  Phased array radar systems have a wide variety of applications in engineering
and physics research. Phased array design usually requires numerical modeling
with expensive commercial computational packages. Using the open-source MIT
Electrogmagnetic Equation Propagation (MEEP) package, a set of phased array
designs is presented. Specifically, one and two-dimensional arrays of Yagi-Uda
and horn antennas were modeled in the bandwidth [0.1 - 5] GHz, and compared to
theoretical expectations in the far-field. Precise matches between MEEP
simulation and radiation pattern predictions at different frequencies and beam
angles are demonstrated. Given that the computations match the theory, the
effect of embedding a phased array within a medium of varying index of
refraction is then computed. Understanding the effect of varying index on
phased arrays is critical for proposed ultra-high energy neutrino observatories
which rely on phased array detectors embedded in natural ice. Future work will
develop the phased array concepts with parallel MEEP, in order to increase the
detail, complexity, and speed of the computations.

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena