propagationModel
Create RF propagation model
Description
pm = propagationModel(modelname)
pm = propagationModel(___,Name,Value)pm =
propagationModel('rain','RainRate',96) creates a rain propagation
model with a rain rate of 96 mm/h. Enclose each property name in quotes.
Examples
Signal Strength of Receiver in Heavy Rain
Specify transmitter and receiver sites.
tx = txsite('Name','MathWorks Apple Hill',... 'Latitude',42.3001, ... 'Longitude',-71.3504, ... 'TransmitterFrequency', 2.5e9); rx = rxsite('Name','Fenway Park',... 'Latitude',42.3467, ... 'Longitude',-71.0972);
Create the propagation model for a heavy rainfall rate.
pm = propagationModel('rain','RainRate',50)
pm =
Rain with properties:
RainRate: 50
Tilt: 0
Calculate the signal strength at the receiver using the rain propagation model.
ss = sigstrength(rx,tx,pm)
ss = -87.1559
Longley-Rice Propagation Model
Create a transmitter site.
tx = txsite
tx =
txsite with properties:
Name: 'Site 1'
Latitude: 42.3001
Longitude: -71.3504
Antenna: 'isotropic'
AntennaAngle: 0
AntennaHeight: 10
SystemLoss: 0
TransmitterFrequency: 1.9000e+09
TransmitterPower: 10
Create a Longley-Rice propagation model using the propagationModel function.
pm = propagationModel('longley-rice','TimeVariabilityTolerance',0.7)
pm =
LongleyRice with properties:
AntennaPolarization: 'horizontal'
GroundConductivity: 0.0050
GroundPermittivity: 15
AtmosphericRefractivity: 301
ClimateZone: 'continental-temperate'
TimeVariabilityTolerance: 0.7000
SituationVariabilityTolerance: 0.5000
Find the coverage of the transmitter site using the defined propagation model.
coverage(tx,'PropagationModel',pm)
Input Arguments
modelname — Type of propagation model
'freespace' | 'rain' | 'gas' | 'fog' | 'close-in' | 'longley-rice' | 'tirem' | 'raytracing-image-method'
Type of propagation model specified as one of these:
'freespace'— Free space propagation model.'rain'— Rain propagation model. For more information, see [3].'gas'— Gas propagation model.'fog'— Fog propagation model. For more information, see [2].'close-in'— Close-in propagation model typically used in urban macro-cell scenarios. For more information, see [1].Note
The close-in model implements a statistical path loss model and can be configured for different scenarios. The default values correspond to an urban macro-cell scenario in a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environment.
'longley-rice'— Longley-Rice propagation model. This model is also known as Irregular Terrain Model (ITM). You can use this model to calculate point-to-point path loss between sites over an irregular terrain, including buildings. Path loss is calculated from free-space loss, terrain diffraction, ground reflection, refraction through atmosphere, tropospheric scatter, and atmospheric absorption. For more information and list of limitations, see [4].Note
The Longley-Rice model implements the point-to-point mode of the model, which uses terrain data to predict the loss between two points.
'tirem'— Terrain Integrated Rough Earth Model™ (TIREM™). You can use this model to calculate point-to-point path loss between sites over an irregular terrain, including buildings. Path loss is calculated from free-space loss, terrain diffraction, ground reflection, refraction through atmosphere, tropospheric scatter, and atmospheric absorption. This model needs access to an external TIREM library. The actual model is valid from 1 MHZ to 1000 GHz. But with Antenna Toolbox™ elements and arrays the frequency range is limited to 200 GHz.'raytracing-image-method'— The ray tracing propagation model is a multipath propagation model that uses ray tracing analysis to compute propagation paths and their corresponding path losses. Path loss is calculated from free-space loss, reflection loss due to material, and antenna polarization loss. The ray tracing analysis uses the method of images, which includes surface reflections but does not include effects from refraction, diffraction, or scattering. This model is valid for a frequency range of 100 MHz to 100 GHz.
