ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE WALLS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON SHORT-PATH PROPAGATION MODELING

For short-propagation paths, correctly representing reflections of ele ctromagnetic energy from surfaces is critical for accurate signal-leve l predictions, In this paper, the method of homogenization is used to determine the effective material properties of composite material comm only used in construction. The reflection coefficients for block walls and other types of materials calculated with these homogenized effect ive material properties are presented, The importance of accurately re presenting the reflections for signal-level prediction models is also investigated, It is shown that a 5-10-dB error in received signal stre ngth (RSS) can occur if the composite Halls are not handled appropriat ely, Such accurate predictions of signal propagation over a short dist ance is applicable to microcellular personal communications services d evelopments in urban canyons as well as indoor wireless private branch exchanges and local-area networks.