that is proportional to the magnitude of the impedance step between incident and transmitting media. From this consideration three classes of impedance matching RAM, pyramidal, tapered and matched, can be distinguish to reduce the impedance step between the incident and absorbing media. For complete attenuation of the incident wave one or more wavelengths of material are required, making them bulky and adding weight.

3.1.1. Pyramidal Absorbers. Pyramidal absorbers are typically thick materials with pyramidal or cone structures extending perpendicular to the surface in a regularly spaced pattern. Pyramidal absorbers were developed so that the interface presents a gradual transition in impedance from air to that of the absorber. The height and periodicity of the pyramids tend to be on the order of one wavelength. For shorter structures, or longer wavelengths, the waves are eectively met by a more abrupt change in the impedance. Pyramidal absorbers thus have a minimum operating frequency above which they provide high attenuation over wide frequency and angle ranges. These absorbers provide the best performance. The disadvantage of pyramidal absorbers is their thickness and tendency to be fragile. They are usually used for anechoic chambers. A more robust at pyramidal absorber has been fabricated using multilayers with a pyramidal type structure being described by resistive sheets. These absorber materials used to be covered by foam. It typically consists of a reproofed urethane foam loaded with conductive carbon black.

In applications where high radar energies are involved, cooling fans are used to exhaust the heat that is generated. This foam may be used also in Tapered Loading RAM.

Figure 2. Pyramidal Absorber

3.1.2. Tapered Loading Absorbers. This material is typically a slab composed of a low loss material mixed with a lossy material. The lossy component is homogeneously dispersed parallel to the surface. One type of material includes an open celled foam or 3-d plastic net, dipped or sprayed with lossy material from one side, or allowed to drain and dry.It is dicult to reproducibly fabricate a gradient in this manner. The most important material is iron ball paint: tiny spheres coated with carbonyl iron or ferrite. The radar energy is converted into heat because radar waves induce molecular oscillations from the alternating magnetic eld in this paint. The iron particles in the paint are obtained by decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl and may contain traces of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. This technique is used in the most famous sealth aircraft: Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, where the carbonyl iron balls are electrically isolated and suspended in a two part epoxy resin. The advantage of these materials is that they are thinner than the pyramidal absorbers. The disadvantage is that they have poorer performance and it is best to vary the impedance gradient over one or more wavelengths.

Figure 3. F-117 Nighthawk 3.1.3. Matching Layer Absorbers. The matching layer absorber attempts to reduce the thickness required for the gradual transition materials. This absorber places a transition absorbing layer between the incident and absorbing media. The transition layer has thickness and impedance values that are between the two impedances to be matched (ie the absorber and incident media). The idea is to have the combined impedance from the rst and second layers to equal the impedance of the incident medium, Figure 3. This matching occurs when the thickness of the matching layer is one quarter of a wavelength of the radiation in the layer. The impedance matching occurs then only at the frequency that equals the optical thickness. This makes the matching layer materials narrow band absorbers. These absorbers are made using an intermediate impedance and quarter wavelength thickness for absorption at microwave frequencies.

Figure 4. Matching Layer

3.2. Resonant Materials. This kind of RAM is also known as tuned or quarter wavelength absorber. In this material, the impedance is not matched between incident and absorbing media and the material is thin so that not all the power is absorbed.This arrangement results in reection and transmission at the rst interface. The reected wave undergoes a phase reversal of . The transmitted wave travels through the absorbing medium and is reected from a metal backing. This second reection also results in a phase reversal of before the wave propagates back to the incident medium. Then, because the destructive interference the waves is not reected.

3.2.1. Dallenbach Layer Absorbers. A Dallenbach layer, is only one homogeneous absorber layer placed on a conducting plane. The layers thickness, permittivity and permeability are adjusted so that the reectivity is minimised for a desired wavelength. Using this kind of absorber is not possible to obtain a broadband absorber with only one layer, however several layer stacked together increase bandwidth. These layer are made of ferrite materials.

3.2.2. Salisbury screen. The Salisbury screen consists of three layers: a resistive sheet placed an odd multiple of 1/4 wavelengths in front of a metal or ground plane which is the metallic surface that needs to be concealed and an air gap between both layers, a lossless dielectric can replace this material. How it works? (1) When the radar wave strikes the front surface of the dielectric or air gap, it is split into two waves. (2) One wave is reected from the resistive sheet. The second wave passes into the dielectric layer, is reected from the metal surface, and passes back out of the dielectric into the air. (3) The extra distance the second wave travels causes it to be 180 out of phase with the rst wave by the time it emerges from the dielectric surface (4) When the second wave reaches the surface, the two waves combine and cancel each other out due to the phenomenon of interference. Therefore there is no wave energy reected back.

