Lecture05 Physical Layer

CSE-820: Advanced Computer
Networks
Mobile Radio Propagation: Large Scale Path Loss
Hassaan Khaliq Qureshi

School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST)
Pakistan
Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022

Credits and Acknowledgements
 Throughout this course, I will be borrowing examples, explanations
and figures from the following books:
 Rappaport, Wireless Communications, Prentice Hall, 2002.
 Wireless Communications and Networks by William Stallings.
 I will also be borrowing examples and figures from the online course
material provided by Prof. Andrea Goldsmith, Stanford University
 In this particular lecture, I will be borrowing concepts and figures from

the Advanced Communication Systems Course by Dr. Syed Ali
Khayam who taught this course 2 years back.
 I am also borrowing figures from Mike Willis’s online tutorial:

http://www.mike-willis.com/Tutorial/PF7.htm
Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 2

What will we cover in this lecture?
 This lecture will cover some basic details on
propagation and the largescale propagation
effects that are commonly observed on a
wireless communication system:
 Modes of Propagation and some basic concepts

 Free-Space Propagation
 Isotropic and Directional Antennas
 Terrestrial Propagation: Large Scale Physical Models
 Reflection and Diffraction
 Terrestrial Propagation: Large Scale Statistical Models
 Median and Local Path Losses
Terrestrial Propagation:
Large Scale Physical Models

Effective LOS
 Line of sight (LoS) is a type of propagation

that can transmit and receive data only
where transmit and receive stations are in
view of each other without any sort of an
obstacle.
 However, for Wireless Networks a modified

line-of-sight transmission is used, which is
made possible through a combination of
effects like diffraction, multipath reflection,
and rapid handoff. Therefore, receiver
Terrestrial Propagation: Physical Models
 In most wireless communication scenarios,
terrestrial environment (buildings, terrain,
vegetation, etc.) block line-of-sight
communication
 In this case, radio waves undergo three

types of phenomena:
 Reflection: caused by large objects; radio waves
are reflected by the surface of the object
 Diffraction: caused by sharp/irregular objects;

radio waves bend around objects
Reflection
 A wireless signal may reach the receiver
from multiple paths due to reflections from
nearby objects
 This phenomenon is referred to as multipath

propagation

Reflection
 Multipath signals interfere with each other
 This interference can be constructive or

destructive depending
Constructive
on whether the
multiple signals are synchronized or de-
interference
synchronized with each other

Reflection
 Multipath signals interfere with each other
 This interference can be constructive or

destructive depending
Destructive
on whether the
multiple signals are synchronized or de-
interference
synchronized with each other

Reflection: Plane-Earth Model
 Due to the interference caused by multipath
signals, the receive signal power of an
antenna can be quite different from what is
observed in the (ideal) free-space
propagation model
 As a first step, we only consider reflections

from the earth’s surface.
 Moreover,
h we assume a flat (or plane) earth
T
h
R
surface and ignore the effect of the earth’s
d
curvature on propagation
Reflection: Plane-Earth Model
 We want to find the power at the receive
antenna
PT
PR = GT G R
 Recall that the received
L p power for a
directional antenna is
 So hwe essentially need to find the path loss

T
h
Lp for the two-ray propagation environment
R
d
Reflection: Phase Difference
 We need to find the path loss Lp for the two-ray propagation
environment
 We first find the difference in the distance traveled by both rays
 Then we can use the following expression to find the phase
difference of the received waves
Dd
D q = 2p
l Number of additional
wavelengths travelled
Conversion to radians
in distance ∆d
hT
hR

dd
hT -hR
2hT dr hR
hT +hR dr
d
D d = dr - dd = (hT + hR )2 + d 2 - (hT - hR )2 + d 2
é 2 2 ù
æ ö
ê çhT + hR ÷ æ hT - hR ÷ ö ú
= d ê çç ÷ ç
+ 1 - çç ÷ + 1ú
ê çè d ÷
÷ ÷ ú
ø èç d ÷ ø
ê ú
ë û
é 1 1 ù x
ê
= d 1+ 2
(h + hR ) - 2 ú
(hT - hR ) - 1 , Q 1 + x » 1 + , x = 1
ê 2d 2 T 2 d 2 ú 2
ë û

dd
hT -hR
2hT dr hR
hT +hR dr
é 1 1 ù
D d » d ê1 + 2
(hT + hR ) - (hT - hR ) - 1ú
2
ê 2d 2
2d 2 ú
ë û
2hT hR assumpt ion: hT + hR = d
Dd »
d
Dd 4p hT hR
Þ D q = 2p »
l ld

Example
hT = 10m
hR = 2m
d = 500m
Find the phase difference introduced by the

above two-ray scenario when the carrier
frequency is fc = 900 MHz.

Reflection: Received Power
hT 4p hT hR
hR Dq »
ld
d
-1 for grazing earth distance
See Example 4.4 in Ref. book
E = E d + E r = E d + E d r e j y e - j Vq
= E d - E de - j Vq = E d (1 - e - j Vq )
E = E d 1 - e - j Vq = E d 1 - cosVq + j sin Vq
= E d (1 - cosVq) + j (sin Vq) = E d (1 - cosVq) 2 + sin 2 Vq
= Ed 1 - 2 cosVq + cos2 Vq + sin 2 Vq
= Ed 2 - 2 cosVq

hT 4p hT hR
hR Dq »
ld
d
1 1
E = E d 2 - 2 cosVq = 2 E d - cosVq
2 2
2 Vq Vq
E = 2 E d sin = 2 E d sin
2 2

hT Vq
hR E » 2 E d sin
2
d
2 2
E Ed Vq
PR = F Ae = Ae = 4 Ae sin 2
h h 2
Characteristic impedence of free space Received power in free space
from the direct path
Recall that the received power in free space is: PT GT G R
(4pd / l )2
So the received power for the two ray model is:
2 2 2
æl ÷ ö 2 Vq
æl ÷ ö æVq ö
ç
PR = 4PT GT G R çç ÷ sin » 4P G G ç
ç ÷ çç ÷÷
÷
÷ T T R ç ÷
÷ ç ÷
÷
è 4pd ø 2 è 4pd ø è 2 ø
2 2 2
æl ÷ öæ ç
ö
2p hT hR ÷ æh h ÷
ç
ö
ç
PR » 4PT GT G R çç ÷ çç ÷ = PT GT G R çç 2 ÷
T R
÷ ÷
÷ ÷
÷ ç
è 4pd ø è l d ø è d ÷
ç ø 18
2
æh h ÷ ö
PR » PT GT G R ççç T 2 R ÷
÷
çè d ÷ ø
Thus the path loss term for two-ray

2
propagation is ç d ÷
æ 2 ö
L p » çç ÷
÷
çèhT hR ø÷
hT
hR
d
2
æh h ÷ ö
PR » PT GT G R ççç T 2 R ÷
÷
çè d ÷ ø
Received power
is a function
of:
 Antenna
heights:
Higher the
antennas,
greater the
received
power
Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 Source: A. Goldsmith Book on Wireless Communications 20
Exercise
hT
hR
d
A mobile is located 4 km away from a base station and uses a λ/2
monopole antenna with a gain of 2.55 dB to receive signals from
the base station. The transmitter produces 50W of power and the
carrier frequency is 900 MHz.
b) Find the received power at the mobile using the two ray model
assuming base station antenna height of 40 m and mobile antenna
height of 2.5m.

Exam Question
hT
hR
d
Consider a 10 Watt transmitter communicating with a mobile
receiver having a sensitivity of -100 dBm (in watts it is equivalent
to 10-13). Assume that the receiver antenna height is 2 m, and then
transmitter and receiver antenna gains are 1 dB. What height of
base station antenna would be necessary to provide a service area
of radius 10 Km. If the receiver is mobile, and the maximum
radiated power is restricted by regulation to be 10 watts or less,
what realistic options are there for increasing the service area?

Exam Question
hT
hR
d
Answer:
The plane earth model indicates the base station antenna would have
to be 4 meters in height. Service area may be increased either by
improving receiver sensitivity, or boosting the transmitter antenna
height, or increasing antenna gain. Realistically, a 4-meter antenna
would be unlikely to provide a line of sight path over a distance of 10
km, thus the plane-earth model is applicable but service area would
not be covered.

The Usability of Plane earth model
 The plane-earth model applies only for R (or d) >> hR, hT. The
plane-earth model shows less loss than free-space at distances
less than a kilometer, Is this reasonable? How large should R be
to apply the plane-Earth model?

