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Offshore wind turbines play a significant role in the expansion of clean and renewable energy. However, their exposure to harsh marine environments and dynamic loading conditions poses significant challenges to their structural integrity. In particular, the grouted connection, serving as the crucial interface between the monopile and the transition piece, is susceptible to cracking and particle washout that can lead to destabilizing grout erosion over time. In this paper, we propose a microwave structural health monitoring (SHM) approach for damage detection in grouted connections based on a stepped-frequency continuous wave radar. The methodology exploits ultra-wideband (UWB) electromagnetic wave propagation in the frequency range from 100 MHz to 2 GHz, where the microwaves propagate along the concrete-type dielectric material guided by the surrounding steel cylinders. For the proof of concept, a scaled laboratory demonstrator was built that realistically models the dynamic loading experienced by a full-scale monopile. The structure was equipped with an UWB radar system using two transmitting and three receiving antennas directly coupled to the grout. For validation, a large number of other sensors, i.e., accelerometers, strain gauges, and acoustic emission sensors have also been installed and measured synchronously during the fatigue test. It is demonstrated here that the proposed SHM methodology offers a nondestructive and real-time method for assessing the structural integrity of the grouted connection directly, actively, and automatically. This has the potential to support predictive maintenance activities in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of frequency-modulation continuous-wave (FMCW) technology and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) promises a lightweight, cost-effective, and high-quality imaging sensor for remote sensing. However, the long signal duration time leads to the failure of the conventional start/stop approximation of the pulsed SAR. In this paper, a signal model is proposed to address the effects of the continuous motion during the transmit time on the echoed signal. Based on the model, an analytical point target reference spectrum is derived. From the spectrum, it will be seen that the continuous motion introduces an additional range-azimuth coupling term and a range walk term compared with the conventional pulsed SAR. The range walk term is well known, whereas the foregoing range-azimuth coupling term is formulated for the first time in the FMCW SAR community. For the squint and spotlight modes, these range walk and range-azimuth coupling terms might significantly degrade the image quality. In this paper, based on the proposed analytical signal model, we further discuss the application of the wavenumber domain algorithm for the FMCW SAR data. In addition, different approximations of the Stolt mapping are made to highlight the effect of the range-dependent higher-order range-azimuth coupling terms on the 2-D impulse responses. Finally, X-band simulated experiments and Ka-band real FMCW SAR data are used to validate the signal model and the processing method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capabilities of millimeter wave radars have been demonstrated for a long period of time for missile seeker applications and for automotive radars. The technological advantages of this type of radar can be adapted to security applications in air traffic management at short and medium range as well as on the ground. The application discussed in this paper focuses on inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging techniques for the derivation of high-resolution signatures of helicopters in the air and the determination of reference images using turntable measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]