М.S. Ryabokon – Post-graduate Student, Bauman Moscow State Technical University

Research Scientist, PJSC «SPE «Impuls» (Moscow)

E-mail: ryabokon_ms@impuls.ru

А.Е. Lastovetsky – Ph.D. (Eng.), Associate Professor, Bauman Moscow State Technical University;

Head of Department – Chief Research Scientist, PJSC «SPE «Impuls» (Moscow)

E-mail: elektronika12@yandex.ru

К.P. Likhoedenko – Dr.Sc. (Eng.), Professor, 

Bauman Moscow State Technical University

E-mail: wave@sm.bmstu.ru

V.B. Suchkov – Dr.Sc. (Eng.), Professor, 

Bauman Moscow State Technical University

E-mail: vbsuchkov@yandex.ru

It is known that during the flight in air, all flying objects (FO) acquire an electric charge and excite an electric field in the surrounding space. The onboard electrostatic direction finder (EDF) is used to measure the components of the electric field vector at the observation point and to estimate its angular spatial coordinates. This is the basis of the principle of electrostatic direction finding.

During the flight, the EDF is affected by various types of internal and external noise, which must be taken into account when designing the EDF and assessing their effectiveness. In this paper, the study of the characteristics of the noise electric fields excited by lightning discharges was carried out, and the probability of issuing reliable information by EDP in the conditions of thunderstorm electricity was estimated.

In this paper, the calculation of threshold (maximum) values of the noise field intensity which provide the issuance of reliable information about a number of FO was carried out. Issuance of reliable information is such operating conditions of the EDF, in which the signal/noise ratio with a given probability exceeds a certain threshold. The estimation was carried out by numerical method by means of electric field (EF) modeling at random sampling of the FO charge values and the coordinates of the miss, according to their distribution laws. To modeling the FO EF, its electric model was used (electric model – is a system of electric charges, the field of which repeats its own FO EF in shape and magnitude). 

To assess the level of interference signals, an electric model of lightning was developed, which is based on the process of propagation of the step leader (the maximum intensity of the noise electric field occurs in lightning at the stage of propagation of the step leader). The simulation of the electric field of lightning showed that the intensity near its channel takes significant values, and the distance, providing reliable EDF information, depends on the parameters of FO and can reach a few tens of kilometers.

The statistical scatter of the size of the stepped leader has no effect on the parameters of EDF. Basically, the spread of the possible values of the charge of the step leader affects the size of the distance from the lightning channel to the EDF, which provides reliable information about the FO. That amends the assessment of the probability of issuing reliable information in the conditions of a priori unknown storm situation. However, the absolute value of the probability for these conditions remains high and for the vast majority of the considered FO and guidance conditions (the threshold value of the interference field intensity equal to 100 V/m) is not less than 99,7% (in Eurasia).

The calculation carried out for the EDF carrier flying near the thundercloud showed that the probability of issuing reliable information in the most unfavorable conditions (at minimum distances to the center of the cloud, the maximum values of the parameters of the cloud diameter and the charge of the step leader) for all considered FO remains high and it is not less than 94,4% (in Eurasia).

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