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IWR1443: Surface profile with mmWave radar sensor

Junior S.
Prodigy 10 points
Part Number: IWR1443
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: , TIDEP-01012, MMWCAS-RF-EVM

Hi,

I want to implement a surface mapping sensor to calculate the volume of sand inside a tank. The thank has 30 meters of height and 48 meters of width. As you may imagine, there is a lot of dust in the air, then a radar sensor should be a good solution. Se an illustration in the image below:

But instead of collecting only one point on the surface, I need a 2D measurement profile, covering all tank width. My plan is to install the sensor on the roof, so it only need a wide enough horizontal aperture. 

Do you think that a TI mmWave radar, like IWR1443, is capable of acquiring a surface profile similar to this?

Best regards

  • 0
    TI__Guru 50240 points

    Hi Junior

    Yes I believe IWR1443 would be a good solution. The 3Tx and 4Rx antenna will allow the sensor to distinguish angular information in the tank which will allow you to detect where level is higher in some areas of the tank than others. Also the Antenna Patterns shown in the Antenna Database Entry for the IWR1443BOOST show that field of view is more than wide enough to detect the level in your scene. I would recommend you order an IWR1443BOOST for evaluation.

    Are there any power requirements for your project?

    Is the material you are measuring just some sand?

    Regards,

    AG

  • 0 in reply to Akash Gondalia
    Prodigy 10 points

    Dear Akash, thank you for answering.

    Initially I do not have a power requirement. Do you have any other boards suggestion?

    The material is sand and also soybean.

    Besides measuring the surface profile, I have two more applications that I have to implement:

    1. Measure the distance of a static object, aligned with the sensor, over 200 meters away.
    2. Measure the surface profile of soybean being carried over a belt conveyor to calculate the volumetric flow rate (m³/second or per hour), which implies the need of also measure the belt conveyor speed. The measurement distance is this case is of just few meters. See an example in the image below:

    I would like to implement a radar sensor to solve all these requirements (i.e., soybean surface profile in a tank, soybean surface profile in a belt conveyor, speed of the belt conveyor and distance of a static object). Maybe even the same some for all three requisites! Is that possible?

    Do you think that IWR1443 would fit the above applications as well? What about the TIDEP-01012 cascade module, I found the examples from the design guide interesting. Does it enable more accuracy in the measurements?

    Best regards

  • +1 in reply to Junior S.
    TI__Guru 50240 points

    Hi Junior

    1. 200 meters will be too far for mmWave sensors to detect. Limit is about 100-120 meters.

    2. mmWave sensors are very good at measuring velocity, so I think it would be suitable for this application.

    Lastly, this depends what kind of measurement accuracy you are looking to get in the sand/bean silo with regard to angular resolution. if you need some but not very fine angular resolution then IWR1443 should be fine. However if you need very fine angular resolution then you will want to look into using the Cascade EVM. If you have questions on the Cascade EVM please submit a new thread with part number TIDEP-01012 or MMWCAS-RF-EVM.

    Regards,

    AG