Radar based Air Surveillance System (RASS)

This case study showcases Mistral’s expertise

in the architecture and design of a complex radar

sub-system meeting requirements of

JSS 55555 and MIL-STD-416E

The Customer

The Requirement

A leading Defense Lab selected Mistral to design, build and integrate a system

capable of functioning as a Radar Controller, Radar Data Processor, Radar Signal

Processor and Radar Data Recorder.

The customer’s requirement was to design and integrate a solution that

matched their overall functional and performance criteria; while adhering to the

longevity, product lifecycle management and integration norms. The solution

had to meet the following requirements:

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Equipment mechanical dimension constraints: 1500mm x 550mm x 474mm

(Width x Depth x Height)

Radar Controller:

6U VME64x COTS product based on a PowerPC processor

User programmable FPGAs with FPGA core capable of

communicating using sFPDP protocol on optic fiber interface

LVTTL to RS422 level convertors

GPS to provide location and time information

Ethernet switch to communicate with external sub-systems

Power Supply Unit to cater to the system requirement

Radar Data Processor:

6U VME 64x COTS product based on three Intel processors

Flash based storage module and multiple gigabit ports

Ethernet switch to communicate with external sub-systems

and intra board communication


Radar Signal Processor:

6U VPX COTS product based on PowerPC

Support for sFPDP based communication

High-speed communication channels between boards


Case Study

Radar based Air Surveillance System (RASS)

Introduction

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The Radar based Air Surveillance System (RASS) is a radar sub-system

providing resources for Radar Signal Processing, Radar Data Processing,

Radar Controller Functions and Radar Data Recording.

The RASS consists of the following line-replaceable units (LRUs)

Signal Processor Unit (SPU)

Data Processor and Controller Unit (DPCU)

Radar Data Recorder Unit (RDRU)

Power Distribution and Control Unit (PDCU)

This case study highlights Mistral’s expertise in the architecture and

design of radar sub-system to meet the requirements of input/output

signals, communication links, processing capability and data transfer

capability.

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Radar Data Processor:

Radar Data Processor based on three 6U VME 64xCOTS based Intel

Core2-Duo Processor boards, each having two PMC sites

Two PMC sites populated with flash based storage card and two

additional gigabit ports using the second PMC slot

Power Supply Unit consisting of DC to DC converter modules and a filter

module to cater to the system needs of +3.3v, +5v, +12v and -12v.

SP LRU consists of:

Liquid cooled chassis for conduction cooled VPX boards

Customized VPX backplane

Customized Power Supply Unit consisting of DC to DC converter modules

and a filter module to cater to the system needs of +3.3v, +5v, +12v and -12v

Customized Front Connectors Panel to connect signals from VPX boards

Radar Signal Processor based on five 6U VPX COTS based Quad Dual Core

PowerPC processor boards, each having an XMC site

VPX Fire Blade Ethernet switch to communicate with external sub-systems

and intra board communication

XMC site populated with sFPDP card.

Radar Data Recorder consists of:

Recording capacity of 3.6TB

Concurrent recording of four channels of sFPDP data

Removable storage.

Design Services and System Integration:

Mistral was involved in the design and development of the entire system

from the initial phase of system architecting, to component selection, system

engineering and validation. The solution offered included:

System Design

System study with report generation to ensure all the operational

environmental conditions and performance requirements were met. This

included the complete 3D computer modeling of the system, system power

consumption calculations, system cooling calculations, system structural

analysis, system thermal analysis and external/ internal cable harness.

Hardware Design

Design and development of:

VME based I/O translation card

VME based GPS and clock module

Seven slot VPX backplane

VME Sandwich board

Front panel I/O connector PCBs

Complete cable harness design

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Radar Data Recorder:

Programmable unit based on PowerPC 6U VPX COTS

Recording capacity of 3.6TB

Concurrent recording of four channels of sFPDP data

Capable of operating in harsh environmental conditions with a

removable storage unit.

Solution Provided

Mistral is a professional design services company with extensive experience in

embedded hardware and software development for Mil-Aero applications. This

capability, in conjunction with partnerships with leading embedded solution

providers like Curtiss-Wright and Wind River Systems, enabled Mistral to

provide a complete solution to meet the customer’s specific requirements.

Mistral developed a system comprising of the following components:

The RASS enclosure was made of light; non-ferrous material to withstand and

sustain the extreme environmental conditions that it will be exposed to.

