Introduction to Radiowave

Propagation
Dr Hatem Mokhtari
Senior Wireless Systems Consultant
hatem.mokhtari@yahoo.com
 Introduction
• For an overview, see Chapters 1 – 4 of L.W. Barclay
(Ed.), Propagation of Radiowaves, 2nd Ed., London:
The IEE, 2003
• The main textbook supporting these lectures is: R.E.
Collin, Antennas and Radiowave Propagation, New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1985
 Introduction (cont.)
• Simple free-space propagation occurs only rarely
• For most radio links we need to study the influence
of the presence of the earth, buildings, vegetation,
the atmosphere, hydrometeors and the ionosphere
• In this lectures we will concentrate on simple
terrestrial propagation models only
 Radio Spectrum
Symbol Frequency range Wavelength, λ Comments
ELF < 300 Hz > 1000 km Earth-ionosphere waveguide
ULF 300 Hz – 3 kHz 1000 – 100 km propagation
VLF 3 kHz – 30 kHz 100 – 10 km
LF 30 – 300 kHz 10 – 1 km Ground wave propagation
MF 300 kHz – 3 MHz 1 km – 100 m
HF 3 – 30 MHz 100 – 10 m Ionospheric sky-wave propagation
VHF 30 – 300 MHz 10 – 1 m Space waves, scattering by objects
UHF 300 MHz – 3 GHz 1 m – 100 mm similarly sized to, or bigger than, a free-
space wavelength, increasingly affected
SHF 3 – 30 GHz 100 – 10 mm by tropospheric phenomena
EHF 30 – 300 GHz 10 – 1 mm

c = f ⋅ λ; c = 3 ⋅108 ms −1
 Electromagnetic waves
• Spherical waves
– Intensity (time-average) Ψ (Wm )
−2
r r r∗
= S = 2 E× H
1

– Conservation of energy; the inverse square law

 Electromagnetic waves
• Conservation of energy; the inverse square law
– Energy cannot flow perpendicularly to, but flows along
“light rays”
Ψ (r2 ) A1 r12
r
= 2 ⇒ PA1 = Ψ (r1 )A1 = Ψ (r2 )A2 = PA2
r r
r =
Ψ (r1 ) A2 r2
r r
⇒ Ψ (r ) ∝ 2 ⇒ E(r ) ∝
r 1 1
r r
r Ptransmitted in an angular sector of l steradians
Ψ (r ) =
lr2

Ψ (r ) =
r Ptransmitted
4π r 2
 Free-space propagation
Tx Rx

• Transmitted power Ptx R

• EIPR (equivalent isotropically radiated power) Gtx Ptx

• Power density at receiver
r Gtx Ptx
S rx =
4π R 2
• Received power
G P λ2
Prx = tx tx2 ⋅ Aerx ; Aerx = Grx
4π R 4π
• Friis power transmission formula
2
Prx  λ 
= Gtx Grx  
Ptx  4π R 
 Free-space propagation (cont.)
• Taking logarithms gives
 4π R 
10 log10 Prx − 10 log10 Ptx = 10 log10 Gtx + 10 log10 Grx − 20 log10  
 λ 
Prx (dBW ) − Ptx (dBW ) = Gtx (dBi ) + Grx (dBi ) − L0 (dB)
where L0 is the free-space path loss, measured in decibels

 4π R 
L0 = 20 log10   (dB)
 λ 

L0 (dB) = 32.4 + 20 log10 f MHz + 20 log10 d km

• Maths reminder
( )
log a b c = c ⋅ log a b, log a (b ) =
log c b
log c a
, log a (b ⋅ c ) = log a b + log a c
 Basic calculations
• Example: Two vertical dipoles, each with gain 2dBi, separated
in free space by 100m, the transmitting one radiating a power
of 10mW at 2.4GHz
L0 (dB) = 32.4 + 20 log10 2400 + 20 log10 0.1 = 80.0
( )
Prx (dBW ) = 10 log10 10 −2 + 10 log10 (2) + 10 log10 (2 ) − 80.0 = −94.0
• This corresponds to 0.4nW (or an electric field strength of
0.12mVm-1)
• The important quantity though is the signal to noise ratio at
the receiver. In most instances antenna noise is dominated by
electronic equipment thermal noise, given by N = k BTB
where k B = 1.38 ⋅10 −23 JK −1 is Boltzman’s constant, B is the
receiver bandwidth and T is the room temperature in Kelvin
 Basic calculations (cont.)
• The noise power output by a receiver with a Noise Figure F =
10dB, and bandwidth B = 200kHz at room temperature (T =
300K) is calculated as follows
N (dBW ) = 10 log10 (k BTB ) + 10 log10 (F )
( )
N (dBW ) = 10 log10 1.38 ⋅10 −23 ⋅ 300 ⋅ 200 ⋅103 + 10 log10 (10 )
N = −140.8 dBW = −110.8 dBm
• Thus the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is given by

