Abstract: The influence of the radome structure deformation due to thermal expansion and change of electromagnetic parameters of materials caused by high temperature on the electrical properties of the radome are considered. The electrical properties of the radome in the thermal environment are calculated by combining the aperture integration surface integration (AI SI) method and the finite element method (FEM). Then, the optimization process of the radome electrical performance considering thermal effect is proposed based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method. Finally, the electrical performance of the radome is optimized under three conditions: normal temperature environment, uniform thermal environment, and non uniform thermal environment. The results indicate that the thermal environment could lead to the decreasing transmission coefficient and the increasing boresight error. The influence of temperature on electrical performance should be considered in the optimization design of the radome. The transmission coefficient could increase and the boresight error could decrease by using the proposed optimization method, which is an effective and feasible alternative in the environment of radome optimization.

Key words: Radome, Thermal effect, Electrical performance, Optimization, Aperture Integration Surface Integration