Multi-Node Small Radar Network Deployment Optimization in 3D Terrain

When deploying multi-node small radar networks in cities or mountains, it is crucial to consider the influence of terrain. The propagation of radio waves in areas with known three-dimensional (3D) terrain differs significantly from that in free space. However, existing radar deployment optimization methods often rely on simplistic propagation models that do not accurately capture the variations in coverage at different heights. Therefore, the parabolic equation model (PEM) is first introduced to radar network deployment considering terrain constraints. After obtaining coverage results for different altitude layers, the Layered Effective Coverage Rate (LECR) is proposed as our optimization objective. Then, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA-III) is employed to address this multi-objective optimization problem. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the superiority of introducing PEM and the effectiveness of NSGA-III.