A caustic corrected UTD solution for the fields radiated by a source on a flat plate with a curved edge

Corrections to the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) that account for the caustics caused by the coalescence of the diffraction points on a curved edge are derived. This creates a new curvature dependent diffraction coefficient that has not been previously accounted for in the UTD. The far-zone radiation by a short monopole mounted on an elliptic disk is analyzed using this caustic corrected UTD solution. Theoretical results are verified in the principal plane by comparison with a method of moments solution. The resulting solution for the radiated field is accurate and provides useful insight into the scattering phenomena. This insight is necessary in order to obtain more general solutions.