Investigation of a mmWave-Radar-Based Sensor for Snow-Suspension Density Measurements

New York

2016

Sonderdruck

12199S

202691

Abstract—The precise and robust determination of snowsuspension densities is inevitable for the reliable prediction of the destruction potential of powder snow avalanches. Therefore, in this letter, a novel sensor approach for the snow-density determination is investigated. It relies on highly stable and fast time-of-flight measurements utilizing a highly accurate mmWaveradar system. Next to theoretical considerations on the applicability of dielectric mixing equations for snow-suspensions, first test measurements, that were carried out on super dilute snowsqualls, are presented and discussed in detail.Index Terms—Snow density, mmWave-radar, permittivity.