pp.

437-451

437

Rain attenuation problems

affecting the performance
of microwave communication systems
John D. KANELLOPOULOS *
Stelios G. KOUKOULAS *
Nicolaos J. KOLLIOPOULOS *
Christos N. CAPSALIS *
Spyros G. VENTOURAS *

Abstract
Rain attenuation is considered to be a dominant factor affecting the reliability of both terrestrial and earthto-satellite paths operating at frequencies above 10 GHz.
The subject of the present paper is the development of
some efficient models for the prediction of the operational characteristics (such as the path enlargement
factor, accumulation thermal noise, site diversity improvement) of microwave systems operating at these frequencies. The numerical results taken from the present
models have been compared with available experimental
data from operated links in USA, Europe, Japan and the
agreement has been found to be quite encouraging.
Key words : Radiocommunication, Microwave, Radio relay link,
Space diversity, Rain, Earth satellite propagation.

PROBLI~MES LI~S AUX AFFAIBLISSEMENTS

DUS A, LA PLUIE
AFFECTANT LES PERFORMANCES
DES SYSTI~MES DE RADIOCOMMUNICATION
EN HYPERFRI~QUENCES

R~sum~
L'affaiblissement da dt la pluie est consid~r~ comme
un facteur d~terminant de la jiabiliM des liaisons radio~lectriques terrestres et par satellite pour des frdquences
sup~rieures ~ 10 GHz. Cet article traite des moddles
efficaces dans la pr~vision des caracMristiques de fonctionnement des systdmes de radiocommunication hyperfr~quences. La comparaison des r~sultats th~oriques
obtenus gzpartir de ces moddles avec les donn~es exp~rimentales obtenues ~ partir des liaisons fonctionnant aux

Etats-Unis d'Am~rique, en Europe et au Japon montre

une assez bonne concordance.
Mots el~s : Radiocommunication, Hyperfr~quence, Faisceau hertzien, Diversit6 spatiale, Pluie, Propagation Terre satellite.

Contents
I.
II.

Introduction.
Study of the performance
of the microwave multirelay systems.
III. Study of the performance of a microwave satellite
system.
IV. Conclusion.
References (25 ref.).

I.

INTRODUCTION

Rain attenuation is a major factor limiting the reliability of both terrestrial and earth-to-satellite paths operating at frequencies above 10 GHz. Some problems dealing with the study of the performance of microwave
systems working at these frequencies are treated here.
First, the performance of the terrestrial digital radiorelay systems is analysed. In this vein, the route diversity
technique has been considered as one of the available
means for reducing the rain outage time and constructing
an economical circuit. Some models dealing with the
prediction of the outage performance of a route diversity
system have been proposed [1, 2]. Most recently, a
general predictive analysis for the same matter, valid for
any location and frequency, has also been presented [3].
The whole analysis has exclusively been based on the

* Department of Electrical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 42 Patission Street, Athens, GR-10682 Greece.
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ANN. T~L~COMMUN.,45, n ~ 7-8, 1990

438

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATTENUATIONAFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

convective raincell model for the spatial structure of the

rainfall medium. An alternative approach is presented
here. According to the present methodology, the idea of
a global spatial rainrate profile adopted for the evaluation
of the single hop attenuation [4] is combined with the
calculation of path correlation coefficient, based either
on the convective raincell model [5] or on possible
experimental data in the specific region [2]. Numerical
results using the present analysis are compared with
experimental data of this kind taken from an operated
multi-relay system located, in Tokyo, Japan.
The second part of the paper is dealing with the analysis of the performance of a multi-relay communication
system including unregenerating type repeaters such as
an analog or a hybrid transmission system using analog
and digital signals. A theoretical model for the prediction
of the noise distribution has recently been proposed [6],
using appropriate data for the rainfall statistics together
with the geometrical and electrical characteristics of the
system. An extension of the previous predictive analysis
is presented here, employing correlated variables for the
modelling of the single hop attenuations.
In the next section of the paper, analysis of the microwave satellite communication systems is presented. The
first task in this area is concerned with the consideration
of an effective method for the prediction of the rain attenuation in satellite radio links, satisfying the features
established in 1982 by the ccm [7]. The proposed method is an extension of that suggested most recently for
terrestrial links [8], and it is tested over 62 satellite links
placed in Europe, the USA and Japan. Comparisons with
the ccm method are also given [9].
The subject of the last part of the paper is referring
to the application of the simple site diversity technique
to reduce the outage time due to rain attenuation for
a satellite system. The latter technique is well known
and involves the deployment of two spatially separated,
but interconnected, earth terminals to provide alternate
propagation paths, with the capability of switching to
the least impaired path as required. The attention in the
present work will be focused in the analysis of the prediction of the improvement in using dual-site diversity
techniques. A general model dealing with the diversity
effect in satellite communication systems was first proposed by Morita and Higuti [10]. An improvement of
the Morita and Higuti method is proposed here.
Numerical results using the present predictive analysis are compared with experimental data taken from
operated site diversity links. The agreement has been
found to be quite encouraging.

II.

STUDY OF THE PERFORMANCE

OF THE MICROWAVE
MULTIRELAY SYSTEMS

The configuration of the line-of-sight microwave systems considered here is the same as that shown in
ANN. qEL~COMMOS.,45, n ~ 7-8, 1990

joint probability of attenuation (%)

0.1

5
(5) I..d=22,9 km
0.01%

" - ~ ~

o experiment (!.-u=4 km)

x experiment (Ld=9.1 kin)

-2
1

20
path separation (km)

l~c. 1. - - Joint attenuation probability versus separation for various

hop lengths, using single hop probability as parameter (location Japan,
f : 20 GHz).

Probabilitd d'affaiblissement conjointe en fonction de la sdparation des itin~raires pour diffdrentes longueurs des bonds, en utilisant comme paramdtre la probabiliM de bond unique (localisation :
Japon ; f : 20 GHz).

Figure 1 in [3]. More complicated route diversity systems require the knowledge of joint attenuation probabilities of higher complexity, and this kind of information
is not presently available. For the proceeding analysis
some assumptions should be taken into account.
(a) All the repeaters are assumed to be equal and
equally spaced.
(b) The climatological properties of rain are assumed
to be uniform over the region crossed by the multirelay
system.
(c) The specific rain attenuation (in dB/km) is considered to be given by the following expression :
(1)

Ao(dB/km) =

aRb(mm/h),

where R is the rainrate (mm/h) and the constants a

and b depend upon frequency, incident polarization and
temperature. Their values can be taken from the recent
revised report of ccm [11].
(d) The unconditional lognormal form for the representation of the long-term point rainfall rate R and path
attenuation distribution A and in extension, the bi-variate
unconditional log-normal distribution for rain attenuation in two paths are adopted, for a certain range of
values of R and A. The above assumption for the distribution of R and A has first been employed by Lin
[5] but for the conditional case. A motivation for using
2/15

439

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATrENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

the unconditional forms is given in [3]. Further, the lognormal form has been selected due to its very wide use
to represent the rainfall rate and attenuation cumulative
distributions throughout the world. In addition, the multivariate analysis for the log-normal form is well established and can easily be applied to the particular problems
treated here.
The analysis of the performance of microwave multirelay systems can further be divided into two parts. The
first part is concerned with the digital systems whereas
the other part is associated with multirelay systems using
unregenerating type repeaters.

on the convective raincell model has been published in

[3]. A more flexible approach is treated here.
II.1.1.

Evaluation of the joint probability P 1 , 2 .