Diffraction
 Diffraction or shadowing is the bending of a
radio wave around obstructions
 This bending allows radio waves to reach

locations when there is no line-of-sight.
 While the signal strength decreases as one

moves more and more towards the
obstruction (shadow), there is still enough
power in the diffracted signal that it can be
decoded at the receiver.
Diffraction: Huygen’s Principle
Each point on a wave front acts as a point

source for further propagation. However, the
point source does not radiate equally in all
directions but favors the forward direction of
the wavefront.

Diffraction: Huygen’s Principle
Diffraction is caused by the propagation of

secondary wavelets into a shadowed
region.
Wavefront
Diffracted
Wavefront
Knife Edge Obstruction

Diffraction: Phase Difference
 We want to quantify the phase difference that the diffracted
wave will experience
 We know that the phase difference is given by:

Dd
D q = 2p
l
where ∆d is the difference in distance between the direct and
diffracted waves

 To compute ∆d, let us consider propagating from point T to R
 An obstruction is blocking the LoS path
 The obstruction has a circular radius, h

R
Q
h
d2
O
T d1

 Any wave propagating through TQR is traveling more distance
that TOR
D d = | T QR | - | T OR |
Q
h
d2
O
T d1

2 2 2 2
D d = | T QR | - | T OR |= d +h +
1
d2 + h - (d1 + d 2 )
2 2
æh ÷ ö æh ö÷
= d1 1 + ççç ÷ ÷ + d2 1 + çç ÷ - (d + d )
ççd ÷
çèd1 ÷
ø è 2ø ÷ 1 2
Q
h
d2
O
T d1

x
Q 1+ x » 1+ for x = 1
2
æ h 2 ö
÷ æ h 2 ö
÷
ç
D d » d1 çç1 + ÷ + d ç
ç 1 + ÷ - d1 - d 2
2÷÷ ç 2÷
2d2 ø÷
2
çè 2d1 ø÷ çè ÷
h2 h2 h2 æç 1 1 ö÷
÷
= d1 2 + d 2 = ç
ç + ÷
2d1 2d2 2
2 èd1 d2 ø÷
ç
h çd1 + d2 ö÷
2 æ
÷
= çç ÷
2 çè d1d2 ø÷

h2 æ d
çç 1 + d ö
÷
2÷
Dd » ç ÷
2 çè d1d2 ÷ ø
p 2æ ç
ö
2(d1 + d2 ) ÷
÷
Þ D q » h çç ÷
2 çè l d1d2 ÷ ø
 We define the Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction parameter as:
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
p 2
Þ Dq » u
2

Example
Find the phase difference introduced in the
following scenario when the carrier
frequency fc = 900 MHz.
R
Q
h = 50mm
d2 = 200m
O
T d1 = 300m

2(d1 + d2 ) p 2
u= h Dq » u
l d1d2 2
 Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction parameter characterizes the phase
difference between the LoS and a diffracted path
R
Q
h
d2
O
T d1

Diffraction: Fresnel Zones
 We are interested in answering two completely separate
questions:
 What is the impact of height +h (unknown till yet) on Diffraction
losses?
- the ellipsoidal shape is dependent on h. the greater the h,
the larger the ellipsoid and higher the Fresnel zone and so the
losses.
 What is the impact on LOS communication in the presence of
any height h (+ive, -ive, or zero)
- for that we want to get the first Fresnel zone clear from
obstruction. R
h
d
O 2
Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 T d 36

 Let us define a series of circular holes on the obstruction such
that the length of each diffracted path is
ql
Dd = , q = 1, 2,...
2
 Fresnel zones represent successive regions where secondary waves
have a path length from the transmitter to the receiver, which are
qλ /2 greater than the total path length of a LOS Path.
h
d2
O
T d1
37
 Circles on the obstruction with an excess length equal to an
integer multiple of half wavelengths define a series of concentric
ellipsoids
Site A
d1
Site B
Image courtesy of Lecture on Wireless d2
Communication Systems, University of
Surrey
 Circles on the obstruction with an excess length equal to an
integer multiple of half wavelengths define a series of concentric
ellipsoids
 Volume enclosed be q-th ellipsoid is called the q-th Fresnel Zone
T
First Fresnel Zone

