Effects of Rain on Radio Propagation in GSM

Mr. Ashish Sharma1, Prashant Jain2

1

Faculty, Department of Computer Science & Engineering Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Rohini-22, Delhi 2 Department of Computer Science & Engineering Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology Rohini-22, Delhi

Abstract: GSM is one of the most widely used technologies in the world of mobile communication. Like any other technology, GSM is susceptible to a number of factors that decreases the quality of service. In this paper, we would discuss about the effects of various atmospheric factors on radio wave propagation in GSM. Then, we would discuss the effects of rain in detail. Later, there would be a detailed discussion on the models that could be used to estimate the attenuation effects of rain on radio propagation in GSM. Three models would be discussed: Simplistic, Statistical-Analytical & Empirical.
Keywords: Radio Wave Propagation, Rain Scattering, Rain Attenuation, Rain Rate, GSM, Optical Limit, Rain Area

1. Introduction
Radio wave propagation is one of the most important phenomenons in our daily life. It is almost indispensible and without it our communication would be impaired. But, at the same time it is very complex. Number inevitable factors affect the radio propagation. A radio signal while travelling between two stations in mobile communication passes through the earths atmosphere and this can introduce certain impairments, as shown below.
Table 1: Effects of various Atmospheric factors on radio propagation in GSM
Propagation Impairment Attenuation & Sky Noise increases Signal Depolarization Refraction, multipath Reflection blockage Propagation variations Atmospheric Physical Cause Atmospheric gases, cloud, rain Rain, ice crystals Atmospheric gases Tropospheric refractivity fluctuations Earths surface, objects on surface Troposphere Ducting, diffraction scatter, Prime Importance Frequencies above about 10 GHz Dual-polarization systems at C & Ku bands (Depends on system configuration) Communication & tracking at low elevation angles Tropospheric at frequencies above10 GHz & low elevation angles Mobile Satellite Services Precise timing & location systems, TDMA systems Mainly CBand at present; rain scatter may be significant at higher frequencies

Signal scintillations multipath, delays,

Intersystem Interference

In the above mentioned factors, rain & water plays a significant role in the attenuation of the radio waves, in GSM.

2. Effects of Rain on Radio Propagation in GSM

1. Rain Scattering Scattering of the radio signal into different direction by the rain droplets is known as rain scattering. This rain scattering is a function of the wavelength of the radio wave and the size of the scattering particle. Rain drops are not truly spherical, which results in differently polarized waves to suffer different attenuation (scattering & absorption by rain drops). Hence, rain scattering depends on the polarization of the radio waves. A horizontally polarized wave would be scattered forward or backward, in case of forward scattering the propagation range increases by 800 km. A vertically polarized wave suffers sideways scattering. 2. Rain Attenuation Rain plays a significant role in the undesired absorption of the radio wave in the lower atmosphere. Such absorption cause variation in signal strengths & hence, results in the attenuation of the signal. Rain Attenuation is a function of rain rate. Rain Rate is the amount of precipitation occurring in a unit of time; generally expressed in inches per hour. In the calculation of radio wave attenuation the rain rate is measured in millimeters per hour. The main interest is the percentage of time that specified values are
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exceeded. The time percentage is usually that of a year; for example, a rain rate of 0.001 percent means that the rain rate would be exceeded for 0.001 percent of a year or 5.3 min during any one year. In this case the rain rate would be denoted by R0.001. In general the percentage time is denoted by p and the rain rate is denoted by Rp

3. Determination of Rain Attenuation

Simplistic Model: Specific Attenuation is given by, = aRpb dB/km (eq.1) where, a & b depend on the frequency and polarization. Their values can be obtained from a number of publications, such as Ippolito, 1986 (pg. 46). Rp is the percentage time (denoted by p) and the rain rate. Once the specific attenuation is found, total attenuation can be determined as, A = Leff db (eq.2) where, Leff is the effective path length of the signal through the rain. Because the rain density is unlikely to be uniform over the actual length, an effective length must be used rather than the actual (geometric) length. The effective path length can be computed by, Leff = L aRpb (eq.3) where, L is the link distance in km. Hence, the path reduction factor is given as, = aRpb where, is the path reduction factor.

(eq.4)

