Validation of the Electromagnetic Code FACETS for Numerical Simulation of Radar Target Images

Abstract : Validation of the computational electromagnetic code FACETS (Frequency Asymptotic Code for Electromagnetic Target Scattering) for simulating radar images of a target is obtained, through direct simulation-to-measurement comparisons. A 3-dimensional computer-aided design model of a canonical target known as SLICY (Sandia laboratory Implementation of Cylinders) and the corresponding measured SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) image data of SLICY from the MSTAR (Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition) datasets are used in the validation process. Computed SAR images of the SLICY target sampled over 360 degrees in azimuth and at two elevation angles are evaluated by comparing against measured images. The results indicate that computed images of high fidelity can be generated if the scattering primitives on the target are correctly included in the computer-aided design model and this information is correctly translated for computation in the electromagnetic code.