The RASS enclosure consists of the following:

Signal Processor (SP) LRU

Data Processor (DP) LRU

Wide Band Recorder (WBR) LRU

Power Distribution & Control Unit LRU

Connectors in the right side panel of RASS enclosure

Liquid cooling mechanism for the LRUs inside the RASS enclosure

Isolated platform for the LRUs to negate the vibrations and shocks

from the RASS enclosure

Power status indicators of the LRUs.

RDP and RC LRU consists of:

Liquid cooled chassis for conduction cooled VME64x boards

Seven slot VME64X backplane

Customized Power Supply Unit consisting of DC to DC converter modules

and a filter module to cater to the system’s need of +3.3v, +5v, +12v and -12v

Customized Sandwich card for intra slot connectivity of I/O lines and front

panel I/O connections

Customized Front Connectors Panel to connect signals from VME64x boards

6U VME64xCOTS based Ethernet switch to communicate with external

sub-systems and intra board communication

VME Translation I/O card for LVTTL to RS422 level conversion

Radar Controller:

Based on one 6U VME64x COTS based Quad PowerPC processor boards,

each having two PMC sites

Two PMC sites populated with user programmable FPGA cards with

sFPDP IP core

VME GPS Receiver card to provide location, time information and IPPS

signal

Mistral Solutions Inc.,

solutions

4633 Old Ironsides Drive,Suite 410, Santa Clara, CA 95054 USAPhone: +1-408-705-2240Fax: +1-408-987-9665E-mail: usa@mistral .com

Branch Offices:

INDIA

! Hyderabad

! New Delhi

USA

! Dallas, Texas

Mistral Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,No.60, 'Adarsh Regent', 100 Ft. Ring Road, Domlur Extension, Bangalore - 560 071 Tel: +91-80-3091 2600 Fax: +91-80-2535 6440 E-mail: [email protected]

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Integration

Integration of all boards within the system; and establishing functional

capabilities of base card, inter- and intra-system communication, HA

validation, GigE network establishment, Inter Processor Communication

with inter- and intra-system dependencies

Integration and testing of COTS and custom designed hardware

Integration of drivers, BSP, DSP libraries and system monitoring

programs provided by our solution partners

Verification and Validation

Design and validation of ATR for a high-power application, with

thermal management

Rugged systems adherence to ground based application - All boards

supplied cater to the requirements of JSS 55555 and MIL-STD -416E.

The design of the cooling system for a complex system like the RASS

was a challenge. This was addressed by using liquid cooled cold plates

as an ideal high-performance heat transfer solution

Designing and fabrication of seven slot VPX backplane with full mesh

fabric connection between five slots while maintaining high level of

signal integrity

Conformance to environmental conditions including thermal

management, structural rigidity, EMI/EMC conformance.

Incorporation of liquid cooling in the side walls of the LRUs to provide an

effective cooling system. This is one of the first designs wherein liquid

cooled cold plates were used for cooling the LRUs

Various key elements of the system were built indigenously at Mistral.

This includes, the seven slot VPX backplane, VME based translation I/O

card, Sandwich backplane for I/O termination, Front Panel I/O boards, Cable

Harness creation and routing plan for the same

The Challenges

Key Achievements

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Customization of GPS module for VME form factor. Mistrals design team

adapted a non-standard COTS module to conform to the VME form factor by

designing a board that will host the GPS module without any modification to

the original GPS module

Complete integration of the LRUs that used two industry standard bus

architectures VPX and VME. The system realized with two different

operating platforms (Linux and VxWorks)

Establishing optical links for sFPDP and Fiber channel and Gigabit ethernet

network for external and internal network

Designed an intelligent power distribution box that will regulate optimum

power supply to the units and regulates temperature sensors to prevent over

heating

The system designed to withstand solar radiations, vibration and shocks

that the unit might receive during transportation and operation of the Radar,

operation of the system in extreme weather conditions like rain, snow, high

humidity and high temperature environments like desert

Provided the end user with complete software development tools on Linux

and VxWorks operating systems, also provided optimized signal processing

libraries for SP LRUs

System designed meets requirements of JSS 55555 and MIL-STD-416E

Specifications

Designed a highly computing intense system for multi beam processing.

A multi-vendor selection of best-of-breed sub-systems was made available

as an integrated system through a single system integrator; who not only

provided the solution but would also provide support and maintenance for

the coming years

Shortened customer’s end-to-end product development cycle and ensured

on-time deployment schedule

A fully integrated deployable solution, thoroughly verified and certified for

deployment, and compliant with functional and environmental standards

was made available.

Customer Benefits

Documents

Radar based Air Surveillance System (RASS)