The attenuation of radio waves caused by rain increases with the number of raindrops along the radio path, the size of the drops, and the length of the path through the rain. For simplicity the effect of drops size and other factors pertaining to the drops havent been considered. To incorporate the effects of these parameters pertaining to drops we would discuss the statistical-analytical model. Statistical-Analytical Models: If such parameters of rain, as the density and size of the drops are constant, then, the signal power Pr at the receiver decreases exponentially with radio path r, through the rain, with the parameter of power attenuation in e -1 times, a, that is, Pr = Pt(0) exp{-r} (eq.5) Expressing (e.5) in logarithmic scale gives, (eq.6) L = 10 log (Pt /Pr ) = 4.343r [dB] Thus, the specific attenuation in decibels per meter is, = L/r = 4.343[dB/m] (eq.7) The Power attenuation factor, , can be expressed as, = D=0 N(D).C(D)dD (eq.8) where, D, diameter of the drops N(D), one dimensional drop diameter distribution C(d), effective attenuation cross-section N(D), the drop diameter distribution, in real tropospheric situations is not constant. Thus, we need to account for the range dependence of the specific attenuation. So, the range dependence now becomes, = (r). Further we integrate it over the entire radio path length rR to find the total path loss, L = 0rR (r)dr (eq. 9) N(D) can be expressed as, N(D) = Noexp{-(D/Dm)} (eq. 10) where, N0 = 8 X 103 m-2 mm-1 is a constant parameter Dm is the parameter that depends on the rainfall rate R, measured above the ground surface in millimeters per hour, as, Dm = 0.122 X R0.21 mm Using the Rayleigh approximation, which is valid for lower frequencies, it can be observed for C(D) that when the average drop size is smaller compared to the radio wavelength, then absorption occurs only inside the drop. Thus, C(D) can be expressed as (eq. 11) C(D) D3/
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We, know that frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength. Hence, the attenuation caused by rain becomes (using eq. 11) directly proportional to frequency and increases as frequency increases. The attenuation increases more slowly with frequency approaching a constant value known as the optical limit. Near this limit scattering forms a significant part of the attenuation, which can be described using the Mie scattering theory. Mie theory, also known as Mie solution, is an analytical solution of the Maxwells equations for the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by the spherical particles. Unlike Rayleigh scattering, which is valid only for lower frequencies, the Mie solution is valid for all possible ratios of diameter to wavelength. So now using (eq. 9-11) we can easily solve (eq.8). Empirical Model: However, as the rainfall rate depends on the raindrop size distribution, several antenna parameters (elevation angle, height, polarization, etc.), and the geographical parameters (longitude and latitude) of the location of antennas, it cannot be predicted strictly using some unified approach. In practical situations, an empirical model is used, where (r) is assumed to depend only on rainfall R and wave frequency. Then, according to the references (5-8) we can obtain, (f,R) = a(f)Rb(f) (eq. 12) where, has units dB/km a(f) and b(f) depend on frequency [GHz]. For 1570 GHz frequency band, a(f) and b(f) can be approximated by references (5-8), A(f) = 101.203 log(f) 2.290 B(f) = 1.703 - 0.493 log(f) Rain Areas (or cells): Along with above parameters, it is also necessary to account for the variations in the rain in horizontal direction, especially on the ground vehicle antenna with elevation angles less than 90. This allows us to focus on finite size of rain clouds or finite areas called the rain areas (or cells). In such cases of finite sizes, the path length is reduced by using a reduction factor, s. thus the rain attenuation now becomes, L = srR = a(f)Rb(f)srR (eq. 13) All of the temporal variations (seasonal, annual & diurnal rain variations) are usually estimated by using (eq. 12) to predict the rain attenuation, L0.01, that must not exceed 0.01% of the time. In this case, the rainfall rate, R0.01, must not exceed 0.01% of the time during an average year. Here, 0.01 is nothing but the percentage time, as used as p in the simplistic model in the (eq. 1). Applying this to the (eq. 13) we would get, L = aRb0.01s0.01rR (eq. 14) where, the empirical expression for s0.01 was evaluated in References (6,10,11) as, s0.01 =1 /[1 + {rRsin /35exp(-0.01R0.01)] (eq. 15) Introducing this percentage time, p, which is changed over the wide range from 0.001% to 1%, in the (eq. 14) the attenuation could be corrected as, LP = L0.01 X 0.12 X P-(0.546 + 0:043logP) (eq. 16) According to the semi-empirical approach proposed in References (6,9,10,11), we can finally obtain the total path loss caused by rain as, Ltotal = LFS + L (eq. 17) where, LFS is a path loss in free space, given as, LFS = 32.44 + 20 Log(rc) + 20Log(f) (eq. 18) where, rc is the whole radio path between the ground surface and the frozen layer, where rain evolve into snow, [km] f is the frequency [MHz]. The loss parameter due to rain can be found either using the statistical approach with the formula (eq. 9) and (eq. 10) or using the empirical formulas (eq. 13 - 16). Formula (eq. 17) defines the link budget between the ground and the melting layer and can be calculated by adding the total rain attenuation L and the free space attenuation LFS. References
[1] Satellite Communication, by Dennis Roddy. [2] Radio Propagation and Adaptive Antennas for Wireless Communication, 2006, pg. 193-197, by Nathan Blaunstein & Christos G. Christodoulou [3] Study of Effect of Rain and Dust on Propagation of Radio Waves at Millimeter Length, by O.P.N Calla & J.S. Purohit

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[4] Prediction of Rain Attenuation for Wireless Communication, by Hsing-Yi Chen & Der-Phone Lin [5] Pedersen, K., P. Mogensen, and B. Fleury, A stochastic model of the temporal and azimuthal dispersion seen at the base station in outdoor propagation environments, IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 49, no. 2, 2000, pg. 437447. [6] Kuchar, A., J. P. Rossi, and E. Bonek, Directional macro-cell channel characterization from urban measurements, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 48, no. 1, 2000, pg. 137146. [7] Kalliola, K., and P. Vainikainen, Characterization system for radio channel of adaptive array antennas, in Proc. Int. Symp. Personal Indoor Mobile Radio Conf. (PIRMC97), Helsinki, Finland, 1997, pg. 9599. [8] Laurila, J., K. Kalliola, M. Toeltsch, et al., Wide-band 3-D characterization of mobile radio channels in urban environment, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 50, no. 2, 2002, pg. 233243. [9] Libetri, J. C., and T. S. Rappaport, Smart Antennas for Wireless Communications, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1999. [10] Liberti, J. C., and T. S. Rappaport, A geometrical based model for line-of-sight multipath radio channels, in Proc. of Veh. Technol. Conf., Atlanta, GA, 1996, pg. 844848. [11] Molkdar, D., Review on radio propagation into and within buildings, in Proc. IEE H, vol. 138, 1991, pg. 6173. [12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_propagation [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mie_theory

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