You can use these functions on RF propagation models:
range— Calculate the range of the radio wave under different propagation scenarios. Therangefunction does not support Longley-Rice, TIREM or'raytracing-image-method'propagation models.pathloss— Calculate the path loss of radio wave propagation between the transmitter and receiver sites under different propagation scenarios.add— Add propagation models.
Data Types: char
Name-Value Pair Arguments
Specify optional
comma-separated pairs of Name,Value arguments. Name is
the argument name and Value is the corresponding value.
Name must appear inside quotes. You can specify several name and value
pair arguments in any order as
Name1,Value1,...,NameN,ValueN.
'RainRate',50. Sets the rate of rainfall in the rain
propagation model to 40.'RainRate' — Rain rate
16 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Rain rate, specified as a nonnegative scalar in millimeters per hour (mm/h).
Dependencies
To specify 'RainRate', you must specify
'rain' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'Tilt' — Polarization tilt angle of signal
0 (default) | scalar
Polarization tilt angle of the signal, specified as a scalar in degrees.
Dependencies
To specify 'Tilt', you must specify
'rain' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'Temperature' — Air temperature
15 (default) | scalar
Air temperature, specified as a scalar in Celsius (C).
Dependencies
To specify 'Temperature', you must specify
'gas' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'AirPressure' — Dry air pressure
101300 (default) | scalar
Dry air pressure, specified as a scalar in pascals (Pa).
Dependencies
To specify 'AirPressure', you must specify
'gas' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'WaterDensity' — Water vapor density
7.5 (default) | scalar
Water vapor density, specified as a scalar in grams per cubic meter (g/m3).
Dependencies
To specify 'WaterDensity', you must specify
'gas' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'Temperature' — Air temperature
15 (default) | scalar
Air temperature, specified as a scalar in Celsius (C).
Dependencies
To specify 'Temperature', you must specify
'fog' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'WaterDensity' — Liquid water density
0.5 (default) | scalar
Liquid water density, specified as a scalar in grams per cubic meter (g/m3).
Dependencies
To specify 'WaterDensity', you must specify
'fog' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'ReferenceDistance' — Free-space reference distance
1 (default) | scalar
Free-space reference distance, specified as a scalar in meters.
Dependencies
To specify 'ReferenceDistance', you must
specify the 'close-in' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'PathLossExponent' — Path loss exponent
2.9 (default) | scalar
Path loss exponent, specified as a scalar.
Dependencies
To specify 'PathLossExponent', you must specify
'close-in' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'Sigma' — Standard deviation
5.7 (default) | scalar
Standard deviation of the zero-mean Gaussian random variable, specified as a scalar in decibels (dB).
Dependencies
To specify 'Sigma', you must specify
'close-in' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'NumDataPoints' — Number of data points
1869 (default) | integer
Number of data points of zero-mean Gaussian random variable, specified as an integer.
Dependencies
To specify 'NumDataPoints', you must specify
'close-in' propagation model.
Data Types: double
Note
The close-in model is valid for distances greater than or equal to the
'ReferenceDistance' property. If a distance less than the
'ReferenceDistance' is used, path loss is
0.
'AntennaPolarization' — Polarization of transmitter and receiver antennas
'horizontal' (default) | 'vertical'
Polarization of transmitter and receiver antennas, specified as
'horizontal' or 'vertical'.
Both antennas are assumed to have the same polarization. This value is
used to calculate path loss due to ground reflection.
Dependencies
To specify 'AntennaPolarization', you must
specify 'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: char | string
'GroundConductivity' — Conductivity of ground
0.005 (default) | scalar
Conductivity of the ground, specified as a scalar in Siemens per meter (S/m). This value is used to calculate path loss due to ground reflection. The default value corresponds to average ground.
