8/30/2018 TDR & FMCW Radar Level Transmitters Principle Instrumentation Tools

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TDR & FMCW Radar Level Transmitters Principle

 S Bharadwaj Reddy  Leave a comment

TDR & FMCW Radar Level Transmitters Principle

Continuous level measurement via radar is based on the theory of the propagation of electromagnetic waves, put forth by the
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British physicist James C. Maxwell in 1865. Maxwell postulated that the eld lines of a changing magnetic eld are surrounded by
annular electrical eld lines, even in the absence of electrical conductors.

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Inspired by this theory, German physicist Christian Hülsmeyer immediately applied for a patent for his telemobiloscope, the rst
radar device of this type in Düsseldorf in 1904. For this innovation, he is rightly known as the the inventor of the „original radar.“ Differe

Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) :

A radar signal is emitted via an antenna, re ected on the product surface and received after a time t. The radar principle used is
Categor
FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave). The FMCW radar emits a high frequency signal whose frequency increases
linearly during the measurement phase (called the frequency sweep). The signal is emitted, re ected from the measuring surface
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and received with a time delay, t. Delay time, t=2d/c, where d is the distance to the product surface and c is the speed of light in
the gas above the product. For further signal processing the di erence Δf is calculated from the actual transmit frequency and the
receive frequency. The di erence is directly proportional to the distance.

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8/30/2018 TDR & FMCW Radar Level Transmitters Principle Instrumentation Tools
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Instrumen
A large frequency di erence corresponds to a large distance and vice versa. The frequency di erence Δf is transformed via a learning &

Fourier transformation (FFT) into a frequency spectrum and then the distance is calculated from the spectrum. The level results Ogbe
from the di erence between tank height and measuring distance. The failur
diagram s

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TDR: Time Domain Re ectometry Dear sir/d
The device transmits low-intensity electromagnetic pulses of approximately one nanosecond width along a rigid or exible on recent

conductor. These pulses move at the speed of light. When the pulses reach the surface of the product to be measured, the pulses Shailendr
are re ected with an intensity that depends on the dielectric constant, εr, of the product (for example, water has a high dielectric Please up
constant and re ects the pulse back to the meter converter at 80 % of its original intensity). Kumaresa
How to se
The device measures the time from when the pulse is transmitted to when it is received: half of this time is equivalent to the ow mete

distance from the reference point of the device (the ange facing) to the surface of the product. The time value is converted into
an output current of 4 to 20 mA and/or a digital signal.

Inst Too

Inst Too

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8/30/2018 TDR & FMCW Radar Level Transmitters Principle Instrumentation Tools

Dust, foam, vapor, agitated surfaces, boiling surfaces, changes in pressure, temperature and density do not have an e ect on
device performance.

Empty spectrum
All interference re ections, which are caused by xed or moving tank inserts and the bottom of the tank, can be detected and
saved by recording an empty spectrum. The surface re ections are reliably detected, distinguished from interference re ections
and analyzed by comparing the empty spectrum to the re ections in the lled state. For applications with tanks that cannot be
emptied at the time of the start-up, the radar meters o er the capability of recording a partially empty spectrum.

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