Second Fresnel Zone
O Third Fresnel Zone

 Since q is an integer, the path length difference (from the LoS
path) of the q-th Fresnel zone is
(q - 1)l ql
£ Dd £
2 2
 And the corresponding phase difference is
(q - 1)p £ D q £ q p
R
First Fresnel Zone
Second Fresnel Zone
O
Third Fresnel Zone
T
(q - 1)p £ D q £ q p
 Every Fresnel zone is introducing a phase difference of π
 Thus successive Fresnel zones are in phase opposite directions

and interfere destructively.
R
First Fresnel Zone
Second Fresnel Zone
O
Third Fresnel Zone
T
 Fresnel zones can be thought of as containing the propagated
energy of the wave.
 A general rule of thumb is that:

We must keep the first Fresnel zone free of obstructions to
obtain transmission under free-space conditions
R
First Fresnel Zone
Second Fresnel Zone
O
Third Fresnel Zone
T
 Any obstructions which do not enter the 1st Fresnel zone have
little effect on the signal
 A clearance of at least 0.6r1 (r1: radius of first Fresnel zone) is

ensured in practical microwave links
Forbidden Region First Fresnel Zone

r1
0.6r1

 If there are obstacles near the path, the radio waves reflecting
off those objects may arrive out of phase with the signals that
travel directly and reduce the power of the received signal.
 On the other hand, reduction in the height of the antenna causes

an increase in the signal to noise ratio.

Exercise
 A company owns two office towers in a city and wants to set up a
4-GHz microwave link between the two towers. The two towers
have heights of 10m each, and are separated by 2 km. In the line
of sight (LOS) and midway between the two towers is a third
tower of height 7.5 meters. Will line-of-sight transmission be
possible between the two towers? Justify your answer. Describe
an engineering solution to obtain line-of-sight transmission.

Exercise 2[different S and R]
 A company owns two office towers in a city and wants to set up a
4-GHz microwave link between the two towers. The two towers
have heights of 100m and 50 m, and are separated by 3 km. In
the line of sight (LOS) and midway between the two towers is a
third tower of height 72 meters. Will line-of-sight transmission
be possible between the two towers? Justify your answer.
Describe an engineering solution to obtain line-of-sight
transmission

Diffraction: Losses
 For an obstruction of height h, the Fresnel-Kirchhoff parameter is
given by
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
 The height h (and ν) is positive if the obstruction extends above
the LoS and negative if it does not
h=0, ν=0
obstruction
Diffraction: Losses
given by
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
h negative
ν negative
obstruction
Diffraction: Losses
given by
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
h positive
ν positive
obstruction
Diffraction: Losses on a Knife-Edge Obstruction
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
Knife edge obstruction Gain (dB)

 Figure 4.14
(rappaport)

Diffraction: Losses
2(d1 + d2 )
u= h
l d1d2
 Note that for fixed obstruction and transmitter, ν approaches
infinity as d1 or d2 (distance of the obstruction) approaches zero
 Thus the loss becomes infinitely large as the transmitter or

receiver moves more and more into the shadow of the
obstruction

Diffraction: Losses
 The radius of the Fresnel zone circles is maximum when we are
midway between transmitter and receiver and decreases if we
move towards transmitter or receiver.
 Consider the example of the first Fresnel zone circle at different

locations.
Slide Credits :Mr Hassan Aqeel

Diffraction: Losses
move towards transmitter or receiver

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations

Diffraction: Losses

locations
Slide Credit: Hassan Aqeel

Exercise
Compute the diffraction loss for the three cases. Assume λ=0.33m,
d1=1 km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m,
(b) h=0,
(c) h=-25m.
Find the Fresnel zone within which the tip of the obstruction lies.

Exercise
Compute the diffraction loss for the three cases shown below.
Assume λ=0.33m, d1=1 km, d2=1 km, and
2(d1 + d2 ) 2(1000 + 1000)

(a) h=25 m: u = h = 25 = 2.74
l d1d2 0.33 ´ 1000 ´ 1000
(b) h=0: u = 0
2(d1 + d2 ) 2(1000 + 1000)

(c) h=-25m: u = h = - 25 = - 2.74
l d1d2 0.33 ´ 1000 ´ 1000

Exercise
Compute the diffraction loss for the three cases with the help of a
graph. Assume λ=0.33m, d1=1 km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m=>ν=2.74 (b) h=0=>ν=0 (c) h=-25m=>ν=-

