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illumination is still not correctly predicted, but it may result from a measurement problem due to the very low values of the magnetic field in that case. VI. CONCLUSION The refined model of the apertures and the adaptive mesh technique are efficient at frequencies lower than 500 MHz. At higher frequencies, the internal details are important, and generally any internal structures of sizes greater than =5 have to be taken into account. An optimal mesh of a realistic enclosure has been built. Let us assume that if the numerical code and the defined mesh provide accurate results when the shielding is illuminated from the outside, they should also provide a good basis in the reciprocal configuration, when the shielding is illuminated from the inside by an equivalent numerical source. This last configuration is the closest to the actual one in which the power converter illuminates its enclosure and radiates toward the outside. Finally, by means of the receiving configuration, we have developed a method to model the EUT in order to precisely predict the shielding effectiveness and a way for defining an optimal mesh of the enclosure, suitable for starting to model the emissions problem. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank V. Levillain, Aerospatiale Company, Les Mureaux, France, and R. Leveill and C. Cottard from PSA Peugeot Citron Company, La Garenne Colombes, France, for the help provided. REFERENCES
[1] J. M. Lograsson, M. A. Wisnewski, and J. P. Souther, Electromagnetic compatibility and electric vehiclesGeneral Motors advanced technology vehicles, in 14th Int. Elect. Veh. Symp., Orlando, FL, Oct. 1997. [2] R. Chotard, R. Lveill, V. Levillain, W. Tabbara, and G. Alqui, Coupling of an electromagnetic wave to a metallic box through two types of aperture, in EuroEM 94, Bordeaux, France, May 30June 4, 1994. [3] V. Robin, P. Bonamour, and B. Lepetit, tude de la rponse lectromagntique dun avion: Apport dune modlization thorique, in Actes du Colloque CEM 94, Toulouse, France, Mar. 1994, pp. 213218. [4] S. Dop and G. Alqui, Modle multiconducteur dun simulateur large bande. valuation de londe guide, in Actes du Colloque CEM 98, Brest, France, June 1998. [5] J. E. Bridges, An update on the circuit approach to calculate shielding effectiveness, IEEE Trans. Electromagn. Compat., vol. 30, pp. 211221, Aug. 1988. [6] H. A. Bethe, Theory of diffraction by small holes, Phys. Rev., vol. 66, pp. 163182, Oct. 1944. [7] D. Lecointe, W. Tabbara, and J.-L. Lasserre, Coupling of an EM wave to a wire in a cavity variations with wire position, in EuroEM 94, Bordeaux, France, May 30June 4, 1994. [8] C. M. Butler, Electromagnetic Penetration through apertures in conducting surfaces, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-26, pp. 8293, Jan. 1978. [9] K. S. H. Lee, E.M.P. Interaction: Principles, Techniques, and Reference Data. New York: Hemisphere, 1986. [10] V. Levillain, Couplage lments finis-quations intgrales pour la rsolution des quations de Maxwell en milieu htrogne, Ph.D. dissertation, de lcole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, June 1991. [11] A. Bendali, Numerical analysis of the exterior boundary value problem for the time-harmonic Maxwell equations by a boundary finite element methodPart 1: The continuous problem, Math. Computat., vol. 43, no. 167, pp. 2946, July 1984. [12] P. A. Raviart and J. M. Thomas, A mixed finite element method for second order elliptic problems, in Mathematical Aspects of Finite Element Methods, ser. Lecture Notes 606 in Mathematics. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 1975.

Effects of Reinforced Concrete Structures on RF Communications

Roger A. Dalke, Christopher L. Holloway, Paul McKenna, Martin Johansson, and Azar S. Ali

AbstractThe proliferation of communication systems used in and around man-made structures has resulted in a growing need to determine the reflection and transmission properties of various commonly used building materials at radio frequencies typically used in businesses and residential environments. This paper describes the calculation of reflection and transmission coefficients for reinforced concrete walls as a function of wall thicknesses and rebar lattice configuration over a frequency range of 1006000 MHz. The transmission and reflection coefficients were calculated using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solution of Maxwells equations. The rebar structures analyzed include both a two-dimensional (2-D) trellis-like structure and a one-dimensional (1-D) structure, where the reenforcing bars are all oriented in the same direction. In general, the results show that the reinforced concrete structures severely attenuate signals with wavelengths that are much larger than the rebar lattice and that the transmitted signal has a complex structure with resonances and nulls that strongly depend upon the geometry of the reinforcing structure and the concrete wall thickness. Index TermsFinite-difference time-domain (FDTD), propagation model, reflection and transmission coefficient, reinforced concrete.

