CFAR Detection in Non-Gaussian Clutter for Foreign Objects Debris Detection on Airport Runways

Along with antenna scanning, strong time-varying ground clutter is one of main reasons for foreign objects debris (FOD) detection on airport runway. Traditional clutter-map constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection method has poor ability to detect targets in non-Gaussian clutter. To solve this problem, a method of bi-parametric clutter-map CFAR detection is proposed in this paper. Model of received signal of frequency modulation continue wave (FMCW) radar based on the scenario of the airport runways and characteristics of radar system is analyzed, and the iteration average value in time-domain of each scan is obtained by the use of non-coherent integration, parameters estimation and loop filter, etc. Finally, further analysis of the main factors which affect detection performance of this method is studied.