Methodology for investigating the interference immunity of satellite navigation antenna arrays using ANSYS HFSS

Abstract

This paper presents an HFSS-based procedure for quantifying the interference resilience of satellite-navigation antennas on autonomous platforms that employ digital antenna arrays and controlled reception pattern antennas (CRPAs). An individual element is first simulated to determine the operating band under the VSWR<2 criterion and to select the analysis frequency. The complete array is then solved with in-phase excitation to obtain the zenith peak gain P. Next, a phase distribution that enforces a zenith null is identified, the associated gain depression D is measured, and interference suppression is expressed as P−D. The workflow is demonstrated on navigation CRPAs of several topologies. A six-element ring yields a relative null depth of about 36.5 dB, whereas a seven-element ring provides up to 45 dB of suppression. The strongest performance is achieved by a dual-ring 16-element array, reaching a 53 dB null depth. A square 4×4 array is lower by 8.5 dB. In further research, it would be advisable to experimentally test the influence of phase errors and also to extend this approach to other electromagnetic simulators.