I. INTRODUCTION The growing use of high data rate communications systems for residential and business communications (e.g., local area networks, vehicular communications, personal communications services) in and around buildings and other man-made structures has increased the need to understand and predict how commonly used building materials can affect the propagation channel. In particular, signal fading and intersymbol interference resulting from reflections and wall penetration can severely degrade system performance. Characterization of a wireless communications channel that includes man-made structures requires a knowledge of the reflection and transmission properties of commonly used building materials. Until recently [1][10], little emphasis has been given to characterizing reflection and transmission properties of building materials for use by communication systems designers in predicting system performance. This paper describes the calculation of electromagnetic (EM) reflection and transmission characteristics for a reinforced concrete wall as a function of rebar geometry and wall thickness over a frequency range of 1006000 MHz using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) techniques. There are a wide variety of methods used to reinforce concrete walls such as wire meshes and reinforcing rods (rebar) of various dimensions and spacings depending on the structural requirements of the building. Such rebar structures have various geometrical designs ranging from simple lattice or trellis type structures to more complex and dense ar-

Manuscript received May 24, 1999; revised April 18, 2000. R. A. Dalke and P. McKenna are with the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder Laboratories, Boulder, CO 80303 USA. C. L. Holloway was with the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder Laboratories, Boulder, CO 80303 USA. He is now with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder Laboratories, Boulder, CO 80303 USA. M. Johansson is with Ericsson Microwave Systems, Core Unit Antenna Technology, SE-43184 Mlndal, Sweden. A. S. Ali is with the Air Force Research Laboratories, Eglin AFB, FL 32542 USA. Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-9375(00)10716-1.

U.S. Government work not protected by U.S. copyright.

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(a) Fig. 2. Reinforced concrete wall.

assumed that the material properties are independent of frequency and equal to typical values at 1 GHz. In a separate publication, we will present the results for the effects of dispersion due to frequency-dependent material properties of concrete. II. FDTD SOLUTION There are various numerical and quasi-analytical methods that can be used to determine the transmission and reflection characteristics for a periodic reinforced concrete wall of infinite extent (e.g., modematching, Floquet analysis, etc.). For this study, we used a numerical FDTD method that exploited the symmetry of the structure. Plane wave reflection and transmission characteristics were calculated for various wall thicknesses W , rebar diameters D , and periods P (see Fig. 2). The results of this analysis are given in terms of transmission and reflection coefficients for a normally incident plane wave. The transmission coefficient T is defined by

(b)

Et = T Eo

(1)

where Eo is the incident electric field and Et is the transmitted electric field. The reflection coefficient R is defined by
(c) Fig. 1. Lattice configuration. (a) Rebar parallel to incident E field. (b) Rebar perpendicular to incident E field. (c) 2-D grid with rebar both parallel and perpendicular to the incident E field.

Er = REo

(2)

rangements when a high degree of strength is required. It would be prohibitive to study all possible structural designs. The intent of this paper is to report on results from a study involving reinforced concrete structures that were encountered in a radio-link analysis involving wireless communications through buildings. The three general rebar configurations that were analyzed are shown in Fig. 1. In the case of parallel reinforcing bars (no crossbars), the transmission and reflection coefficients for a normally incident plane wave were calculated with the incident electric field both perpendicular and parallel to the rebar, as shown in Fig. 1(a) and (b). The third configuration corresponds to a two-dimensional (2-D) trellis-like rebar structure. In this case, the reflection and transmission coefficients were calculated for an incident electric field oriented parallel to one direction of the rebar lattice [see Fig. 1(c)]. For this analysis, we are primarily interested in evaluating the resonant phenomena of a reinforced concrete structure. Therefore, we have

where Er is the reflected electric field. In general, the FDTD technique requires the volume of the computational space (i.e., the reinforced concrete wall and the air region on either side of the wall) to be subdivided into unit rectangular paral~ ) and electric (E ~ ) field vector compolelepiped cells. The magnetic (H nents on these cells are represented by a Yee space lattice [11]. Using this scheme [11], [12], the coupled Maxwells curl equations are solved ~ and E ~ fields in time and space. for both the H The algorithm is implemented using a staggered grid in both space and time with the electric and magnetic fields offset by one-half of the spatial increment and one-half of the time increment. For example, using Cartesian coordinates and central differences with time increment t and space increments x, y , z ; the x component of the ~ and H ~ fields is given as follows: E

1 1 1

n+1 Hx (i; j + 1; k + 1)

t n = Hx (i; j + 1; k + 1) 0 1  n+1=2 n+1=2 ; k + 1) 0 Ez (i; j; k + 1) 1 Ez (i; j + 1 y(j + 1) 0 y(j )

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Fig. 3.