2.74
Knife edge obstruction Gain (dB)

Exercise
Compute the diffraction loss for the three cases. Assume λ=0.33m, d1=1
km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m=>ν=2.74 (b) h=0=>ν=0 (c) h=-25m=>ν=-
2.74

Exercise
km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m=>ν=2.74 (b) h=0=>ν=0 (c) h=-25m=>ν=-
2.74
Fresnel zone boundaries are

qldefined as:
Dd = , q = 1, 2,...
2
where ∆d is the extra distance covered by the diffracted wavefront.

h 2 æd + d ÷ ö
Dd » çç 1 2÷
çç d d ÷
Recall that: 2 è 1 2 ÷ø

Exercise
km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m=>ν=2.74 (b) h=0=>ν=0 (c) h=-25m=>ν=-
2.74
2 æ
Find the hFresnel
ç d2 ö÷ within which the
d1 + zone 25 tip
2 æ
ç of the
1000 + obstruction
1000 ö
÷ lies.
Dd » çç ÷
÷ Dd » çç ÷
÷ = 0.625m
2 çè d1d2 ø ÷ 2 è 1000 ´ 1000 ø÷
ql
Dd =
2
q ´ 0.33
0.625 = Þ q = 3.75
2
The first three Fresnel zones are blocked by the obstruction.

Exercise
km, d2=1 km, and
(a) h=25 m=>ν=2.74 (b) h=0=>ν=0 (c) h=-25m=>ν=-
2.74
For h=-25, the first three Fresnel zones are still blocked but
diffraction losses are negligible because the obstruction is below the
line-of-sight path

Multiple Knife Edge Obstructions
 In many practical situations, especially in hilly terrains, the
propagation path may consist of more than one obstruction.
 In that case, total diffraction loss due to all of the obstacles must
be computed.
 In order to compute path loss, we replace multiple obstacles

with a single obstacle by adding them and putting them in the
midway between the obstacles. This method is called bullington
method and is widely used.
 There are some other methods as well [see ref. book article
4.7.3]

Scattering
 When a radio wave impinges on a rough surface, the reflected

energy is spread out (diffused) in all directions due to scattering.
 Objects such as lamp posts and trees tend to scatter energy in all
directions, thereby providing additional radio energy at the
receiver.
 A small proof is available in the book. Students are

recommended to read that by themselves.

Exercise [Extra credit to first four students in Assignment 1]
 If Pt=10W, Gt=10dB, Gr=3dB and L=1dB at 900MHz. Compute the

receiver power for the knife edge geometry shown in figure
(Knife edge obstruction). Compute this value with a theoretical
free space received power if the obstruction did not exist. What
is the path loss due to diffraction for this case?

Lecture05 Physical Layer

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture05 Physical Layer

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CSE-820: Advanced Computer

Hassaan Khaliq Qureshi

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022

 In this particular lecture, I will be borrowing concepts and figures from

 I am also borrowing figures from Mike Willis’s online tutorial:

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 2

 Modes of Propagation and some basic concepts

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 4

 Line of sight (LoS) is a type of propagation

 However, for Wireless Networks a modified

 In this case, radio waves undergo three

 Diffraction: caused by sharp/irregular objects;

 This phenomenon is referred to as multipath

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 7

 This interference can be constructive or

synchronized with each other

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 8

 This interference can be constructive or

synchronized with each other

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 9

 As a first step, we only consider reflections

 So hwe essentially need to find the path loss

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 12

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 13

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 14

Find the phase difference introduced by the

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 15

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 16

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 17

Thus the path loss term for two-ray

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 21

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 22

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 23

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 24

 This bending allows radio waves to reach

 While the signal strength decreases as one

Each point on a wave front acts as a point

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 26

Diffraction is caused by the propagation of

Knife Edge Obstruction

 We know that the phase difference is given by:

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 28

 An obstruction is blocking the LoS path

 The obstruction has a circular radius, h

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 29

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 31

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 32

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 33

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 34

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 35

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 T d 36

First Fresnel Zone

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 40

 Thus successive Fresnel zones are in phase opposite directions

 A general rule of thumb is that:

 A clearance of at least 0.6r1 (r1: radius of first Fresnel zone) is

Forbidden Region First Fresnel Zone

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 44

 On the other hand, reduction in the height of the antenna causes

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 45

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 46

Copyright © Hassaan Khaliq 2022 47

Knife edge obstruction Gain (dB)