According to the present methodology, the idea of a

global spatial rainrate profile adopted for the evaluation
of the single hop attenuation [4] is combined with the
calculation of path correlation coefficient p, based either
on the convective raincell model [5] or on possible
experimental data in the specific region [2]. Following
the spatial rainrate profile, the single hop attenuation,
can be evaluated as :
(6) A = a R b L ,

II.1. Outage performance of a digital multirelay

system.

for R o < 1 0 m m / h ,

1 - exp ( - T b l n ( 1 ~ )
7bln ( 1 ~ )

In this case, the overall outage probability for a single

tandem system due to rain attenuation can be expressed
as [12] :
M

(2)

MPT = E ( - 1 )

i+1 MPi(x),

i=1

where MPi(x) is the sum of probabilities that rain

attenuation simultaneously exceeds x dB on each of
links, which contain the all possible combinations of
i links from the M relay links. Sasaki et aL [12] using
experimental data from tandem links located in Japan,
have proposed the following approximate expression :
(3)

MPT = M P x ( x ) - ( M - 1)P2(x),

L)

= aR b

for Ro > 10 mm/h,

where L is the hop length, R0 is the rainfall rate referred
to the z = 0 end of the path and 7 is a parameter
controlling the rate of the decay of the profile [4].
As a direct result of expression (6), the single hop
attenuation probability can be calculated as :

(7)
PI(X) = P ( A > x) = P(Ro _> rz) = ~ erfc

where :
(8)

In rx - in Rm

where Pl(x) is the probability that rain attenuation

exceeds x dB on a single link and P2(x) represents the
joint exceedance attenuation probability on two adjacent
links of the system. For frequencies not much exceeding
l0 GHz, Drufuca and Torlaschi [1] have indicated that'
P2(x) << Pl(x) and so expression (3) gives :

Rm, Sr are the statistical parameters of the unconditional log-normal distribution of R and rx can be derived
by means of the transcendental equation :

(4)

(9)

MPT = M P i ( x ) .

The simplified proportional value of MPT(X) gives an

overestimation of outage probability which can approximately be used for this frequency range.
Further, the overall outage probability for a twin route
diversity system can approximately be given by [3] :
M

(5)

2NPd = E

Pi,, = MP1,2.

sr

x=ar~L,
x = ar b

for x < X 0 ,

a-exp(-Tbln(rx)

-~

L ,

7bln ( ~ 0 )
for x > Xo,
and
(10)

Xo = alObL.

i=1

Where P1,2 is the joint exceedance probability for a

pair of opposite hops of the route diversity system. As
has been pointed out by Drufuca and Torlaschi [1] and
recently by Sasald and Nagamune [2], expression (5) is
an upperbound of the overall outage probability for the
diversity system.
In this section of the paper the main topic of the
analysis is concerned with the evaluation of the joint
probability P1,2 in terms of the parameters of the rainfall distribution along the propagation path and the main
characteristics of the spatial structure of the rainfall medium. An analysis of the probability/91,2 based entirely
3/15

In the same way, the joint probability P1,2 can be

given by :
(11)

P1,2(x) = P(A1 >_ x, A2 >_ x)

= P(R1 >_ rx, R2 >_ rz)

f/zlR2 (rl, r2) drldr2,

x

where A1, A2 are the corresponding attenuations in two

opposite hops of the diversity system, x is the exceeded
value of attenuation and R1, R2 are the rainfall rates
referred to the z = 0 ends of the two paths. Further,
according to assumption (d), fR1 R2 (rl, r2) is considered
ANN. "I~.~COMMUN., 45, n ~ 7-8, 1990

440

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATTENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

to be the joint log-normal density function of R~, R2

given by :
1
(12) fRIR2(TI,T2):

and Higuti [13] have proposed the following negative

exponential semi-empirical expression for pl :
(20)

Pl = exp(-av/-d),

- p 0T r2

exp

- 2 ( 1 - p2o)"

S~

lnr2 - In Rm

57 )-2

2pno(lnrl-lnRm)(lnr2-1nRm)]}
S~

"

In the previous expression Pn0 is the correlation coefficient between the normal variables In R1 and In R2.
Following now a straight forward statistical analysis, we
can obtain. (For more details, one is referred to [3].)

uo - pnoul
-

dul.

On0)

The next step is the evaluation of the correlation

coefficient Pno in terms of the path correlation coefficient
p between attenuations A1 and A2.
As mentioned before, several considerations have
been proposed so far, dealing with the calculation of
the path correlation coefficient p.
Adopting the convective raincell model, p can be
formulated as :
p = H2/H1,

where the H1, /-/2 are given by (see also ref. [3]).
nl

(16)

H2 =

/?/?
/?/?

for0 < S < $1,

and
p = 0.38L ~

forS > $1,

px(dn,) dlldl~,

$1 = v/L--S(0"967 - 0.168 lnLd)

0.09

(23)

Coming back to the calculation of the correlation

coefficient Pno in expression (12), the following integral
equation can be derived, as a direct consequence of the
definition of p :
(24)

E[A1A2] - pvar[A1] - (E[A1]) 2 = 0,

where :
(25)

A1A2fRI R~ (rl, r2, P,~O)drldr2,

E[AIA2] =
and :
(26)

E[A1] =

(27)

E[A 21 --

pl(d12) dlldl2,

and

(17)
(18)

p = exp[-0.09L~

with

e -~'~/2 erfc

(15)

(21)

(22)

(13) P1,2(x)= ~1 f ~ o v f1~

(14)

where a is a constant ranging from 0.2 to 0.3 km -1/2.

Taking into account expressions (19), (20) the analytical forms for H1 and//2 have been evaluated and they
are presented in [3] where the same problem has been
treated, based entirely on the convective raincell model.
In an alternative way, the correlation coefficient p has
experimentally been determined in the specific area of
Tokyo [2]. The following semi-empirical expression for
p has been proposed,

dll, --- Ill - l~l,

d12 ~- (S 2 5w (/1 - 12)2) 1/2.

As it is obvious the H1, H2 are functions of path

separation S, hop length of the diversity system Ld and
depend also on the spatial rainfall inhomogeneity. The
latter is characterized by the spatial correlation coefficient Pl of attenuation gradient A0 between two points
of the rain medium. More particularly, for locations in
Europe and North America the coefficient Pl can be
considered to be given by the following semi-empirical
expression [5] :
G
(19)
pl [A0(z), A0(z')] - (G 2 + d2)1/2,
where d = [z - z'[ is the distance between the two
particular points, z, z' and G is a characteristic distance
in kilometers ranging from 0.75 to 3 km.
On the other hand, for locations in Japan, Morita
ANN.T~I~COMMUN..45, n~ 7-8, 1990

f0 ~ AlfR1 (rl)

/J

dr1,

A~fRI (rl) dr1.

In the above expressions fRl(rl) is the log-normal

density function [14] for the point rainfall rate and the
single hop attenuations A1, A2 are given by expression

(6).
The final step of the predictive procedure is the
calculation of the integral in expression (13), which can
be carried out by using efficient numerical techniques
such as Gaussian quadratures. As a consequence of the
above analysis, a compact algorithm for the evaluation
of the operational characteristics of the route diversity
system such as the path enlargement factor, can be
developed.
II.1.2.

Prediction of the path enlargement factor.

