Assessing structural integrity of remote Arctic Radome Towers with customized SHM systems.
The North Warning System (NWS) is a modernization of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, which was established in the 1950s as part of a Canada-US continental air defence strategy. The system comprises a series of radar stations along the Canadian and Alaskan coasts of the Arctic Ocean. Each NWS radar antenna is protected by a structure called a “Radome,” which consists of a structural steel tower and a geodesic dome enclosure. Typically, these Radomes are situated on high-altitude plateaus and are subject to exceptional environmental and operating conditions, including large temperature changes (daily and seasonal), ice accretions, high winds, and significant oscillating eccentric loads.
| Date | Installation completed October 2018; monitoring ongoing |
|---|---|
| Location | Canadian Arctic (Labrador and Nunavut) |
| Client | Subconsultant to Cleland Jardine Engineering Ltd. |
| Challenges |
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In order to assess the response of these Radome structures to real-life conditions, the NWS operator commissioned an engineering study at three radar sites. The scope of study included visual inspections, finite element modelling, and validation of the model through measurement of strain, wind, and temperature using an automated Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system at each site.
SHM Canada was retained by the prime consultant, CJEL, to design, install and operate Structural Health Monitoring systems on the support frames and to provide monitoring data for five months. Our team customized various components of the system in order to ensure that it would withstand extreme weather conditions and operate reliably despite the strong electromagnetic field produced by the Radomes’ high-energy radar equipment. Due to the remote location of the Radome site, we employed satellite communication for real-time data transmission. Data is currently being collected, reviewed for quality assurance, and forwarded to the client.
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