Scattering centers induced by creeping waves on streamlined cone-shaped targets in bistatic mode

Scattering centers induced by creeping waves on streamlined cone-shaped targets in bistatic radar mode have been investigated in this letter. The scattering center slides on the smooth surface of the target with the change of radar aspect angles and shows significant feature in bistatic radar images. Based on the geometrical theory of diffraction, the equivalent location of the sliding scattering center has been deduced by tracing the diffraction rays on the streamlined surface. A mathematical model for this sliding scattering center has been further proposed in order to precisely describe the bistatic scattering characteristics of these targets. The parameters of the model are directly related with the geometry of the target and the bistatic angle bisector of the radar, which is significant for the application of using scattering center model in geometry and motion parameters extraction from radar echoes. The analysis of the scattering center has been validated by the scattering data and the time-frequency representations (TFRs) of the bistatic radar echoes from two streamlined targets. The scattered field data are computed by the well-validated full-wave numerical method (FE-BI-MLFMA) to assure the reliability of the validation.