The path enlargement effect can be defined as the fact

that the hop length of a diversity system can be increased
compared to the corresponding one of a tandem system
operating at the same outage performance conditions.
This leads to a more economical design of the diversity
4/15

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS.- RAINATTENUATIONAFFECTINGMICROWAVECOMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS
system by using a smaller number of repeaters, or by
preserving the hop length, using the same number but
lower quality repeaters [2].
Strictly speaking, the hop enlargement factor Fd can
be defined as :
Ld
(28)
Fd = ~w > 1,
where LT and La are the lengths of the tandem and
diversity hops respectively.
Following the same steps as in the corresponding
case of the predictive model based on the convective
raincells [3], a compact algorithm for the calculation of
the enlargement factor Fd Can be constructed.
More particularly, the rain outage probability P1 for
the single hop of the tandem system can be obtained as :
(29)

P1 = p0LT,

where Po is some imposed value for the outage probability per unit length for the tandem or diversity system
and LT is a logical value for the tandem hop length.
Considering now the unconditional log-normal form
for the attenuation probability distribution of the single
hop :
1
(U0T ~
(30)
P1 = ~ erfc k ~ ) '
the outage level u0w can be obtained. Combining now
expressions (8) and (9), the corresponding attenuation
level XT is derived. Further, using the definition of
the margin Ms of both (tandem and diversity systems)
which is a measure of repeater quality [15], we have :
(31)

Ms = X T -~- 201og10 LT

= Xd

"1-20log10 Ld,

and as result, the attenuation level Xd exceeded in the

single hop of the diversity system can be found, as :
(32)

P1,2=FdP1 = ~

I f oo 1
Od Y ~

e -u~/2 erfc

U0d

_- p~oul ] dul,

/2(1 - p .o) J
and :
(34)

U0d =

In rxd - In Rm
Sr

Where rzd is the solution of the transcendental equation

(9) setting Xd in the place of X. Expression (33) is an
integral equation used for the numerical evaluation of the
correlation coefficient P,~0. Using further equation (24),
one is able to obtain the corresponding path correlation
coefficient p, or equivalently the path separation distance
S.
Numerical results using the predictive procedure are
given in comparison with data taken from an operated
5/15

multirelay system located in Japan. More particularly,

the experimental data has been taken by Sasaki and
Nagamune [2] and refers to a set of 13 tandem links
between the Musashino electrical communication laboratory (Musashino, ECL) and the Yokosnka ECL located
near Tokyo, using vertically polarised, 19.9 GHz waves.
As has been pointed out by Sasaki and Nagamune [2]
only data corresponding to about two and a half years
from May 1975 to September 1977 has been presented.
The first step for the development of the present
algorithm is the appropriate estimation of the parameters
Rm, Sr of the point rainfall distribution. This pair of
parameters can be evaluated by using the experimental
rainfall rate distribution in the Tokyo bay area [16].
The parameters a and b encountered in the previous
expressions can be estimated by using the recent revised
report of ccm [11], Further, the numerical value ~/ =
1/14 has been taken, as suggested by Stutzman and
Dishman [4].
In Figure 1, the joint probability P12(x) of rain
attenuation in a pair of opposite hops has been drawn
for various values of path separation S and hop length
Ld, using the single-hop attenuation probability as a
parameter.
The predictive results for the PI,Z based entirely on
the convective raincell model, have been published elsewhere [3]. In the present work, the semi-empirical model for p based on experimental data in Tokyo bay area
(expressions (21)-(23)) has been employed. The comparison between numerical and experimental results is
quite good although at the lower single hop attenuation probabilities some significant discrepancies exist. A
reasonable explanation may be due to the very limited
period of the existing experimental data and this leads,
for such small probabilities, to unreliable conclusions.

X d X T - 20 loglo Fd,

for each value of the factor Fd.

Next, the joint exceedance probability P1,2 of attenuation on a pair of opposite hops of the diversity system,
is given by :
(33)

441

11.2. Accumulation of thermal noise in a multirelay

system using unregenerating type repeaters.

The analysis pertaining to the prediction of the accumulated thermal noise NM refers to the line-of-sight
microwave system consisting of M repeaters connected
in tandem. The definition of all the parameters appearing
in this section can be found in [6], where NM was analyzed under the assumption of statistical independence
among the single hop attenuation variables. In this work,
the basic assumption that the attenuations of the different hops are correlated, is employed. Following the assumptions, explained analytically in [6], the propagation
losses Xi(i = 1, 2 , . . . , M) will be considered to have a
truncated log/log-normal distribution form taking values
in the closed region [1,Xh]. In the same vein, the normalized propagation loss gl defined as the arithmetical
mean of Xi, will also have a similar truncation distribution form. The corresponding truncated variables will
be denoted as Xt~(i = 1, 2 , . . . , M) and gJt.
ANN."I~L~COMMUN.45,
, n~ 7-8, 1990

442

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS.- RAIN ATFENUATIONAFFECTING MICROWAVECOMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS

11.2.1. Evaluation of the moments of t i t .

The first step of the proposed algorithm requires the

evaluation of the central moments of tit- The following
relations hold [14] :
(35) /3u = < t i 2 > - < t i t

>2

7u = < ti3 > - 3 < tit2 > < tit > +2 < t i t > 3
(Sy = < ti4 > - 4 < tit3 > < tit > +4 < ti2 >
< t i t >2 - 3 < ~ t

>4

where flu, 7u, 6u "- are the second, third, fourth etc
central moments of the variable tit, while < tit >,
< tit2 >, < tit3 > ... are the initial moments of the same
variable.
Since the individual propagation losses Xt~(i =
1, 2 , . . . , M) have the same statistical distribution, and
in conjunction with the definition of tit, the analytical
expressions for the above moments up to the third one
are presented next.
< tilt > = < Xt >,
1
< tit2 > = M---5

the same problem by using a global spatial rainrate

profile for the calculation of the single hop attenuation
combined with possible experimental data for the path
correlation coefficient, will be examined in a future
work.
An expression is now established relating the Pnij in
terms of pij, where Pij is the path correlation coefficient
between any two log-normal attenuation variables Ai
and Aj. This expression has been given by Morita and
Higuti [10] as an intermediate step for the analysis of
the prediction of the site diversity improvement for an
earth-space system. According to this formulation, we
have :
(37)

15 ln[1 +p~j(e ~ - 1)].

a--

Pni3 =

The coefficient Pij is given by the following equation :

(38)

PiJ" = H1

where H1 is formulated by using expression (15) and

Hij can be expressed in integral form as (see Fig. 1 in
[6]) :

M < X~ > + E ( M +

1-i)<Xt~,Xt~

>

Hij = [Jo

(39)

pl(dij) d/ld/2,

i=2

(36)

where :

1
< ti~ > = M-----5

(40)

M < Xta > + 6 E ( M

+ 1-i)

