A thorough analysis of various geometries for a dynamic calibration target for through-wall and through-rubble radar

It is common practice to use a metal conducting sphere for radar calibration purposes. The aspect-independence of a sphere allows for a more accurate and repeatable calibration of a radar than using a nonspherical calibration artifact. In addition, the radar cross section (RCS) for scattering spheres is well-known and can be calculated fairly easily using far field approximations. For Doppler radar testing, it is desired to apply these calibration advantages to a dynamic target. To accomplish this, a spherical polyhedron is investigated as the calibration target. This paper analyzes the scattering characteristics for various spherical polyhedral geometries. Each geometry is analyzed at 3.6 GHz in two states: contracted and expanded. For calibration purposes, it is desired that the target have a consistent monostatic RCS over the entirety of its surface. The RCS of each spherical polyhedral is analyzed and an optimized geometry, for calibration purposes, is chosen.