Research on maritime radio wave multipath propagation based on stochastic ray method

Abstract

Multipath effect in vessel communication is caused by a combination of reflections from the sea surface and vessels. This paper proposes employing stochastic ray method to analyze maritime multipath propagation properties. The paper begins by modeling maritime propagation environment of radio waves as random lattice grid, by utilizing maximum entropy principle to calculate the probability of stochastic ray undergoing k time(s) reflection(s), and by using stochastic process to produce the basic random variables. Then, the paper constructs the multipath channel characteristic parameters, including amplitude gain, time delay, and impulse response, based on the basic random variables. Finally, the paper carries out a digital simulation in two-dimensional specific fishery fleet model environment. The statistical properties of parameters, including amplitude response, probability delay distribution, and power delay profiles, are obtained. Using these parameters, the paper calculates the root-mean-squared (rms) delay spread value with the amount of 9.64 μs. It is a good reference for the research of maritime wireless transmission rate of the vessels. It contributes to a better understanding of the causes and effects of multipath effect in vessel communication.