< Xt2~,Xt, > +

i=2
/*

6 E[M-

2 ( i - 1)] < X t , , X t , , X t ,

>+

i=2
/.d

12 E

E(M+I-i)<Xtl,Xt~,Xt,>

j = 2 i=23

where v = 2 i - 1 , and # = #~ = M / 2 i f M is an
even number and # = (M + 1)/2, #' = (M - 1)/2
if M is an odd number. Due to the complexity in the
formulation and computation of the higher moments of
tit, the proposed algorithm has been developed in such
a way, that initial moments of the variable tit up to the
third order, are only required.
Using now the Jacobian transformations and the
multidimensional normal distributions, the joint density functions Px, x~ (xi, xj) and Px, x~x~ (x~, xj, Xk),
which are required for the calculation of the moments
of q t , can be obtained. The above density functions are
expressed in terms of the statistical parameters m, a and
pnij(i,j = 1, 2 , . . . , M, i ~ j). More particularly, m is
the mean value and a the standard deviation of the variable In Ai(i = 1, 2 , . . . , M), where Ai is the attenuation
of the ith hop. Additionally, pnij (i # j) denotes the correlation coefficient between a pair of normal variables
lnA~, l n A j ( i , j = 1 , 2 , . . . , M , i # j).
All these parameters depend upon the characteristics
of the rainfall medium. As far as the description of
the spatial rainfall structure is concerned, the model
of convective raincells is adopted. Consideration of
ANN. ~ O M M O N . , 45, n~ 7-8, 1990

dij -- S~ + Ilu - ll h

Sij zx li _ j] L is the distance between the mid-points

of the arbitrary hops i and j of the multi-relay system.
Taking into account the semi-empirical form (19), an
analytical expression for Hi is given in [5], whereas
Hij can be obtained as :
(41)

Hij = G2[(L/G)t s i n h - l ( L t / G ) +
(L/G)(t - 2) sinh - l [ ( L / c ) ( t - 2)I-

2 ( L / G ) ( t - 1) s i n h - l [ ( L / G ) ( t - 1)]-

v/(L/G):t 2 + 1x/(L/G)2(t - 2) 2 + 1 + 2v/(L/G)2(t - 1) 2 + 11,

where the index t is defined by :
(42)

t ~ li - J] + 1.

In the same way, analytical expressions for the parameters ra and a based on the formulation (19) for Pl and
appropriate data for the point rainfall rate distribution,
are presented in [6].
On the other hand, for regions in Japan (formulation
(20) for Pl), the integrals H1 and H~j can be derived
as 9

(43)

Hi =

[ 2L -

+ 2(3 + 3 ,/Z + 2L)

H# = 4 { r

- L)]202(cz2S,#) + r

+ L)]},
6/15

443

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS.- RAIN ATTENUATIONAFFECTINGMICROWAVECOMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS

where :
(44)

'61

accumulated thermal noise (dB)

#~2(x)= (x + 3 x / x + 3 ) e x p ( - v ~ ) ,

and the single hop parameters m, a are evaluated in

this case, by substituting//1 from the first of (43) into
equations (6), (7) in [6].
The evaluation of the central moments of the variable ~t given in expression (35) can now be proceed
by substituting the appropriate density functions Px (x),
Px, x~ (xi, xj), Px, x~xk (xi, xj, xk), expressed in terms
of m, a and Pnij, into (36). In tum, the integrals encountered there, are computed by using efficient numerical
techniques such as Gauss-Legendre quadratures.

44

/ "/~,.

42 ]

/ / ~

4olI

,,,.~"XS~.~
~J
/

/..y

/';"//
,/'/.//

30-~' /

r/
28_1/
r

........

distribution sum
unco!rela!ed ,
correlated (Lin)
correlated (Morita-Higuti)

. . . . . . .
. . . . .
........

II.2.2. Calculation of the exceedance probability of the thermal

noise power.

A logical assumption is made concerning the particular type of the statistical distribution of the variable ~t.
As a result of a computer simulation program and using
appropriate statistical tests the distribution of ~t has also
been approximated by a truncated log log-normal form.
The next step is the effective estimation of the statistical
parameters of 9 in terms of the central moments of the
truncated variable ~t which have been computed in the
previous section. For this reason, an effective algorithm
has been developed and presented elsewhere [6]. The
algorithm is also applicable here. The above parameters
then are used to evaluate the statistical distribution of
and in turn that of NM [6].
The results obtained by this procedure are compared
with those obtained under the assumption of statistical
independence among the attenuation variables as well as
the available experimental data [6], for various exceedance probabilities (Fig. 2 and 3).

24_accumulated thermal noise (dB)

experimental
distribution sum
u ncorrelated
correlated (Lin)
correlated (Morita-Higuti)

........
20

16

6
8
10
number of links

12

FIG. 3. - - Accumulated thermal noise (in dB) versus the number

of links, at the 0.01% exceedance probability level.

Bruit thermique accumuld (en dB) en fonction du hombre de liaisons,

au niveau de probabilitd de d~passement de 0,01%.

As a general conclusion, the numerical results derived

by using the present theory are generally closer to the
experimental data than the predicted ones corresponding
to the model of uncorrelated attenuation variables. This
kind of agreement occurs with the results derived by
using the Morita-Higuti [13] model for the rainfall spatial structure for at least up the probability level 10-2%.
Due to the lack of data, no comparison can be made for
levels beyond 10-2%, although some discrepancy can
exist because rainfall rate in Japan follows a log-normal
behaviour for low and mean rainrate and gamma behaviour for higher values.
The same kind of agreement does not occur however
with the results corresponding to the model suggested by
expression (19) for the rainfall spatial correlation. This
is quite expectable because the latter model has mainly
been based on measurements taken from a Florida network. As a matter of fact, it is not appropriate to describe
the rainfall spatial structure in the whole Japan area.

../.>-/. , 7

,.#/ / /

/,/

12-

.,,-"

,~./>/.....-

.,~/~

..."

,"7_.-""
/

/,"

III. STUDY
THE PERFORMANCE
OF A MICROWAVE SATELLITE SYSTEM
OF

,,"

1 % exceedance
probability level

;*

i'

' lo

1'2

number of links

FIG. 2. - - Accumulated thermal noise (in dB) versus the number

of links, at the 1% exceedance probability level.

Bruit thermique accumuM (en dB) en fonction du nombre de liaisons,

au niveau de probabilitd de ddpassement de 1%,
7/15

The configuration of a satellite communication system

using one or two earth stations is shown in Figures 4a
and 4b respectively. In this latter configuration known
as site diversity technique, $12 is the separation of
the two earth stations, D is their horizontal separation
whereas for both cases Oi(i = 1, 2) is the corresponding
elevation angle. Generally, D < $12 except when the
ANN. T~COM~JN., 45, n~ %8, 1990

AAA

J, D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATTENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

to satellite

Ls ,' i __~TH
~tation~

)0

the ccm recommendations [17], the height H can be

approximated as :

0 < IAI < 36 ~

H = 4,

(46)

= 4-

/a)

0.075(IAI -

36~

IAI > 36 ~

where A is the latitude of the specific location in degrees.

to satellite

(b)

(c) As a result of the previous considerations, attenuation distributions for the two slant paths are taken to
be identical.
(d) To clarify the terms involved, the cumulative
single-site exceedance probabilities/91, P2 are given by :
(47)

P,=P(As,_>xs),

i=1,2,

whereas the joint exceedance attenuation probability for

the two slant paths is defined as :
(48)

$12/

I/I

/',
ID

/d, 2

(c)

FIG.4.
(a) Configurationof an earth space system.
(b) Diversityconfigurationbetweenearth stations (1) and (2).
(e) Definitionof the variables 11, /2, $12, D, K12 appearing in
expressions(67)-(69).
(a) Configuration d'un systdme Terre-espace.
(b) Configuration en diversitd entre les stations terriennes (I) et
(2).
(c) D~finition des variables 11, 12, $12, D, K12 apparaissant dans
les expressions (67)-(69).

