Accurate Measurement of Wake Height Caused by Target Motion using Millimeter-wave Radar

Authors

  • Yan Jia Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China
  • Yifan Gong Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China
  • Limin Zhai Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China
  • Yongqing Liu Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China
  • Xiangkun Zhang Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2025.ACES.J.400106

Keywords:

FMCW Millimeter-wave radar, high range resolution and high precision, ship wakes, wave height

Abstract

This study explores the feasibility of using millimeter-wave radar to observe ship wake wave heights on the water surface and proposes an accurate measurement method based on Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar to detect water surface elevation changes caused by ship motion. By acquiring electromagnetic echo signals from the water surface using millimeter-wave radar and applying interference principles, high-precision measurements of water surface elevation changes are achieved. We conducted numerical simulations of the ship wake using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based on an actual ship model and performed wake wave height measurements using high-resolution radar parameters. By comparing the radar measurement data with those from a capacitive wave height meter, the effectiveness of the AWR2243 FMCW millimeter-wave radar in measuring wake wave heights induced by ship motion was validated. Time-frequency analysis of the wake wave height using wavelet transform indicated that the primary frequency of the wake diffusion wave generated by the experimental ship model’s movement was around 2 Hz. The experimental results demonstrate that FMCW millimeter-wave radar can achieve high-precision water surface wave height measurements. The radar’s application in oceanic target wake observation has great potential, providing new technical means for ship monitoring, marine scientific research, and ocean environmental monitoring.

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Author Biographies

Yan Jia, Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

Yan Jia was born in Shandong, China, in 1994. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since 2019, he has been studying in the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. His research interests include microwave remote sensing, radar system design, signal processing.

Yifan Gong, Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

Yifan Gong received the B.S. degree from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China, in 2022. He is currently pursuing the M.Sc. degree in engineering with the Key Laboratory of Microwave Remote Sensing, National Space Science Center (NSSC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China. His research interests include radar signal processing, imaging algorithm of MIMO radar.

Limin Zhai, Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

Limin Zhai was born in 1999. She received the B.S degree from China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing in 2021. She is currently a doctoral candidate at National Space Science Center (NSSC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China. Her research interests are microwave remote sensing measurement technology and microwave remote sensing radar image processing algorithms.

Yongqing Liu, Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

Yongqing Liu was born in 1998. He received the B.S. degree in electronic information engineering from Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China, in 2020. He is pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the National Space Science Center (NSSC), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. His research interests include microwave remote sensing, radar system design, signal processing.

Xiangkun Zhang, Key Lab of National Microwave Remote Sensing National Space Science Center Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100490, China

Xiangkun Zhang was born in 1972. He received his Ph.D. degree and is currently a researcher. His main research interests are microwave remote sensing detection and imaging theory and technology, as well as new radar system technology. He works at the National Space Science Center, Key Laboratory of Microwave Remote Sensing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Published

2025-01-30

How to Cite

[1]
Y. . Jia, Y. . Gong, L. . Zhai, Y. . Liu, and X. . Zhang, “Accurate Measurement of Wake Height Caused by Target Motion using Millimeter-wave Radar”, ACES Journal, vol. 40, no. 01, pp. 42–50, Jan. 2025.

Issue

2025: Vol 40 Iss 1

Section

General Submission

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