Dependencies
To specify 'GroundConductivity', you must
specify 'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'GroundPermittivity' — Relative permittivity of ground
15 (default) | scalar
Relative permittivity of the ground, specified as a scalar. Relative permittivity is expressed as a ratio of absolute material permittivity to the permittivity of vacuum. This value is used to calculate the path loss due to ground reflection. The default value corresponds to average ground.
Dependencies
To specify 'GroundPermittivity', you must
specify 'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'AtmosphericRefractivity' — Atmospheric refractivity near ground
301 (default) | scalar
Atmospheric refractivity near the ground, specified as a scalar in N-units. This value is used to calculate the path loss due to refraction through the atmosphere and tropospheric scatter. The default value corresponds to average atmospheric conditions.
Dependencies
To specify 'AtmosphericRefractivity', you must
specify 'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'ClimateZone' — Radio climate zone
'continental-temperate' (default) | 'equatorial' | 'continental-subtropical' | 'maritime-subtropical' | 'desert' | 'maritime-over-land' | 'maritime-over-sea'
Radio climate zone. This value is used to calculate the variability due to changing atmospheric conditions. The default value corresponds to average atmospheric conditions in a particular climate zone.
Dependencies
To specify 'ClimateZone', you must specify
'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: char | string
'TimeVariabilityTolerance' — Time variability tolerance level
0.5 (default) | scalar
Time variability tolerance level of the path loss, specified as a scalar between [0.001, 0.999]. Time variability occurs due to changing atmospheric conditions. This value gives the required system reliability or the fraction of time during which the actual path loss is expected to be less than or equal to model prediction. For more information, see [5].
Dependencies
To specify 'TimeVariabilityTolerance', you must
specify 'longley-rice' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'SituationVariabilityTolerance' — Situation variability tolerance level
0.5 (default) | scalar
Situation variability tolerance level of the path loss, specified as a scalar in between [0.001, 0.999]. Situation variability occurs due to uncontrolled or hidden random variables. This value gives the required system confidence or the fraction of similar situations for which the actual path loss is expected to be less than or equal to the model prediction. For more information, see [5].
Dependencies
To specify 'SituationVariabilityTolerance', you
must specify 'longley-rice' propagation
model.
Data Types: double
'AntennaPolarization' — Polarization of transmitter and receiver antennas
'horizontal' (default) | 'vertical'
Polarization of transmitter and receiver antennas, specified as
'horizontal' or 'vertical'.
Both antennas are assumed to have the same polarization. This value is
used to calculate path loss due to ground reflection.
Dependencies
To specify 'AntennaPolarization', you must
specify 'tirem' propagation model.
Data Types: char | string
'GroundConductivity' — Conductivity of ground
0.005 (default) | numeric scalar
Conductivity of the ground, specified as a numeric scalar in Siemens per meter (S/m) in the range of 0.0005 to 100. This value is used to calculate path loss due to ground reflection. The default value corresponds to average ground.
Dependencies
To specify 'GroundConductivity', you must
specify 'tirem' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'GroundPermittivity' — Relative permittivity of ground
15 (default) | numeric scalar
Relative permittivity of the ground, specified as a numeric scalar in the range of 1 to 100. Relative permittivity is expressed as a ratio of absolute material permittivity to the permittivity of vacuum. This value is used to calculate the path loss due to ground reflection. The default value corresponds to average ground.
Dependencies
To specify 'GroundPermittivity', you must
specify 'tirem' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'AtmosphericRefractivity' — Atmospheric refractivity near ground
301 (default) | scalar
Atmospheric refractivity near the ground, specified as a numeric scalar in N-units in the range of 250 to 400. This value is used to calculate the path loss due to refraction through the atmosphere and tropospheric scatter. The default value corresponds to average atmospheric conditions.
Dependencies
To specify 'AtmosphericRefractivity', you must
specify 'tirem' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'Humidity' — Absolute air humidity near ground
'9' (default) | numeric scalar
Absolute air humidity near ground,specified as a numeric scalar in
g/m^3 units in the range of 0 to 110. You can use
this value to calculate path loss due to atmospheric absorption. The
default value corresponds to the absolute humidity of air at 15 degrees
Celsius and 70 percent relative humidity.