baseline is perpendicular to the satellite azimuth. For

the further analysis, some considerations should be taken
into account.
(a) The climatological properties of rain are assumed
to be uniform over the region crossed by the earth-space
paths.
(b) Let H be the long-term average height of the
freezing level in the atmosphere, measured in relation
to sea level. The effective average length of the earthsatellite path concerning the stations 1 and 2 affected by
~ain is given by [17] :
H - H0~
(45)
Ls,-sin0~'i=l'2'
0~_>10 ~
where Hoi(i = 1, 2) is the corresponding ground elevation measured from the sea level.
Since $12 and D are negligible compared to the
earth's radius and to the distance between the stations
and the satellite, 01 and 02 are considered to have
a common value 0. The 0~ isotherm height varies
with latitude and season of the year. According to
ANN.T~L~COM~.,45, n~ 7-8, 1990

/91,2 = P ( A s l >_ xs, As2 >_ xs),

where As, (i = 1, 2) are the rain induced attenuations of

the two earth-space paths, and x, is the corresponding
outage level (in dB).
In the proceeding analysis, we shall use Crane's
simplified considerations [18] for the vertical variation
of the rainfall structure. In this way, one is able to
obtain tl~e single and joint exceedance probabilities for
the above slant paths as :
(49)

Pi = P(A~, >_ xs) = P ( A i >_ XD),

(50)

P1,2 = P ( A s l >_ x~,As2 >_ xs)

i = 1,2;

= P ( A 1 >_ XD, A2 >__XD),

with
(51)

:
X D

--~ X s

COS 0 ,

Ai(i = 1,2) is the surface-projected attenuation as

calculated for an hypothetical terrestrial link with path
length LD ---- Ls cos0 and XD is the corresponding
outage level as given by expression (51).
(e) The specific rain attenuation A0 (in dB/krn) is
given by the expression (1) as used in the case of the
terrestrial microwave systems.
(f) As far as the horizontal variation of the rainfall
structure is concerned, the convective raincell model [5,
13] is also adopted in this section (expressions (19) and
(2O)).
(g) A simple mathematical model which provides a
good description of the global cumulative rainfall rate
distribution [19] will be employed for the prediction
of the single site attenuation probability. The proposed
method can be considered to be an extension of that
suggested most recently for the prediction of the single
hop attenuation for terrestrial links [8]. On the other
hand, the site diversity prediction problem treated in the
section III.2. requires the elaboration of bi-variate forms.
In this case, the log-normal form is most suitable and
has been selected there.
8/15

445

J. D. K A N E L L O P O U L O S . - R A I N A'ITENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE C O M M U N I C A T I O N SYSTEMS

III.1. Consideration of the single-site attenuation

prediction problem.

In addition :
(58)

UA =

Cba D.

According to the above considerations the predictive

analysis is concentrated in the calculation of the exceedance probability P ( A > XD) referring to the case of an
hypothetical terrestrial link. The global method recently
suggested for the prediction of the rain attenuation for
a single hop of a terrestrial multirelay system can now
be used [8]. The main points of this analysis are briefly
presented here.
(a) The method is based on the following empirical
rainfall-rate distribution model [19] describing the whole
cumulative rainfall intensity distribution, as
e-~rr
(52)
P ( R >_ r) = a~ rb----:---for r >_ e~(mm/h),

The lower limit of attenuation CA in expression (54)

can be evaluated by means of the relation :

where a~, b~, ur are parameters depending on the integration time of the used raingauge as well as on the
geographical characteristics of the location concerned.
At it is suggested by Moupfouma [19] the evaluation
of the above parameters in a world-wide basis can be
obtained by means of the tabulated values R0.01 (mm/h)
for the rainfall-rate observed during 0.01 time percentage. Moreover, the parameters at, b~, ur and er should
satisfy the relationship :

r(2b - b,, u ~ , ) - -

ar

(53)
as

result

of

e U~, b,
the

obvious

probability

law

P ( R >_ c,) = 1.
(b) The exceedance attenuation probability is expressed in a manner similar to that used in expression (52)
for the point rainrate, as :

(59)

CA =

in terms of the constants a and b given by ccm [ll]

and the path length LD of the hypothetical terrestrial
link. The parameters E(A) and var(A) encountered in
the expressions (57) have the following form :
E(A) = (ba,ub'-baF(b - b,, Urn,) cb a)LD,

and :

(60) var(A) = (-b2a~u~(b'-b)a2r2(b- b,,u,~,)+

2bara2 u b`- 2b.
2ba~%b~--b e b~ a r ( b - b~,c~Ur))L2Dgl.
In the above expressions F(a, x) is the incomplete
gamma function. An approximate formula for its numerical evaluation is given in [20]. Further, the factor H1
takes into account the spatial inhomogeneity of the rainfall medium in the horizontal structure. Details for its
evaluation have been presented previously.
The prediction model presented in this section has
been tested using the method recently suggested by ccm
[17]. The testing of the predictive procedure is based
on a data bank containing attenuation measurements for
each of 62 satellite links located in Japan, USA and
Europe. For each percentage of time (from 0.001 to
1.0 percent of the year) for which data is available, the
percentage error e~ given by :

e--UAXD

(54)

P ( A >_ XD) = aA

X-----~ for XD > CA.

Using the probability law P ( A >_ CA) = 1, we also

have :
(55)

aA

= e uAeA

~bA,

(c) Further, the parameters aA, UA and bA are evaluated in terms of the corresponding at, ur, br and the
other (geometrical and electrical) characteristics of the
link. Using a straightforward statistical analysis, the following transcendental equation for the parameter bA can
be obtained :
(56) E(A) -- Ca = e (CbA+D) E b A ( C b A D ) b A - 1
F(1 - bA, (CbA D)CA),
where :
C =

2(CA -- E(A))
var(A) + 2(E(A) - CA)CA (E(A) - CA) 2 '

(57)
D =

9/15

(61)

2(E(A) - CA) 2~A

var(A) + 2(E(A) - CA)CA (E(A) - CA)2

ei -

Ap - Am
Am

x 100%,

has been calculated for each of 62 satellite links (with

i -- 1 , 2 , . . . , 6 2 ) located in Europe, USA and Japan.
Further, the mean (#e), standard deviation (ar and the
rms value of the ei values (rms = V/-~e a 2) have
been calculated for each percentage of the time. In the
comparison of prediction methods, the best prediction
produces the smallest rms value [17]. Some comments
concerning the application of the present method are
given here.
First, tabulated data for the R0.m values is available
for only 31 locations of the whole data bank [19]. In the
remaining cases, the R0.01 values have been estimated
by using corresponding diagrams [18].
Second, the appropriate lower limit CA, for satellite
links with elevation angle less than about 20 ~(0 < 20 ~
has been taken to be :
(62)

and :

aebr LD,

CA = avbr LD/500.

The present predictive procedure has been compared

with the prediction method adopted by CCIR [9]. In
Table I, /ze, ere and rms values calculated by using
ANN. Tt~LI~COMMUN., 45,

n~ 7-8, 1990

446

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS.- RAINATTENUATIONAFFECTINGMICROWAVECOMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS
TABLEI. - - Mean, standard deviation and rms value for the ccm
and the method proposed here as a function of time percentage.
Moyenne, ~cart-type et valeur quadratique moyenne, pour la mdthode du CCIR
et la m(thode propos~e duns cet article, en fonction du pourcentage de temps.

