Chap # 4

Continued

Diffraction
. Diffraction allows radio signals to propagate around the
curved surface of earth and to propagate behind
obstructions
Radio wave travel according to a straight line. This is an
oversimplification of the true behaviour of Electro-Magnetic
waves. In fact, in the shadow of obstacles, one can receive
radio signals even though the straight-line model would not
allow such reception. Propagation around a corner is due to
the diffraction mechanism.
Huygens principle A better model to understand this behaviour
is Huygens principle. Radio energy is dispersed into free space.
New waves can be thought to start from every point which is
reached by radio energy. Every such point acts as a point
source radiating energy in all directions..

Scattering
In Practice when a surface is not perfectly smooth, a
proportion of the of the incident wave is scattered
(spread out) over a wide range.
The reflection coefficient can be modified for rough
surfaces so that :
rough= s
Where s is the scattering loss factor

Roughness criteria
So when is a surface Rough ?
The rayleigh criterion links the surface roughness to the
angle of incidence and the wavelength. Consider a
rough surface with a maximum variation from a flat
surface of hsurf. This is considered smooth if
hsurf < /(8sin(i)) where i angle of incidence

Roughness criteria
So if hsurf is large enough in wavelength terms then
scattering is significant and the ref coefficient must be
modified by
rough= s
For a gaussian surface roughness of standard
deviation h
s=exp[-8( hsin(i)/)2]

Scattering from objects(RCS)

For discrete objects distant from the antennas, we can
approximate the effect by considering the radar cross
section (scat), in sq meters of the object
The RCS relates to the size and shape of the object.
Many objects are bigger physically then they appear
to the link (trees for example)
RCS can be defined as the ratio of the power density of
the signal scattered in the direction of the r/r to the
power density of the radio wave incident upon the
scattering object and has units of the sq.meters

Scattering from objects(RCS)

Once you have or can estimate, the RCS of objects the
scattering power received from each object can be
estimated from:
Pr,scat= Pt-Lt+Gtscat+10Log(4/2)-20Log (4 R1/ )-20
Log (4 R2/ )+Grscat-Lr
Where
= RCS in sq.meter
R1=distance fromTx to Scattering object
R2=distance from Rx to Scattering object
Grscat= Gain of Rx antenna in dir of Scatterer

Channel prediction
By summing up reflection, diffraction and scattering
contributions and allowing for refraction and
shadowing where appropriate one can derive a
complex propagation model for a given environment.
The disadvantages are: time consuming, input data
normally imprecise or only available at certain
frequencies (empirical model) etc.
For initial system calculation, however approximate
models do exist.

Approximate Models
For a combination of measured data and theoretical
modeling, a number of useful approximate models
have been derived to allow for all loss mechanisms in
a particular environment.
While only of first order accuracy in complex scenarios
they do allow basic channel parameters to be
estimated rapidly during initial system design

1)Log-distance model
In this we have
Path Loss(dB)~PL(d0)+10 n log(d/d0)
Where :
PL is the path loss to a reference distance
d0(measured)
d is the distance between r/r and d0
n is path loss exponent and depends upon the
environment

Typical large-scale path loss

Environment

Path loss exponent (n)

Free space

Urban area cellular radio

2.7 3.5

Shadowed urban cellular radio

35

In building LOS

1.6 1.8

Obstructed in building

46

Obstructed in factories

2-3

2)Log Normal Shadowing

In practice the log distance model can be extremely
inaccurate due to shadowing- the model assumes
path loss is same at any given distance.
For wide area coverage prediction the log distance
model can be improved by assuming shadowing is
Gaussian over many locations log-normal
shadowing model
Path Loss(d)[dB] = PL(d) + X =

=PL(d0)+10 n log(d/d0)+ X
Where X
is the zero mean gaussian distributed random variable
(in dB) with standard deviation also in dB.

Wireles
s

Indoor Models
Difficult to predict exactly
Some statistical Models, e.g.

calculate

COST 231: 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz

Environment Exponent n Propagation Mechanism
Corridors

1.4 - 1.9

Large open rooms

Furnished rooms

2
3

Wave guidance
Free space loss

FSL + multipath

Densely furnished rooms 4

Non-LOS, diffraction, scattering

Between different floors

Losses during floor / wall traverses

Attenuation by Constructions
900 MHz

20 cm concrete
7 dB ( = 1 dB)
wood and brick siding 3 dB ( = 0.5 dB)
Aluminum siding
2 dB ( = 0.5 dB)
metal walls
12 dB ( = 4 dB)
office furnishing
1 dB ( = 0.3 dB)

2.4 GHz

Plasterboard wall
3 dB
Glass wall with metal frame 6 dB
Cinder block wall
4 dB
Office window
3 dB
Metal door
6 dB
Metal door in brick wall
12 dB

How do systems handle shadowing?

GSM
Frequency planning and base station locations
Power control

DECT
Select good base station locations

IS95
Power control
Select good base station locations

Cell Shapes- Ideal & Real

Outdoor Propagation Models

A number of propagation models exists to predict the
path loss over irregular terrain.
All these models aim to predict signal strength at a
particular receiving point or area.
But they widely differ in their approach, complexity
and accuracy.
Some of these commonly used propagation models
are discussed here.

Longley-Rice model
Point to point communication system
Frequency range from 40 MHz to 100GHz
Transmission loss predicted using path geometry and
refractivity of troposphere
Two-ray model used to calculate signal strength with
the radio horizon
Diffraction loss calculated using Knife-edge diffraction
Available as a computer software model
Input data is t/m frequency, path length, polarization,
antenna height, surface refractivity, ground
conductivity and climate conditions etc

URBAN FACTOR

Longley-Rice
Urban Factor for additiona lattenuation due
to urban clutter near the receiving antenna
Disadvantage: No corrections due to
environmental factors or effects of buildings
in immediate vicinity of mobile receiver.
Multipaths are also not considered.

Okumaras model
One of the widely used propagation model
Frequency range 150MHz to 1920 MHz (extrapolated
to 3000 MHz)
Cover distance 1 Km to 100 Km with antenna heights
from 30m to 1000m.
Okumara developed set of curves which gives
median attenuation relative to free space in an urban
area Amu. Where ht=200m & hr=3m
These curves are plotted both as a function of
frequency and distance between the base station and
mobile terminal.

Okumaras model
The model can be expressed as
L50(dB)=LF + Amu(f,d) G(hte) G(hre) Garea
Where
L50 = 50th percentile or median value of total Path loss
LF = Free space propagation loss
Amu = median attenuation relative to free space
G(hte) = base station antenna height gain factor
G(hre) = mobile antenna height gain factor
Garea = gain due to the type of environment

Okumaras model
G(hte) = 20 log (hte /200)
G(hre) = 10 log (hre /3)
G(hre) = 20 log (hre /3)

1000m> hte >30m

3m> h te
10m> hre >3m

Hatas model
Hatas model is an empirical formulation of the
graphical path loss data provided by okumara
Valid for frequency ranges 150 MHz to 1500 MHz
The standard formulae for median path loss by hata
is given by
L50(urban)(dB)=69.55 + 26.16 logfc 13.82 loghte
a(hre) +(44.9-6.55loghte)logd.