Figure 5. Salisbury screen

3.2.3. Jaumann. Jaumann layers are a method of increasing the bandwidth of the Salisbury screen. The device consists in two equally spaced resistive sheets in front of the conducting plane. Also multilayer can be used to decrease the reexivity.Because the wave can resonate at two frequencies, the Jaumann layer produces two absorption maxima across a band of wavelengths Resistive layers have been formulated using powdered carbon (25 weight %) in a phenol-formaldehyde, cellulose or polyvinyl acetate binder with polyethylene foams as spacers. More elaborate Jaumann absorbers use series of dielectric surfaces that separate conductive sheets. The conductivity of those sheets increases with proximity to the ground plane.

Figure 6. Jaumann screen

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4. MATERIALS USED FOR RAM

4.1. Carbon. Absorbers for anechoic chambers were made by coating mats of curled animal hair with carbon black impregnated neoprene. Carbon black and brous carbon have been incorporated into Dallenbach layers. Percolation networks of randomly distributed graphite-type microsphere inclusions have been theoretically studied as a function of permittivity and frequency for RAM application. Multiple-scattering eects were noted to increase the eective absorptivity through scattering losses.

4.2. Metal and Metal Particles. Broad- band absorbers have been made from solid aluminium metallic particles or Dielectric lled metallic shells in the shape of spheroids dispersed in a matrix. So when the electromagnetic wave goes into brad band absorbers produce a magnetic oscillation on the molecules, due to the polarization of the elements, changing some of the wave energy into disperse heat. There are basically two kind of elements that produce broad- band absorbers, which are the dielectric and the conductors asiron oxide, powdered iron, powdered aluminium and copper, steel wool, water, powdered Advance and Constantin, evaporated metal or nickel chromium alloy and metal wires.

4.3. Conducting Polymers. Partial oxidation in the polymer causes the formation of polarons and bipolarons. This causes the polymers become polarized and therefore being eective against an electromagnetic signal. Oxidation of these polymers makes them not malleable; various techniques for this purpose are used. One of these techniques is to form composites with thermoplastic materials. Polypyrrole, PPy, has-been Polymerised on the surface of PVA, PVC and within it to form composites. Another technique used was the emulsion, is the case of PANI that is soluble in solvents such as DMF.

4.3.1. Polypyrrole.

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Polypyrrole by itself does not have great physical properties and so most of the useful materials are composites of polypyrrole and other materials such as latex, bbers or polymer blends. Polypyrrole nds great use due to its relative stability in air. Polypyrrole-Polymer Composites The frequency response of polypyrrole - PMMA composites has-been Studied in the range of 10 kHz to 8 GHz. It was shown Polymer that respond to the frequencies between 105 and 109 . The conductivity in the composites is an intrinsic property of the conducting polymer polypyrrole but independent of the concentration. The processing has a great eect on the end product. Polypyrrole / PVC composite melt is compressed and injected into sheets. The materials to be compressed does not act as good conductors and hence their absorption is very low, so these materials are melted and then injected, forming a Dallenbach layer. The Dallenbach layer can be made of polypyrrole with some admixture of p- toluene sulphonic acid sodium salt, acid or 5 - sulfosalicyclic dehydrate. The mixture is then dispersed in paint, or milled with Natural rubber and molded into at sheets and both were applied to an aluminum backing panel. The downside of this process is that the solution of polypyrrole has very low-adhesion to the plates. There is also another process that is based on exposing Phenolic Foam (with a pore size on the order of 1 micron) steam polypyrrole with ferric chloride. Uniformly coated foam was prepared by immersing the oxidant in an aqueous foam doped polypyrrole solution and the solution owing through the foam. Two problems are associated with vapor Polymerization, a thick coating on one surface of the foam and poorly conducting polymer doped with chloride from the ferric chloride. The wet method to materials produced with better properties and a gradient could be induced into the material. Noted that it was 15 mm thick foam prepared in this manner performed better than other published gradient absorbers. Polypyrrole-Fabric Composites It has been created dierent materials by polymerising pyrrole in the presence of a fabric or bers. Pyrrole has been oxidized and mixed with ferric chloride and subsequently joined with cellulose to form PPy composite coated paper. Through various chemical manipulations, the electrical conductivity of the material can be controlled. Absorbers were fabricated from these materials and measured. The same techniques have been applied to cotton and polyester fabric. The change in the phase and amplitude of signals by reection high material caused a resistance and capacitance which varies with the load. At low loadings the PPy coating is smooth. At the higher loadings Becomes more particulate

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coating results in between short circuits bers. The use of polypyrrole coated fabrics allows the structural formation of RAM. As the properties of the material change to become Salisbury Screens and Jaumann layers.