Three-dimensional (3-D) reinforced concrete computational volume.

t +1 

n+1=2 ( + 1; k + 1) 0 Ey (i; j + 1; k) z (k + 1) 0 z (k )   n+3=2 Ex (i; j; k) 1t + 2   n+1=2 (i; j; k) = 1t 0 2 Ex n +1 1; k) 0 Hzn+1 (i; j; k) + Hz (i;yj0 (+ j + 1) 0 y0 (j ) n+1 (i; j; k + 1) 0 H n+1 (i; j; k) Hy y 0 z0 (k + 1) 0 z0 (k ) 1 y (j ) = j 0 2 1y; y0 (j ) = (j 0 1)1y 1 z (k ) = k 0 2 1z; z0 (k) = (k 0 1)1z

n+1=2 Ey i; j

An incident plane wave was introduced into the computational volume by using a numerical implementation of the EM equivalence principle. This was accomplished by creating a Huygens surface bounded by z-planes near the ends of the computational volume (see Fig. 3). The equivalent electric and magnetic currents on this surface are set to produce the desired plane wave fields inside the surface (in the absence of the concrete wall) and zero field outside the surface. Thus, when the scatterer is introduced, the numerical code produces the total field (incident scattered) inside the surface and the scattered field outside of the surface. For this problem, the time dependence of the incident electric field was

(3)

sin2 (2f0 t); E (t) = 0; =15

t < t >

1 2f0 1 2f0

(4)

where the integers i, j , k , and n represent the discrete Cartesian space and time coordinates respectively and , , and  denote permittivity, permeability, and conductivity. The other components have a similar structure. Note that the electric and magnetic field components are staggered in both space and time in order to achieve an explicit central difference scheme. Typically, the finite-difference technique is imple~ fields in the computational volume mented by first advancing all the H ~ fields at the previous time step. Then the E ~ fields are by using the E ~ advanced by using the H fields that were just calculated, and so on. The scattering object (i.e., reinforced concrete wall) was included by setting  : mS/m and the relative permittivity r at cell locations occupied by the concrete wall and setting the tangential electric fields on the boundaries of the rebar equal to zero. The values used for  and  are typical for concrete at 1 GHz.

where f0 : GHz which provides adequate resolution for frequencies up to 6 GHz. For stability of this scheme, one needs to ensure that

1t <
v

1 1 1 1x2 + 1y2 + 1z2

(5)

= 1 95

=6

where v is the maximum velocity of the propagation in the computational volume. This criterion is referred to as the Courant or the CFL (CourantFriedricksLewy) stability condition [13] and [14] and essentially states that the numerical speed of propagation must exceed the physical speed of propagation for numerical stability. The size of the spatial increment is governed by two requirements. First, the finite-difference grid should resolve the highest frequency of

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TABLE I REINFORCED CONCRETE WALL PARAMETERS

(a)

tation of the rebar. Under these conditions, symmetric boundary conditions were applied in two spatial directions and, hence, two dimensions of the computational volume were reduced to half a period of the structure. Absorbing boundary conditions were applied on boundaries that were not planes of symmetry. Fig. 3 shows a typical rebar lattice structure and the planes where the symmetric boundary conditions were applied. In this example, the electric field is in the x ^ direction and there are two x planes of symmetry (i.e., x ^ is normal to the plane) and two y planes of symmetry. Denoting the discrete finite-difference coordinates of the x planes of symmetry as i = 1 and i = imax , the discrete boundary conditions are
Hz (1; j; k ) Hz (imax ; j; k ) H H

= =

Hz (2; j; k ) Hz (imax H

01

; j; k )

y (1; j; k) =

y (2; j; k) y (imax

y (imax ; j; k) =

01

; j; k ):

(6)

Similarly, denoting the discrete coordinates of the y planes of symmetry as j = 1 and j = jmax , the discrete boundary conditions are
H H

z (i; 1; k) =

(b) Fig. 4. Comparisons of the FDTD results to results obtained from mode matching and from finite-element simulations (P 1:5 cm, D = 0:75 cm). (a) E field perpendicular to rods. (b) E field parallel to rods.

