Design and Performance Evaluation of Antenna Array Element Failure Correction

Abstract

Active phased array antennas represent a cutting-edge technology that offers substantial newlineadvantages, including high gain, broad coverage, and dynamic beam switching capabilities. These newlinefeatures make them exceptionally well-suited for space-borne applications such as radio newlineastronomy, satellite communication, deep space vehicles, and telemetry tracking and control newlinecommunication systems. However, despite their advanced capabilities, the susceptibility of newlineindividual antenna elements to faults poses a significant challenge. In the event of a malfunction newlinein a single or multiple elements within the array, the radiation pattern becomes distorted, leading newlineto an increase in the side lobe level (SLL) and a reduction in directivity, ultimately degrading the newlineoverall array performance. newlineAddressing faulty elements in space-borne applications is particularly challenging due to the newlinecomplexities of space environments, making manual intervention impractical and costly. To newlineovercome this challenge, a self-recoverable mechanism for failure correction can be implemented, newlineleveraging metaheuristic algorithms. These algorithms provide an autonomous and efficient newlinemeans of optimizing array configurations without the need for manual intervention, thereby newlinemitigating the impact of element failures. The enhanced side lobe level resulting from faulty newlineelements not only leads to a wasteful dissipation of radio frequency energy but also introduces newlinepotential interference issues due to signals being transmitted or received in unintended directions. newlineThis research work focuses on the investigation of a circular antenna array (CAA) for correcting newlineelement failures within a faulty array. The prop newline