Dependencies
To specify 'Humidity', you must specify
'tirem' propagation model.
Data Types: double
'MaxNumReflections' — Maximum number of path reflections
1 (default) | 0 | 2
Maximum number of reflections in the propagation paths to search for
using ray tracing, specified as 0,
1, or 2. The default value
results in a search for a line-of-sight propagation path along with
propagation paths that each contain a single reflection.
Dependencies
To specify 'MaxNumReflections', you must
specify 'raytracing-image-method' propagation
model.
Data Types: double
'CoordinateSystem' — Coordinate system of map and site location
'geographic' (default) | 'cartesian'
Coordinate system of the site location, specified as
'geographic' or 'cartesian'.
If you specify 'geographic', material types are
defined using 'BuildingMaterial' or
'TerrainMaterial' properties. If you specify
'cartesian', material types are defined using the
'SurfaceMaterial' properties.
Data Types: string | char
'BuildingsMaterial' — Surface material of geographic buildings
'concrete' (default) | 'perfect-reflector' | 'brick' | 'wood' | 'glass' | 'metal' | 'custom'
Surface material of geographic buildings, specified as one of these:
'perfect-reflector',
'concrete', 'brick',
'wood', 'glass',
'metal', or 'custom'. The
material type is used to calculate reflection loss where propagation
paths reflect off of building surfaces. For more information, see ITU Permittivity and Conductivity Values for Common Materials.
When 'BuildingsMaterial' is set to
'custom', the material permittivity and
conductivity are specified in the
BuildingsMaterialPermittivity and
BuildingsMaterialConductivity properties.
Dependencies
To specify 'BuildingsMaterials', you must set
'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic'.
Data Types: char | string
'BuildingsMaterialPermittivity' — Relative permittivity of buildings surface materials
5.31 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Relative permittivity of the buildings surface material, specified as a nonnegative scalar. Relative permittivity is expressed as a ratio of absolute material permittivity to the permittivity of vacuum. This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to concrete at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'BuildingsMaterialPermittivity', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic' and
'BuildingsMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
'BuildingsMaterialConductivity' — Conductivity of buildings surface materials
0.0548 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Conductivity of the buildings surface material, specified as a nonnegative scalar in Siemens per meter (S/m). This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to concrete at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'BuildingsMaterialConductivity', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic' and
'BuildingsMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
'TerrainMaterial' — Surface material of geographic terrain
'concrete' (default) | 'perfect-reflector' | 'brick' | 'water' | 'vegetation' | 'loam' | 'custom'
Surface material of terrain, specified as one of these:
'perfect-reflector',
'concrete', 'brick',
'water', 'vegetation',
'loam', or 'custom'. The
material type is used to calculate reflection loss where propagation
paths reflect off of terrain surfaces. For more information, see ITU Permittivity and Conductivity Values for Common Materials.
When 'TerrainMaterial' is set to
'custom', the material permittivity and
conductivity are specified in the
'TerrainMaterialPermittivity' and
'TerrainMaterialConductivity' properties.
Dependencies
To specify 'TerrainMaterial', you must set
'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic'.
Data Types: char | string
'TerrainMaterialPermittivity' — Relative permittivity of terrain materials
5.31 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Relative permittivity of the terrain material, specified as a nonnegative scalar. Relative permittivity is expressed as a ratio of absolute material permittivity to the permittivity of vacuum. This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to concrete at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'TerrainMaterialPermittivity', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic' and
'TerrainMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
'TerrainMaterialConductivity' — Conductivity of terrain materials
0.0548 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Conductivity of the terrain material, specified as a nonnegative scalar in Siemens per meter (S/m). This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to concrete at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'TerrainMaterialConductivity ', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'geographic' and set
'TerrainMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
'SurfaceMaterial' — Surface material of Cartesian map surface
'plasterboard' (default) | 'perfect-reflector' | 'ceilingboard' | 'chipboard' | 'floorboard' | 'concrete' | 'brick' | 'wood' | 'glass' | 'metal' | 'water' | 'vegetation' | 'loam' | 'custom'
Surface material of Cartesian map surface, specified as one of these:
'plasterboard','perfect-reflector',
'ceilingboard', 'chipboard',
'floorboard', 'concrete',
'brick', wood,
'glass', 'metal',
'water', 'vegetation',
'loam', or 'custom'. The
material type is used to calculate reflection loss where propagation
paths reflect off of surfaces. For more information, see ITU Permittivity and Conductivity Values for Common Materials.
