A novel protocol to measure the attenuation of electromagnetic waves through smoke

Abstract

The electromagnetic properties of smoke from a structure fire are important in terms of their relation to the stability of wireless communication systems used in fire rescue. As it is hard to make a measurable electromagnetic environment for particles in the air, compressed and bulk samples are used instead to measure sand storms and smoke plumes. In this paper, an experiment system was designed to measure smoke particles in the air, in consideration of both smoke control and electromagnetic measurement. Several measures had been taken to create a fulfilled smoke environment. The simulated and measured transmission parameters of the electromagnetic testing area were approximate and the electromagnetic wave frequencies were set from 350 to 400 MHz. Repeated experiments have been conducted to test the stability of the results and they showed that there was no obvious attenuation until the smoke concentration was more than 10 dB m−1. It was found that the frequency around 355 and 360 MHz had a larger attenuation coefficient. The relationship between the attenuation coefficient and the smoke concentration was concluded to be linear. The results may help us understand the attenuation of electromagnetic waves within a smoke column.