z (i; jmax ; k) =
H

x (i; 1; k) =

x (i; jmax ; k) =

0 0 0 0

z (i; 2; k) z (i; jmax x (i; 2; k) x (i; jmax

H H

01

; k)

01

; k ):

(7)

interest, which is usually accomplished by using at least ten cells per wavelength at this frequency. Second, the cells should be small enough to resolve all scattering objects in the computational volume (rebar in the present case). For this calculation, sizing the finite-difference cells to resolve the rebar was the more restrictive condition. In this analysis, the cell size used was approximately equal to a tenth of the radius of the rebar (e.g., 1 mm for rebar 1.91 cm (3/400 ) in diameter). A. Boundary Conditions for the Computational Volume For the cell sizes required to resolve the rebar (on the order of millimeters), the computational volume must be kept as small as possible so as not to exceed computer resources. This was accomplished by exploiting the periodic structure of the concrete wall and using a normally incident plane wave polarized parallel (or perpendicular) to the orien-

Note that for this example, the x-plane boundary conditions are symmetric and the y -plane boundary conditions are antiasymmetric. The incident field propagates in the z ^ direction and, hence, the fields are not symmetric about z planes. The computational volume was truncated along z planes by using first-order Mur absorbing boundary conditions [15] (see Fig. 3). This type of boundary condition is adequate for this problem since it is designed to absorb normally incident fields. III. NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION To validate this approach, we compared FDTD results for a thin wire grating (see Fig. 1) to those obtained from a calculation using mode matching [16] and also to those obtained from a calculation using finite-elements. Fig. 4 gives the comparison of the results using these three methods for a structure consisting of a wire grating. Note that the FDTD solution is in good agreement with the other two methods. The conclusion here is that the FDTD method and the boundary conditions

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(a)

(b) Fig. 5. Normal incidence reflection and transmission coefficients for (a) rebar lattice in free-space (P sheet ( = 6,  = 1:95 mS/m, W = 20:32 cm).

= 7:62 cm and D = 1:91 cm) and (b) plane conducting

described above can be used to accurately calculate transmission and reflection coefficients for the reinforced concrete wall. The reflection and transmission properties of a reinforced concrete wall is a complicated function of the wall thickness and rebar configuration (e.g., lattice spacing and diameter). First consider the behavior of a 2-D rebar lattice in free-space (r = 1 and  = 0). The lattice will severely attenuate the transmitted field at wavelengths that are much larger than the lattice period P . In general, the attenuation due to a rebar lattice in free-space should be monotonic and decreasing (with frequency) up to the first resonance (i.e., peak in the transmitted field). For example, Fig. 5(a) shows results for a rebar lattice in free-space where P = 7:62 cm and D = 1:91 cm. At low frequencies, the lattice acts inductively and the transmitted field strength increases with frequency to a maximum at the first resonance where the wavelength (  P ). It should be noted that the shape of the curves as well as the wavelength at the first resonance are, in

general, a function of the rebar diameter as well as the lattice dimensions. The first resonance occurs when   P (and not =2  P ) because the plane wave excitation causes currents to flow in the same direction on adjacent parallel conducting elements of the lattice that are aligned with the incident electric field. Since the currents on two adjacent conductors are equal in magnitude and direction, there is a null in the induced magnetic and electric fields halfway between the conductors which is consistent with this mode. Now consider the behavior of a plane sheet of moderate conductivity, (i.e., the nonreinforced concrete wall with r = 6 and  = 1:95 mS/m). It is expected that maximum transmission (resonances) will occur at wavelengths (in the concrete c ) when c =2 = W , W=2, W=4, W=8; 1 1 1 and minimums will occur when c =4 = W , W=3, W=5; 1 1 1, as shown in Fig. 5(b), which gives the reflection and transmission coefficients for a 20.32 cm sheet. The results presented in Fig. 5(b) are from an analytic calculation.

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Fig. 6. Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P

= 7 62 cm,
:

= 1:91 cm, W = 15:24 cm.

Fig. 7. Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P = 7:62 cm, D = 1:91 cm, W = 20:32 cm.

The reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall containing a 2-D lattice reinforcing structure using the parameters given in Table I (with  = 1:95 mS/m and r = 6) are shown in Figs. 614. These coefficients exhibit a combination of the trends (e.g., resonances) described above. For example, Figs. 68 give the transmission and reflection coefficients for a rebar structure having a period of 7.62 cm, rebar diameter of 1.9 cm, and wall thicknesses of 15.24, 20.32, and 30.48 cm. In all three cases, the lowest frequencies are attenuated by the rebar structure as expected. The first peak in the transmission coefficient roughly corresponds to the frequency of the first resonance due to the conducting wall alone or c = 2W . The following peaks are not at even integer multiples of the first resonance frequency as expected and are due to the interaction between the wall and the reinforcing structure. It should be noted that after the first peak, the reinforced concrete wall has generally larger transmission coefficients than the rebar lattice alone. As the frequency increases, the structure of the transmission and reflection coefficients becomes quite complex.

Fig. 9 shows the results when the rebar lattice period is increased to 15.24 cm for a wall thickness of 20.32 cm and a diameter of 1.91 cm. Here, the first peak is at a lower frequency and has a higher amplitude than the corresponding case described in the previous paragraph. This is due to the fact that the slope of the low-frequency transmission coefficient increases as the period increases. This effect alters the form of the transmission and reflection coefficients at lower frequencies (vis--vis the previous example). As shown in Fig. 5(a) and (b), the resonant behavior of the rebar in free-space and the unreinforced slab are quite distinct. When the rebar structure is embedded in the slab, the resonant behavior changes considerably from that of the slab or rebar structure alone. The influence of the combination of the embedded rebar structure and slab thickness on the resonant behavior can be observed by contrasting the results presented in Figs. 5(a) and (b) and 7. Fig. 10 shows the reflection and transmission coefficients when the rebar diameter is increased to 5.08 cm for a wall thickness of 20.32 cm

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Fig. 8. Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P

= 7 62 cm,
:

= 1:91 cm, W = 30:48 cm.

Fig. 9. Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P = 15:24 cm, D = 1:91 cm, W = 20:32 cm.

and a period of 15.24 cm. The increased diameter significantly alters the low frequency behavior of the interaction of the fields and the rebar structure resulting in a decrease in the transmission coefficient (when compared to the 1.91-cm-diameter rebar). The remainder of the figures show the same general trends as the wall thickness, period, and rebar diameter are varied. In all cases, the high frequency behavior is very complex. The amplitude of the reflection and transmission coefficients slowly declines with frequency due to the conductivity of the concrete wall. The results for the case where the rebar is one-dimensional (1-D) (no crossbars) and in free-space were presented in Fig. 4. When the incident electric field was parallel to the rebar, the results were similar (at the lower frequencies) to what would be obtained for a trellis structure (i.e., a relatively large reflection coefficient). When the incident electric field is perpendicular to the rebar, the low frequency reflection coefficient is small. If this structure were embedded in concrete, the resonances

due to the wall thickness would be superimposed on the general trends shown in the figure. For the purposes of this study the rebar lattice was electrically connected at the junctions. As may be expected, if the rebar is not electrically connected, the resonance characteristics of response will vary. For a comparison, we calculated the response when the rebar was not directly electrically connected (except for the conducting properties of the concrete) for P = 7:62 cm, D = 1:91 cm, and W = 15:24 cm. The results are depicted in Fig. 15, where the response for connected and disconnected structures are presented. Low-frequency behavior remains essentially unchanged and, at higher frequencies, the resonant structure of the response differs somewhat in the two cases. The low-frequency response is affected primarily by the rebars that are parallel to the incident electric field. In general, the spacing between the disconnected rebar structures will affect the characteristics of the response. In this example, the spacing of the

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Fig. 10.

Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P

= 15 24 cm,
:

= 5:08 cm, W = 20:32 cm.

Fig. 11.

Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P = 15:24 cm, D = 1:91 cm, W = 15:24 cm.

