Localized Plane Wave Approximation for Bodies of Revolution in Vegetation Scattering

Authors

  • Edward C. Michaelchuck Jr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The George Washington University Washington, D.C. 20052, USA and Signature Technology Office https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9379-7984
  • Roger H. Lang Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The George Washington University Washington, D.C. 20052, USA
  • William O. Coburn Retired Electronics Engineer Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, M.D. 20378, USA
  • Samuel G. Lambrakos Space Systems Development Division U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Washington, D.C. 20375, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2026.ACES.J.410504

Keywords:

Electromagnetic propagation in absorbing media, Method of Moments, Microwave propagation, Multiple Body of Revolution, Remote sensing, Scattering

Abstract

Large computational electromagnetic problems for scattering from forest canopies in L-band (1–2 GHz) typically require modeling trees by a collection of lossy, dielectric cylinders and disks using Multiple Body of Revolution (MBOR) scattering techniques. MBOR techniques are desired for their computational efficiency compared to the 3-D Method of Moments (MoM). Within the vegetation environment associated with forest canopy, BORs are weakly coupled and, thus, approximations may be made to improve computational efficiency of MBOR scattering. This paper develops an efficient method to calculate the scattered fields from a lossy, finite length, dielectric cylinder, illuminated by a small current source. A small current source is representative of those on an adjacent BOR in MBOR scatter. Computational solutions to this problem exist, but those solutions are complicated and computationally expensive. Using the proposed method, a BOR is discretized into a series of discs such that far field conditions are a function of BOR radius rather than BOR length. These field conditions define the Localized Plane Wave Approximation (LPWA), which provides foundation for a more system specific MBOR scattering methodology, where BORs are harmonically independent of each other. For LPWA validation, the LPWA is compared to both analytical and computational solutions. The approximation shows good agreement within the constraints of the underlying assumptions. Finally, the method improves computational efficiency by more than an order of magnitude.

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Author Biographies

Edward C. Michaelchuck Jr., Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The George Washington University Washington, D.C. 20052, USA and Signature Technology Office

Edward C. Michaelchuck Jr. is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering with a focus in applied electromagnetics at The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. He received an M.S. degree in electrical engineering with a concentration in applied electromagnetics from George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA in January of 2021. He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA in May of 2017.

With regards to his career, he is a research engineer at the Signature Technology Office, Code 5009, at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., USA – since August 2017. His expertise includes multispectral signature characterization, computational electromagnetics, material measurements ranging from RF to the visible spectrum, and metamaterial design and fabrication.

Roger H. Lang, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The George Washington University Washington, D.C. 20052, USA

Roger H. Lang (Life Fellow, IEEE) received the B.S. (1962) and M.S. (1964) degrees in Electrical Engineering and the Ph.D. degree (1968) in Electrophysics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA (now Tandon School of Engineering, New York University). He did his postdoctoral research in random media under Joe Keller at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY. He is currently a Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and a Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering there.

He is known for the early development of the discrete scattering model for vegetation. More recently, he has been involved in remote sensing of seawater salinity and soil moisture under vegetation. His research interests include microwave remote sensing, electromagnetic wave propagation, and dielectric measurements. Lang received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. He is an Active Participant in the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. He was an Associate Editor for Microwave Scattering and Propagation, and the co-chair of the Technical Program Committee for the IGARSS’90 meeting held at College Park, MD, in 1990. He was the Chair of the International URSI Commission F and is a member of the Editorial Board of Waves in Random and Complex Media.

William O. Coburn, Retired Electronics Engineer Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, M.D. 20378, USA

William O. Coburn received his B.S. in Physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, USA, in 1984. He received an M.S.E.E. in Electro Physics in 1991 and a Ph.D. in Electromagnetic Engineering from The George Washington University in 2005. His dissertation research was on traveling wave antenna design. He has 38 years’ experience as an Electronics Engineer at the Army Research Laboratory (formerly the Harry Diamond Laboratories) primarily in CEM for EMP coupling/hardening, HPM, target signatures and antennas. He retired in 2019 from the RF Electronics Division of the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate applying CEM tools for antenna design and EM analysis.

He is a Fellow of the Applied Computational EM Society (ACES) and served on the ACES Board of Directors. He is a Member of the USNC-URSI, Commission A and B (2010), Sigma Xi and an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of America and GWU. Coburn has authored or coauthored over 100 publications and four patents.

Samuel G. Lambrakos, Space Systems Development Division U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Washington, D.C. 20375, USA

Samuel G. Lambrakos received the Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, USA, in 1983. He is a Research Physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., where he has been for over 40 years. His expertise is computational physics in general and has many publications, patents and awards. His recent studies concern computational materials physics and inverse spectral analysis.

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Published

2026-09-19

How to Cite

[1]
E. C. Michaelchuck Jr., R. H. Lang, W. O. Coburn, and S. G. Lambrakos, “Localized Plane Wave Approximation for Bodies of Revolution in Vegetation Scattering”, ACES Journal, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 413–430, Sep. 2026.

Issue

2026: Vol 41 Iss 5

Section

General Submission

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