Southwest Research Institute 1997 Annual Report

The Institute has a leadership position in radio frequency (RF) signal exploitation and geolocation system development, providing advanced acquisition, recognition, direction finding (DF), and tracking systems to government, military, and commercial clients in the United States and around the world. Aided by a strong internal research and development program, Institute personnel provide state-of-the-art solutions to clients' unique operational needs for land-based, shipboard (including submarine), airborne, vehicular, and man-transportable systems.

Institute engineers and technicians continue to design and build direction finding antennas and below-deck equipment groups for major shipboard programs, such as Canada's AN/SRD-19, AN/SRS-1, and AN/SRD-503. In addition, SwRI has recently developed intercept and DF systems for special classes of U.S. Navy ships, including the MBS-506A for the Cyclone class coastal defense ship and the Transportable Radio Direction Finder for major surface combatants. Both mast top-mounted and superstructure-integrated shipboard antennas are designed to meet the severe RF and physical environment encountered at sea. Advanced DF algorithms and calibration data acquisition and reduction software are integral to the SwRI shipboard DF systems, providing bearing accuracy of less than one degree in the complex shipboard environment. Algorithms developed to provide DF from scattered shipboard antennas have been adapted to other complex reradiation environments, such as cluttered ground sites and building rooftops.

Under U.S. Navy and Joint Command and Control Warfare Center contracts, the Institute developed SABER (Situational Awareness Beacon with Reply) as a sophisticated command and control situational awareness and friendly identification system that tracks the location of beacon-equipped assets anywhere on the globe. SABER beacons produce accurate global positioning system geolocation information and platform data that are sent to theater tactical users and global command and control nodes. SABER also functions as a "friendly identification" query-and-response tool aimed at reducing friendly fire casualties. Upon receiving an intent-to-shoot query from a weapon platform, all beacons compare their own locations with the shooter's targeted area, and friendly platforms within the targeted area respond with a "don't shoot me" warning message.

SwRI has pioneered the design and development of computer-controlled RF spectrum surveillance systems. The Institute's OMNI*SCAN and MINI*SCAN systems are designed to detect unauthorized RF emissions from protected areas such as classified facilities, offices, and conference rooms. These systems monitor, detect, and record changes in RF emissions, including short-duration transmissions emanating from established protected areas, and maintain a database of authorized signals within these areas.

An SwRI-developed magnetic resonance (MR) technique was found to rapidly determine pore size and other information needed to develop complex hydrogels that absorb moisture in products such as time-release capsules and contact lenses. Internal research findings advanced the application of MR to multiphase flow meters used by the oil industry to more accurately measure fluids produced by land and offshore oil wells. Electron paramagnetic resonance and nuclear magnetic resonance were shown to successfully monitor degradation in engine lubricating oils.

Development of high-intensity electromagnetic field technology for materials heating and curing has continued. Several high-power equipment sets have been developed to match the configuration of the high-intensity fields to heating requirements. An internal research project was conducted to investigate polyethylene pipe bonding, as well as the curing of other polymers.

Institute researchers conduct theoretical and numerical modeling of high-resolution seismic data from hydrocarbon reservoirs, incorporating geophysical, petrophysical, geological, and production data. The advanced models are used to characterize structural features and permeability distribution to increase production in oil and gas fields. Similar models have been developed to map the petrophysics and tectonics beneath low-level nuclear waste storage facilities.

Copyright© 1997 by Southwest Research Institute. All rights reserved under U.S. Copyright Law and International Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

Signal Exploitation, Geolocation, and Electronic Systems and Instrumentation