disconnected case is about one rebar diameter. Of note, the response as a function of frequency remains quite complicated as in the other examples shown in this paper. The results shown in Figs. 614 illustrate that any reinforced concrete wall will have a complicated series of nulls and resonances. In general, the depth of nulls and frequency dependence cannot be predicted from measuring or analyzing one particular frequency or structure. The point being that systems designers need to observe that a single frequency measurement or analysis of a particular geometry will not be applicable to other structures with just minor changes in parameters such as wall thickness and reinforcing geometry. This notwithstanding, these results can be used to obtain estimates of worst case link analysis for communications systems that are required to penetrate such structures. The average loss in most cases appears to be about 10 dB, with rapid fluctuations (on the order of 10 dB) with

frequency. The results presented here do show that for these structures, a 2030 dB loss can be experienced over the frequency range of 16 GHz, which must be accounted for in the link budget used by systems designers. IV. CONCLUDING REMARKS In summary, at the lowest frequencies, the transmitted signal is attenuated by the rebar structure. As the frequency increases, the effects of the wall become more pronounced and result in larger than expected (vis--vis the rebar only case) transmission coefficients. The maxima and minima of the transmission (and reflection) coefficients depend on complicated interactions between the rebar geometry, wall thickness, and electrical properties. These results show that the transmission coefficient for the reinforced wall can be much larger than what would be

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Fig. 12.

Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P

= 15 24 cm,
:

= 1:91 cm, W = 30:48 cm.

Fig. 13.

Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P = 15:24 cm, D = 5:08 cm, W = 15:24 cm.

predicted for a rebar structure alone. Also, as the frequencies increase, the transmission and reflection coefficients vary significantly. While the frequency response of the structures analyzed here varies significantly, on average, the loss in most cases appears to be about 10 dB, with rapid fluctuations on the order of 10 dB. From a communication system designers view point a 2030 dB link margin may be needed to obtain the required signal-to-noise ratio when the signal penetrates such reinforced concrete structures. Clearly, the effects of reinforced concrete walls on a narrowband signal depend on the particular wall structure, electrical properties, and frequency and changes in these variables can significantly alter the reflection and transmission properties of the structure. Hence, reflection and transmission properties based on single frequency measurements or calculations for a particular wall structure cannot be reliably extrapolated to predict the characteristics for similar structures with different physical dimensions or frequencies.

The results presented show that the complicated resonance nature of a reinforced concrete wall can have a detrimental effect on communication systems used in and around such structures in terms of multipath interference, losses due to wall penetration, and strong frequency-selective fading. In particular, broad-band signals will be severely degraded by transmission through reinforced concrete structures. In this work, we have assumed that the material properties of the concrete are constant and equal to typical values at 1 GHz. In general, concrete (like most materials) has frequency-dependent material properties. However, by assuming frequency-independent material properties, we were able to investigate the different resonant phenomena of the reinforced concrete structure. The results presented are reasonable for ultrahigh frequencies (UHFs) typically used for communications systems (e.g., personal communications and cellular systems) and at lower frequencies, where the rebar structure dominates the behavior of the reflection and transmission coefficients. The effects of frequency-dependent

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Fig. 14.

Reflection and transmission coefficients for a concrete wall with a 2-D rebar lattice. P

= 15 24 cm,
:

= 5:08 cm, W = 30:48 cm.

Fig. 15.
D

= 1:91 cm, W = 15:24 cm.

Comparision of the transmission coefficient when lattice structure is electrically connected and disconnected with a 2-D rebar lattice. P = 7:62 cm,

material properties for this type of structure will be the subject of a future paper. Reinforced concrete walls have a complicated series of nulls and resonances, the depth of nulls and frequency dependence cannot be predicted from measuring or analyzing one particular frequency for a particular structure. It is our intent in the future to perform a series of broadband measurements of RF building penetration to better understand the effects of radio propagation involving various types of concrete structures. Finally, this effort demonstrates the efficacy of using FDTD methods to calculate EM penetration characteristics of periodic structures. Future efforts will involve expanding the use of this methodology to other types of structures that are encountered by typical RF communications systems.

REFERENCES
[1] K. Sato, H. Kozima, H. Masuzawa, T. Manabe, T. Ihara, Y. Kassahima, and K. Yamaki, Measurements of reflection characteristics and refractive indices of interior construction material in millimeter-wave bands, in Proc. IEEE 45th Veh. Technol. Conf., Chicago, IL, 1995, pp. 449453. [2] C. L. Holloway, P. L. Perini, R. R. DeLyser, and K. C. Allen, Analysis of composite walls and their effects on short-path propagation modeling, IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 46, pp. 730738, 1997. [3] M. O. Al-Nuaimi and M. S. Ding, Prediction models and measurements of microwave signals scattered from buildings, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 42, pp. 11261137, Aug. 1994. [4] W. Honcharenko and H. L. Bertoni, Transmission and reflection characterization of concrete block walls in the UHF bands proposed for future PCS, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 43, pp. 232239, Feb. 1994.

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