Electromagnetic scattering from an unbonded rectangular wire mesh located near the air-ground interface

Results are presented for the reflection characteristics of a wire mesh located just above the air/ground interface. The influence of the various parameters, such as angle of incidence, interwire spacing, wire radii, height of wire mesh, and ground conductivity, is investigated. Both square and rectangular meshes are considered. An important finding is that the reflecting efficiency is only slightly degraded when the mesh is moved from roughly a height of six wire radii down to a height equal to one wire radius. Far-field radiation patterns for source dipoles of various orientation, located over the mesh, are also calculated. These are compared with the corresponding patterns for a ground surface with no mesh present. The major differences occur at grazing angles, as expected. Also in this region, some of the approximate formulations, such as those based on the average-boundary-condition techniques used by the Soviets, break down.