Percentage of time (%)

10-3

3.10-3

10-2

3.10-2

10-1

3.10-1

1.0

/z,

19.43

12.52

9.99

2.83

- 5.28

- 24.73

- 25.15

ae

35.45

27.12

22.17

26.72

34.67

37.19

55.11

De

40.43

23.87

24.32

26.87

35.07

44.66

6o.58

10-3

3.10 -3

10-2

3.10-2

10-1

3.10-1

1.0

/ze

5.23

- 5.05

2.89

4.11

17.82

33.35

63.98

ae

40.48

27.76

28.06

26.01

37.81

54.58

92.63

De

40.82

28.22

28.21

26.33

41.8

63.96

112.25

the present prediction method are compared to those

obtained by employing the ccm technique, for various
percentages of time.
In Figure 5, the average relative errors for the proposed and the CCIRmethod have been plotted.
9o%
1 Present method
2 CCIR method

40

//"
/ /

for the 31 locations where tabulated Ro.01 values are

available.
In Table II, the corresponding #e, ae and rms values
for various percentages times are presented. In Figure 6
the rms relative errors are drawn. As it can be seen, the
present method gives improved results, particularly for
the higher percentages of time. On the other hand, it
should be noted that the lower time percentages are the
more essential due to high rainrates.

84

-4C

p%
10-3

I0-2

'

18~

'

FIG. 5. - - Average relative errors in percent against probability level,

obtained testing 62 satellite links placed in Europe, Japan and the
USA.
Erreurs relatives moyennes en pourcent en fonction du niveau de
probabiliM, obtenues en testant 62 liaisons par satellite en Europe,
au Japon et aux Etats-Unis.

A general inspection of Table I and Figure 5 shows

that the present method underestimates the real situation
for higher percentages of time whereas for lower percentages an overestimation occurs. The opposite is quite
obvious as concerned with the performance of the ccm
method. Further, the present technique gives a somewhat
uniform error performance for all the probability levels
for which data is available.
In addition, taking as a criterion the rms value the
present method has more advantages as compared to the
ccm procedure, for probability levels greater than 0.1%.
On the other hand, the two methods give about the same
results for lower percentages of time.
The present predictive procedure and the ccm method
have also been tested, by using the limited data bank
ANN.TI~LI~COMMUN.,45, n~ 7-8, 1990

111.2. Consideration of the site diversity perform a n c e prediction problem.

Two standard expressions exist for characterizing site
diversity performance : diversity improvement f a c t o r is
defined as the ratio of the single-site time percentage to
diversity time percentage at the same attenuation level.
Diversity gain is the difference (in dB) between the
single-site and diversity attenuation values for the same
time percentage.
In the present work, the joint exceedance attenuation
probability will be predicted in terms of the singlesite probability for the location under consideration, at
the same outage level. To calculate P1,2 we use the
expressions (48) and (50) and consequently, we have :
(63)

P1,2(xs) = P(A81 >_ x s , A s 2 >_ x s )

= P ( A 1 >_ XD, A2 >_- x o )

CC
D

(xl, x2) dzldx2,

where fAiA2(Xl,2g2) is the joint probability density

function of the variables A1 and A2.
According now to consideration (g), the variables A1
and A2 will have a joint unconditional log-normal distri10/15

447

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATI'ENUATIONAFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

TABLEII. - - Mean, standard deviation and rms value for the CCIRand the present method as a function of time percentage
(only 31 locations where tabulated values of R0.01 are available).
Moyenne, ~cart-type et valeur quadratique moyenne, pour la m~thode du CCIR
(pour les seuls 31 emplacements off des valeurs tabul~es de R0,01 ~taient disponibles)
et la m~thode propos~e dans cet article, en fonction du pourcentage de temps.

Percentage of time
10-3

3.10-3

10-2

3.10-2

10-x

3.10 - i

1.0

/~e

11.42

7.73

11.52

8.47

- 1.32

- 19.59

- 32.39

ae

24.61

19.04

24.79

30.24

43.85

44.36

41.08

De

27.13

20.55

27.34

31.4

43.87

48.49

52.31

10-3

3.10-3

10-2

3.10-2

10-1

3.10 - i

1.0

/~e

1.63

- 6.75

2.65

1.35

20.66

34.54

42.54

ae

35.65

23.7

30.97

23,14

42.36

58.81

70.62

De

35.69

24.64

31.08

23.18

47.13

68,2

82.44

D, %

80

1 Presentmethod
2 CCIRmethod

~~ / ~
f

40

"

~2(~/..'//
/f

(66)

1~}_ 2

i '

I0-~

FIG. 6. - - Rms relative errors in percent against probability level,

obtained testing 31 satellite links placed in Europe, Japan and the
USA (R0.01 tabulated values are available).
Erreurs quadratiques moyennes relatives en pourcent en fonction
du niveau de probabilitY, obtenues en testant 31 liaisons par satellite en Europe, au Japon et aux Etats-Unis (les valeurs R0.01
sont disponibles).

bution. Following a straightforward statistical analysis,

one gets [3] :
(64)

Pi,2=~

1 f~

Ps =

(67)

H2s =

(68)

P2 ---- jG02 q- iK12 d- ll - / 2 ) 2'

where (see also Fig. 4c) :

(69)

Go = v / ~

+ D 2,

K12 = ~/$22 - D 2 .
U0

--

pnsUl

Using a straightforward analysis, one is able to obtain :

(70)

and :

g2s = GGo(Ha

- g/3),

where :
Uo = ~

erfc-l(2Po).
(71)

The above results give the joint probability/~

as a
function of the single site probability Po, taken as the
average of P1, P2 and Pns which is the correlation coefficient between the normal variables In A: and In A~.
The next step is the evaluation of the correlation
coefficient Pns as a function of the path correlation
coefficient Ps between attenuations A1 and As. For
11/15

foLD/0LDP2 d/ld/2.

For locations in Europe and North America where the

expression (19) for the spatial correlation coefficient Pl
holds, P2 can be expressed as :

1
o v/~

exp ( - - ~ ) e r f c

(65)

H2s
Hi'

where the factor H 2 s is formulated in integral form as

(see Fig. 4c) :
p*/o

010_3

this reason, application of the expression (37) is made.

Further, the path correlation coefficient Ps is given by :

H,~--r

Go

] +

ffPl

(K12- LD
Co

Go

)-

(K12~

\-5 o/

] +

Go
ANN. TI~LI~2OMMUN,,45,

n~ 7-8, 1990

448

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATTENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

and the functions ##l(z), &b2(z) are defined by :

(72)

el' twin site exceedance probability %

ffl(z) = z s i n h - l ( z ) ,

+ 1.

For locations in Japan and regions with similar climatic conditions where the expression (20) for Pl is valid
H2s can be expressed as [3] :
(73)

H2s = H i - H ~ ,
0.1

where :
(74)

H ~ = (K12 + L D ) ~ ' t ( K 1 2 + L D ) +

(Kt~ - LD)CP'1(K12 - L D ) - 2K12~(K12),

' g
H'~ = ~'2(K12 + L D ) + ~ ( K 1 2 - L D ) - 2(I)2(12)
i

.01

and the functions (I)~(z), (I)~(z) are defined by :

(7s)

el(z)

e;(z)

I"
/0"xexp(exp(-

{/D2 +

dx.