4.3.2. Polyaniline. Polyaniline is a material easy to manufacture, cheap and with very good properties for absorbers manufacturing. It is easily soluble, therefore by-products are made by its. Polyaniline is used to coat glass bre textiles and PET textiles. Polyaniline es un compuesto de facil de hacer, que tiene bajo coste y con propiedades favorables a la fabricacion de absorbers. Es fcilmente soluble y por lo tanto se suelen utilizar diferentes derivados. Polyaniline has been used to coat glass bre textiles and PET textiles.

4.3.3. Tubules and Filaments. Polypyrrole tubules are syntesized chemically and electrochemically. This synthesized process is made by two methods: Growth within a pore: Pore template growth of PPy tubes has been accomplished by polymerisation within the pores of alumina and polycarbonate membranes. Selective dissolution of the membrane results in PPy tubules. A two probe method for measuring the tubule resistance (conductivity) is given with conductivity decreasing for thicker tubes. The centres of the tubules tend to be lled with less well-ordered polymer. Using surfactant mediation:A number of surfactant systems have been used to template the growth of polypyrrole tubules. A reverse microemulsion system using sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) was found to form nanotubes about 95 nm wide and up to 5 ?m long. Naphthalene-2-sulphonic acid also acts as template for polypyrrole growth Diacetylenic phospholipid tubules template polypyrrole growth; however, it tends to be at the seams or edges of the lipid tubules, rather than coating the walls.

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4.4. Chiral Materials. An element or compound is chiral and has chirality, if its image in a plane mirror, can not be superimposed with itself. Since the chiral materials have dierent optical properties, depending on the incident waves the polarization will change and also present dierent absorption coecients. Due to this property, they can act as a polarizer by selective absorption, changing the type of polarization of the signal that passes through the material, in particular, a wave entering the same linear polarization can leave with elliptical or circular polarization, this phenomenon is known as circular dichroism. Materials made with these chiral inclusions have been shown to be eective microwave absorbers and have been patented. Chiral materials have the eect of rotating linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation to the right or left as it passes through the media and this has been noted for microwaves. Spherical objects coated with absorber material including chiral inclusions have been studied theoretically with the conclusion that the radar cross section is lower than without the chiral material. Theoretical and experimental studies of chiral materials concluded that chiral inclusions are not necessary in the formulation of RAM. Chiral materials will not reduce thinner RAM than achiral materials. It was noted that the absorption properties of the chiral inclusion comes partly from the interaction of the electric eld with the metal helices, producing a magnetic eld through induction and hence a complex permeability. These materials could be classied as circuit analog. More recently it is acknowledged that chiral inclusions are not necessary, however, helical inclusions can be useful in the design of microwave absorbers.

4.5. Shielding. Many of the materials discussed above can be used for shielding. For instance PET and PE fabrics coated with PPy or metal show utility as electromagnetic interference shielding, giving between 20 and 80 dB depending on thickness and conductivity.

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References
[1] Paul Saville- Defence RD Canada -Atlantic, Review of Radar Absorbing Materials Jan 2005 [2] Trisha Huber and Darren Makeiff, Fabrication of Organic Radar Absorbing Materials, A Report on theTIF Project, May 2005 [3] ODonnell, Robert, Introduction to Radar Systems,(MIT OpenCourseWare: Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Spring 2007 [4] Marker, Bill, Use of Radar-Absorbing Material to Resolve U.S. Navy Electromagnetic Interference Problems [5] Luiza de Castro Folgueras and Evandro Luis Nohara, Dielectric Microwave Absorbing Material Processed by Impregnation of Carbon Fiber Fabric with Polyaniline, Materials Research, Vol. 10, No. 1, 95-99, 2007 [6] http: // hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/ hbasees/ electric/ serres. html , Q FACTOR AND RESONANCE [7] http: // www. madsci. org/ posts/ archives/ 2002-03/ 1015162213. Eg. r. html , DIELECTRIC AND CONDUCTORS EFFECT DUE TO A ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES [8] http: // www. wisegeek. org/ what-is-iron-oxide. htm , IRON OXIDE PROPERTIES [9] Ya. A. Shneyderiuan Radio Absorbing Materials [10] http: // www. revistanaval. com/ archivo-2001-2003/ tecnologia_ stealth. htm , TECNOLOGIA STEALTH [11] Kevin Gaylor Radar Absorbing Materials-Mechanism and Materials [12] Cihangir Kemal Yuzcelik Radar absorbing material design