When 'SurfaceMaterial' is set to
'custom', the material permittivity and
conductivity are specified in the
'SurfaceMaterialPermittivity' and
'SurfaceMaterialConductivity' properties.
Dependencies
To specify 'SurfaceMaterial', you must set
'CoordinateSystem' to
'cartesian'.
Data Types: char | string
'SurfaceMaterialPermittivity' — Relative permittivity of surface materials
2.94 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Relative permittivity of the surface material, specified as a nonnegative scalar. Relative permittivity is expressed as a ratio of absolute material permittivity to the permittivity of vacuum. This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to plaster board at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'SurfaceMaterialPermittivity', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'cartesian' and
'SurfaceMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
'SurfaceMaterialConductivity' — Conductivity of surface materials
0.0183 (default) | nonnegative scalar
Conductivity of the surface material, specified as a nonnegative scalar in Siemens per meter (S/m). This value is used to calculate path loss due to reflection. The default value corresponds to plaster board at 1.9 GHz.
Dependencies
To specify 'SurfaceMaterialConductivity ', you
must set 'CoordinateSystem' to
'cartesian' and set
'SurfaceMaterial' to
'custom'.
Data Types: double
More About
N-Units
The refractive index of air n is related to the dielectric constants of the gas constituents of an air mixture. The numerical value of n is only slightly larger than one. To make the calculation more convenient, you can use N units, which are given by the formula:
ITU Permittivity and Conductivity Values for Common Materials
ITU-R P.2040-1 [8] and ITU-R P.527-5 [9] present methods, equations, and values used to calculate real relative permittivity, conductivity, and complex relative permittivity for the common materials.
For information about the values computed for building materials specified in ITU-R P.2040-1, see
buildingMaterialPermittivity.For information about the values computed for terrain materials specified in ITU-R P.527-5, see
earthSurfacePermittivity.
References
[1] Sun, S.,Rapport, T.S., Thomas, T., Ghosh, A., Nguyen, H., Kovacs, I., Rodriguez, I., Koymen, O.,and Prartyka, A. "Investigation of prediction accuracy, sensitivity, and parameter stability of large-scale propagation path loss models for 5G wireless communications." IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol.65, No 5, pp 2843-2860, May 2016.
[2] ITU-R P.840-6. "Attenuation due to cloud and fog." Radiocommunication Sector of ITU
[3] ITU-R P.838-3. "Specific attenuation model for rain for use in prediction methods." Radiocommunication Sector of ITU
[4] Hufford, George A., Anita G. Longley, and William A.Kissick. "A Guide to the Use of the ITS Irregular Terrain Model in the Area Prediction Mode." NTIA Report 82-100. Pg-7.
[5] SoftWright Homepage https://www.softwright.com/faq/support/longley_rice_variability.html
[6] Seybold, John. Introduction to RF Propagation. Wiley, 2005
[7] ITU-R P.676-11. "Attenuation by atmospheric gases." Radiocommunication Sector of ITU
[8] ITU-R P.2040-1. "Effects of Building Materials and Structures on Radiowave Propagation Above 100MHz." International Telecommunications Union - Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R). July 2015.
[9] ITU-R P.527-5. "Electrical characteristics of the surface of the Earth." International Telecommunications Union - Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R). August 2019.
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