It should be noted that the present modelling for the

correlation coefficient ps is based on the assumption of
the isotropy of the spatial rainfall auto-correlation. However, ttogg and Chu [21] have pointed out an ellipticity
in the shape of rainfalls at some geographic locations
due to the predominant orientation of weather fronts in
the specific region with major axis parallel to the front
[22]. This means that the spatial correlation coefficient
Pl may depend not only on the spacing but also on
the orientation. In this way, Zawadzki [23] has also
pointed out that the spatial auto-correlation of R may be
not isotropic since frontal lines are frequently oriented.
On the other hand, the presently available information
is not sufficient for a quantitative description of the
anisotropy. It is believed that some of the discrepancies
between calculated and measured diversity distributions
may be caused by neglecting the anisotropy of the spatial
correlation function.
Further, the influence of the parameter a, encountered
in expression (37) relating p,~, to p~, is examined in
detail. In their work, Morita and Higuti [10] have taken
a = 1.5 for all the cases. In Figure 7 the function P1,2 =
f ( P o ) for an arbitrary diversity system has been plotted,
using Ps = 0.2 and a as a parameter. It is obvious
that the dependence of /912 on a is quite significant
and consequently the numerical value of a should be
estimated precisely for each case. From equation (6) in
[6], it can be shown that o- depends on the parameter S~
of the point rainrate distribution in the specific region.
As a matter of fact estimation of the parameter Sr by
means of the available point rainfall distribution is very
critical for the diversity calculations.
The present predictive analysis has been applied to several situations where site diversity systems have been
operated. More particularly, the majority of the cases included in [24] has been analyzed. The appropriate data
for the communication systems operated by BTL (Bell
Telephone Laboratories) is referred to three different regions in USA (Georgia, New Jersey and Colorado). FurANN.'r~..I~COMMUN..45, n~ 7-8, 1990

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

dx,
1.10-

r
r
r
r
r

single site exceedance probability %

FIG.7.

Twin site exceedanceprobabilityversus single site exceedance

probability using a as a parameter.

Probabilit~ de d~passement d' un affaiblissement donn~ pour une diversit( ~ deux emplacements en fonction de ta probabilit~ de d~passement
du re#me affaiblissement sans diversitY, avec ~r comme paramdtre.

ther, comparison has been made with data taken from

diversity links operated in Tampa, Florida [25]. The geometrical and electrical characteristics of the communication systems mentioned above, such as frequency, elevation angle, latitude of the location, ground height of the
location, site separation and horizontal path separation
have been tabulated and shown in Table III.
Some points concerning the proper implementation
of the predictive procedure are reported here. First, the
appropriate rainfall data for Georgia, New Jersey, Florida has been taken from Lin [5]. The rainfall data for
Colorado has been taken from Bodtmann and Ruthroff
[15]. Second, the diversity experimental results which
are presented here are referred to USA locations where
the model suggested by expression (19) for the rainfall
spatial correlation is valid. As a matter of fact expressions (68)-(72) are applicable and they are used in the
present calculations. Numerical values for the characteristic parameter G as well as S~ and a for all the cases
have also been tabulated and shown in Table III.
In Figure 8, the results of the predictive procedure together with experimental data are given for the radiometer site-diversity experiments in Georgia sites (Palmetto,
Temple and Major). In Figure 9 the results for the New
Jersey sites, in Figure 10 for the Florida sites, and finally in Figure 11 for the Colorado sites, are presented.
It should be noted that the diversity measurements cot12/15

449

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATTENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Parameters of the site diversity experiments.

T A B L E III. - -

Paramdtres des experiences en diversit~ d' emplacement.

Region

Sites

A
(deg)

Ho
(kin)

f
(GHz)

O
(deg)

S12
(kin)

D
(km)

Sr

cr

G
(kin)

Georgia

P-M

34

0.29

17.8

38.2

16

16

1.848

1.975

1.75

P-T

31

31

T-M

47

47

C-S

40

11

11

2.0

19

19

30

30

New Jersey

.
.

.
.

.
.

.
.

15.5
.

0.15

C-A

32

1.5

S-A

Colorado

L-G

40

1.5

17.8

42.6

33.3

30.6

2.243

2.46

1.5

Florida

L-U

28

0.01

19

55

11

2.45

2.35

0.75

U-S

16

13.5

L-S

20

19.5

.
.

.
.

2.189

.
.

A : latitude, H 0 : height of the location, f : frequency, 0 : elevation, $12 : site separation, D : horizontal path separation, Sr : unconditional
standard deviation of lnR. ~r : unconditional standard deviation of lnA. G : characteristic distance.

exceedance time (min/year)

exceedance time (min/year)

single site
~

10 3

10 3 -

--.......

~ ~ ---., ~ / -

single site

%
~

"~',~

P-M

10 2

10

P : Palmetlo
Imel

10 1

~ ~ - " ~~

S : Savreville
C : Crawford Hill
A : Asbury Park
theoretical

T : Temple
M : Majot
t heoretical
experimental

......

......

attenuation (dB)

attenuation (dB)
I

,
FIG. 8. - -

;
Exceedance

experimental

ii

attenuation probability

with and without site diversity for Georgia sites.

PIG. 9. - - Exceedance attenuation probability

with and without site diversity for New Jersey sites.

Probabilit~ de ddpassement d' un affaiblissement donnd

avec et sans diversitd d'emplacement
pour des emplacements en G~orgie (Etats-Unis).

Probabilit~ de d(passement d'un affaiblissement donn~

avec et sans diversitd d' emplacement
pour des emplacements dans le New-Jersey (Etats-Unis)~

responding to the triangle (Perrineville, Asbury Park and

Crawford Hill) in New Jersey have been excluded from
our comparisons due to the strong anisotropic behaviour
of spatial rainfall autocorrelation in this region.

The main conclusions which can be drawn from the

above comparisons (Figs. 8-11) are the following :

As it is pointed out by Hogg and Chu [21], this

anisotropic behaviour of rain can be explained by the
fact that the direction of persistent weather fronts at the
particular location would result in an ellipticity in the
shape of cells, with major axis parallel to the front.
13/15

a) For all the cases, the agreement between theoretical

predictions and experimental data is quite good except
at the lower region of attenuation where the theoretical
results underestimate the real situation. This is quite
expectable, because the convective raincell model [5]
does not take into account the homogeneous stratiform
rain which is valid for low rainrates (< 10 mm/h).
ANN. TP_.L~COMMUN., 45, n ~ 7-8, 1990

450

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS.- RAIN ATTENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

excaedance time (min/year)

~

~"

2: single site

....

10 3"

.........

~_~.

IV.

The reliability of both terrestrial and earth-to-satellite

paths operating at frequencies above 10 GHz is seriously
affected by the rain attenuation. A number of problems
dealing with the analysis of the performance of the above
systems has been presented here.

10 2 L : Lutz
U : University
S : Sweetwater
.....

CONCLUSION

$-U & L-S

theoretical
experimental

attenuation (dB)

FIG. 10. - - Exceedance attenuation probability

with and without site diversity for Florida sites.
Probabilit# de d~passement d' un affaiblissement donn~
avec et sans diversit# d'emplacement
pour des emplacements en Floride (Etats-Unis).

More particularly, models for the prediction of the

operational characteristics of a multirelay terrestrial system using digital or analog signals have been developed.
Further, methods for the prediction of the operational
characteristics of a microwave satellite system have also
been considered. Numerical results taken from the above
models have been compared with available experimental
data from operated links in USA, Europe, Japan and the
agreement has been found to be quite encouraging.
Manuscrit refu le 16 juin 1989,
accept~ le 14 mai 1990.

exceedance time (rain/year)

t 0 h3-

"~\\

single site

REFERENCES
10

2.

[1] DRUFUCA (G.), TORLASCHI(E.). Rain outage performance of

~-..

L : Longmont
G : Greeley

xxx',.

