Quantifying Wet Antenna Attenuation in 38-GHz Commercial Microwave Links of Cellular Backhaul

Fencl, Martin; Valtr, Pável; Kvičera, Milan; Bareš, Vojtěch

doi:10.1109/lgrs.2018.2876696

Cited by 35 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…WAA is, thus, a smaller source of possible bias than on 15-40 GHz frequencies, nevertheless, its accurate quantification is still important, especially for shorter CMLs. In addition, WAA during heavy rainfalls was not investigated in this study and might be higher, as was shown for lower frequencies by (Fencl et al, 2019).…”

Section: Dry-wet Weather Classification and Baseline Separationmentioning

confidence: 84%

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Atmospheric observations with E-band microwave links – challenges and opportunities

Fencl¹,

Dohnal²,

Valtr³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Opportunistic sensing of rainfall and water vapor using commercial microwave links operated within cellular networks was conceived more than a decade ago. It has since been further investigated in numerous studies predominantly 10 concentrating on the frequency region of 15-40 GHz. This manuscript provides the first evaluation of rainfall and water vapor sensing with microwave links operating at an E-band (specifically, 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz), which are increasingly updating, and frequently replacing, older communication infrastructure. Attenuation-rainfall relations are investigated theoretically on drop size distribution data. Furthermore, quantitative rainfall estimates from six microwave links, operated within cellular backhaul, are compared with observed rainfall intensities. Finally, the capability to detect water vapor is 15 demonstrated on the longest microwave link measuring 4.86 km in path length. The results show that E-band microwave links are by one order of magnitude more sensitive to rainfall than devices operating in the 15-40 GHz range and are thus able to observe even light rainfalls, a feat practically impossible to achieve previously. The E-band links are, however, substantially more affected by errors related to variable drop size distribution. Water vapor retrieval might be possible from long E-band microwave links, nevertheless, the efficient separation of gaseous attenuation from other signal losses will be challenging in 20 practice.

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Section: Dry-wet Weather Classification and Baseline Separationmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…On the other hand, WAA represents a substantial part of total attenuation (Fencl et al, 2019), especially by shorter CMLs, and its identification and separation from attenuation caused by raindrops along a CML path is crucial when obtaining reliable rainfall estimates.…”

Section: Wet Antenna Attenuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric observations with E-band microwave links – challenges and opportunities

Fencl¹,

Dohnal²,

Valtr³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Similarly, the inter-event variability in dV is largest for simulations with short unadjusted CMLs. Such positive bias linked to the high sensitivity of short CMLs to wet antenna attenuation has been observed in the past (e.g., Fencl et al, 2018). : Boxplots of performance metrics (see section 2.6) obtained using unadjusted CML QPEs, summarized for all available rainfall-runoff events.…”

Section: Characteristic Features Of Simulated Hydrographsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Commercial microwave links for urban drainage modelling: The effect of link characteristics and their position on runoff simulations

Pastorek

Fencl

Rieckermann

et al. 2019

Journal of Environmental Management

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Commercial microwave links (CMLs), radio connections widely used in telecommunication networks, can provide path-integrated quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) which could complement traditional precipitation observations. This paper assesses the ability of individual CMLs to provide relevant QPEs for urban rainfall-runoff simulations and specifically investigates the influence of CML characteristics and position on the predicted runoff. The analysis is based on a 3-year-long experimental data set from a small (1.3 km 2) urban catchment located in Prague, Czech Republic. QPEs from real world CMLs are used as inputs for urban rainfall-runoff predictions and subsequent modelling performance is assessed by comparing simulated runoffs with measured stormwater discharges. The results show that model performance is related to both the sensitivity of CML to rainfall and CML position. The bias propagated into the runoff predictions is inversely proportional to CML path length. The effect of CML position is especially pronounced during heavy rainfalls, when QPEs from shorter CMLs, located within or close to catchment boundaries, better reproduce runoff dynamics than QPEs from longer CMLs extending far beyond the catchment boundaries. Interestingly, QPEs averaged from all available CMLs best reproduce the runoff temporal dynamics. Adjusting CML QPEs to three rain gauges located 2-3 km outside of the catchment substantially reduces the bias in CML QPEs. Unfortunately, this compromises the ability of the CML QPEs to reproduce runoff dynamics during heavy rainfalls. More experimental case studies are necessary to provide specific recommendations on CML preprocessing methods tailored to different water management tasks, catchments and CML networks.

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“…For example, in [11], rain attenuation was measured at 38 GHz for a 1.85 km link. In [12], rain attenuation was measured at a frequency range of 37.3-39.2 GHz for 8 links with distances between 48 m and 497 m. The results showed that wet antenna attenuation was 1.5-2, 2.8-5.3, and 6-9 dB for light rainfall rate (<2 mm/h), heavy rainfall rate, and extreme rainfall rate (70-130 mm/h), respectively. In [13], rain attenuation was measured at 73 GHz for a 1 km link.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rain Statistics Investigation and Rain Attenuation Modeling for Millimeter Wave Short-Range Fixed Links

et al. 2019

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Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is a key technology for fifth generation (5G) and beyond communication networks. However, the communication quality of the radio link can be largely affected by rain attenuation, which should be carefully taken into consideration when calculating the link budget. In this paper, we present results of weather data collected with a PWS100 disdrometer and mmWave channel measurements at 25.84 GHz (K band) and 77.52 GHz (E band) using a custom-designed channel sounder. The rain statistics, including rain intensity, rain events, and rain drop size distribution (DSD) are investigated for one year. The rain attenuation is predicted using the DSD model with Mie scattering and from the model in ITU-R P.838-3. The distance factor in ITU-R P.530-17 is found to be inappropriate for a short-range link. The wet antenna effect is investigated and additional protection of the antenna radomes is demonstrated to reduce the wet antenna effect on the measured attenuation.

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Quantifying Wet Antenna Attenuation in 38-GHz Commercial Microwave Links of Cellular Backhaul

Cited by 35 publications

References 16 publications

Atmospheric observations with E-band microwave links – challenges and opportunities

Atmospheric observations with E-band microwave links – challenges and opportunities

Commercial microwave links for urban drainage modelling: The effect of link characteristics and their position on runoff simulations

Rain Statistics Investigation and Rain Attenuation Modeling for Millimeter Wave Short-Range Fixed Links

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