10-

\~"

L-G
....

theoretical
experimental

attenuation (dB)

FIG. 11. - - Exceedance attenuation probability

with and without site diversity for Colorado sites.
Probabilit~ de d#passement d' un affaiblissement donn~
avec et sans diversitd d'emplacement
pour des emplacements dans le Colorado (Etats-Unis).

b) The slight discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results can also be explained by the fact that
the data is referred to a limited period of measurements
(for the majority of cases is about two years). As it has
been pointed out by Lin et al. [24] the measured diversity improvement factor varies considerably from year to
year. The reason for this instability is the small number
of extreme rain storms per year which cause simultaneous deep fades on the diversity sites. Consequently,
many years of continuous measurements are required to
experience sufficient number of extreme rain storms for
stable, representative statistics of simultaneous fades on
multiple sites.
ANN. TI~LI~COMMUN.,45, n~ 7-8, 1990

tandem and route diversity systems at 11 GHz. Radio Sci., USA

(1977), 25, n ~ 1, pp. 63-74.
[2] SASAKI(O.), NAGnMUt-~ (I.). Route diversity effect on 20 GHz
band radio relay links. IEEE J. SAC, USA (1983), 1, n ~ 4,
pp. 680-685.
[3] KANELLOPOULOS(J. D.), KOUKOULAS(S. G.). Analysis of the rain
outage performance of route diversity systems. Radio Sci., USA
(1987), 22, n ~ 4, pp. 549-565.
[4] STUTZMAN(W. L.), DISHMAN (W. K.). A simple model for the
estimation of rain-induced attenuation along earth-space paths
at millimeter wavelengths. Radio Sci., USA (1982), 17, n ~ 6,
pp. 1465-1476.
[5] LIN (S. H.). A method for calculating rain attenuation distribution on microwave paths. Bell. Syst. Tech. J., USA (1975), 54,
pp. 1051-1086.
[6] KANELLOPOULOS(J. D.), KOLLIOPOULOS(N. J.). An analysis of
the statistical distribution of the accumulated thermal noise in a
multi-link microwave system, lEE Proc.-Part H, GB (1987), 134,
n ~ 5, pp. 467-472.
[7] com. Report 721-1. Int. Telecommun. Union, Geneva (1982).
[8l CnPs~tJs (C. N.), ~ L O P O O L O S (J. D.). Prediction method
for the rain attenuation statistics based on a global rainfall-rate
distribution model. Ann. Telecommun., Fr (1988), 43, n ~ 9-10,
pp. 528-533.
[9] ccm. Draft revision of report 564-2, Doc. 5/1040. Int. TdMcommun. Union, Geneva (1985).
[10] MoRrrA (K.), HIGtrn (I.). Statistical studies on rain attenuation
and site diversity effect on earth to satellite links in microwave
and millimeter wavebands. IECE, Japan (1978), E61, n ~ 6,
pp. 425-432.
[11] com. Report 564-2 (MODF). Propagation data and prediction
methods required for earth-space telecommunication systems,
Doc. 5/1040-E. Intern. Telecommun. Union, Geneva (1985).
[12] SASAKI(O.), MORrrA (K.), KJgUSHrMA(M.). 19 GHz rain attenuation characteristics on four tandem links. IEEE Trans. AP, USA
(1976), 24, pp. 216-220.
[13] MoRrrA (K.), HIGUTI (I.). Prediction methods for rain attenuation distributions of micro and millimeter waves. Rev. of Elec.
Commun. Labs., Japan (1976), 24, n ~ 7-8, pp. 651-668.
[14] P~,otnas (A.). Probability, random variables and stochastic processes. McGraw-Hill, New York, p. 565.
[15] BODTMA~ (W. E), Rtrrrmo~ (C. L.). Rain attenuation on short
radio paths : Theory, experiment and design. Bell. Syst. Tech. J.,
USA (1974), 55, n ~ 7, pp. 1329-1349.
[16] MoRrrA (K.). Study on rain rate distribution. Rev. of the Elec.
Commun. Labs., Japan (1978), 26, n ~ 1-2, pp. 268-277.
[17] ccIR. Draft revision of Report 721-1, Doc. 5/1021, Geneva (1985).
[181 CRANE (R. K.). Prediction of attenuation by rain. IEEE Trans.
Commun., USA (1980), 28, n~ 9, pp. 1717-1733.
14/15

J. D. KANELLOPOULOS. - RAIN ATI'ENUATION AFFECTING MICROWAVE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

[19] MOtYeFOtrMA (F.). Model of rainfall-rate distribution for radio
system design, lEE Proc. Pt. H, GB (1982), 132, n ~ 1, pp. 39-43.
[20] A~t~,Mowrrz (M.), ST~GUN (I.). Handbook of mathematical functions. Dover Publ., New York (1965).
[21] Hoo3 (D. C.), CHU (T. S.). The role of rain in satellite communications. Proc. of the 1EEE, USA (1975), 63, n ~ 9, pp. 1308-1331.
[22] ALL~aYr (J. E.), HALL (M.). Site-diversity advantage for satellite
communication at 11.6 GHz. Electron. Lee., GB (1974), 10,
pp. 527-528.
[23] ZAWADZ_Xl(I. I.). Statistical properties of precipitation patterns. J.
Appl. Meteor., USA (1973), 12, p. 459.
[24] Ln~ (S. H.), BERGMAN(H. J.), PURSLEY (M. V.). Rain attenuation
on earth-satellite paths : Summary of 10-year's experiments and
studies. Bell. Syst. Tech. J., USA (1980), 59, n ~ 2, pp. 182-228.
[25] TANG (D. D.), DAVlDSON(D.), BLOCH (S. C.). Diversity reception
of Comstar satellite 19/29 GHz beacons with the Tampa Triad
1978-1981. Radio Sci., USA (1982), 17, pp. 1477-1488.

BIOGRAPHY
John D. KANELLOPOULOS,Was born in Athens, Greece on December
12, 1948. He received the diploma of mechanical and electrical
engineering and the Dr. Eng. degree from the National technical

[5/15

451

university of Athens (NASA) in 1971 and 1979, respectively. He has

also received the DIC and Ph.D. degree from Imperial College of
science and technology, University of London, in 1979. He is now
a Professor at the National technical University of Athens.
Nicolaos J. KOLLIOPOULOS, was born in Kouvelia, Tripoli, Greece in
1943. He studied in the USA and received his BSEE,MSEE and MBA
degrees from the University of Illinois (1965), Univ. of Missouri
(1966) and Loyola Univ. (1971), respectively. He received his
Ph.D. (1987) from the National technical university of Athens
(NTUA) in Greece. He is now a Professor at the Tech. Educ. Inst.
of Athens, Greece.
Stelios G. KOUKOULAS, was born in Athens on October 9, 1940.
He received the diploma of mechanical and electrical engineering
in Jtlne 1965 and the Dr. Eng. degree from National technical
university of Athens (NTUA) in November 1987. He is now a
Professor at the Tech. Educ. Inst. of Athens, Greece.
Christos N. CAPSAL~S was born in Athens on October, 1956. He
received the diploma of mechanical and electrical engineering
in June 1979, and the Dr. Eng. degree from National technical
university of Athens (m'UA) in May 1985. He is now an Assistant
Professor at the National technical university of Athens.
Spyros G. VENTOURAS, was born in Greece in 1960. He graduated
in electrical engineering from the National technical University of
Athens in 1984. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate in the department
of electrical engineering at the National technical university of
Athens.

ANN. ~t~OMMUN.. 45, n ~ 7-8, 1990