SNR (dB) = P(dBW ) − N (dBW ) = (− 94.0 ) − (− 140.8)

SNR = 46.8 dB
Basic calculations (cont.)
 Propagation over a flat earth
• The two ray model (homogeneous ground)
z Tx
r1 Rx
ht
r2
ψ air, ε0, µ0
ψ hr x
P ground, εr, µ0, σ

– Valid in the VHF, band and above (i.e. f ≥ 30MHz where

ground/surface wave effects are negligible)
– Valid for flat ground (i.e. r.m.s. roughness δz < λ, typically f ≤ 30GHz)
– Valid for short ranges where the earth’s curvature is negligible (i.e. d <
10–30 km, depending on atmospheric conditions)
 Propagation over flat earth
• The path difference between the direct and ground-reflected
paths is ∆r = r2 − r1 and this corresponds to a phase difference
∆ϕ = k (r2 − r1 )
• The total electric field at the receiver is given by
r r r
E(r , ω ) = E1 (r , ω ) + E 2 (r , ω )
exp( jω [t − r1 c ])
⋅ {eˆ θ gTθ (θ , φ ) + eˆ φ gTφ (θ , φ )}
r
E(r , ω ) = 60 Prad ⋅
r1
exp( jω [t − r2 c ])
+ 60 Prad ⋅ ⋅ {eˆ θ gTθ (θ ′, φ ′) + eˆ φ gTφ (θ ′, φ ′)}. Γ
r2
• The angles θ and φ are the elevation and azimuth angles of
the direct and ground reflected paths measured from the
boresight of the transmitting antenna radiation pattern
 Reflection of plane waves
• Reflection coefficient is a tensor
rr ri
E = Γ.E
• The reflection coefficient can be resolved
into two canonical polarisations, TE and TM
and has both a magnitude and phase
Γ = ρ exp( jφ )

⊥ (
cos θ −
ε − j σ ωε ) − sin 2
θ
Γ =Γ =
TE r 0

cos θ + (ε r − jσ ωε 0 ) − sin 2 θ
(ε − j σ ωε ) cos θ − (ε − j σ ωε ) − sin 2
θ
Γ =Γ =
TM || r 0 r 0

(ε r − jσ ωε 0 )cos θ + (ε r − jσ ωε 0 ) − sin 2 θ Plane of

incidence
 Reflection of plane waves
• Typical reflection
coefficients for
ground as a function
of the grazing angle
(complement of the
angle of incidence).
In this instance,
Pseudo-Brewster angle

ε r = 15, σ = 10 −2 Sm −1

Mobihoc '03 Radio Channel Modelling

15
Tutorial
 Propagation over flat earth
• This expression can be simplified considerably for vertical and
horizontal polarisations for large ranges d >> ht, hr, λ,
( )  ( ) (
∆ϕ = k r2 − r1 = k  d + ht + hr − d + ht − hr  ≈
2 2 2
)2  2kht hr
  d
1 1 1 1 1 1
≈ ≈ ≈ ≈
r1 d + (ht − hr ) d r2 d + (ht + hr ) d
2 2 2 2

eˆ z Gtx (ψ ) cosψ for v. polarisation

eˆ θ gTθ (θ , φ ) + eˆ φ gTφ (θ , φ ) ≈ 
 eˆ y Gtx (ψ ) for h. polarisation
eˆ z ΓTM (ψ )Gtx (ψ ) cosψ for v. pol.
Γ .(eˆ θ gTθ (θ , φ ) + eˆ φ gTφ (θ , φ )) ≈ 
 eˆ y ΓTE (ψ )Gtx (ψ ) for h. pol.

ΓTM (= Γv ) ≈ ΓTE (= Γh ) ≈ −1
 Propagation over flat earth
Ev ,h ≈ E0 (1 + Γv ,h exp(− j∆ϕ ))
Prx ≈ Prx 0 1 − exp(− j∆ϕ ) = 4 Prx 0 sin 2 (∆ϕ 2 )
2

 2πht hr 
Prx ≈ 4 Prx 0 sin 
2

 λd 
• There are two sets of ranges to consider, separated by a
breakpoint
∆ϕ π 4ht hr  ∆ϕ  ∆ϕ
< ⇒ d> ≡ d b & sin  ≈
2 2 λ  2  2
∆ϕ π  ∆ϕ 
> ⇒ d < d b & 4sin 2   =2
2 2  2 
 Propagation over flat earth
• Thus there are two simple propagation path loss laws
L(dB) ≈ L0 − 3.0 + l for d < d c
where l is a rapidly varying (fading) term over distances of the
scale of a wavelength, and
L(dB) ≈ L0 − 20 log10 (∆ϕ ) for d > d c
This simplifies to
 4πd   4πht hr 
L(dB) ≈ 20 log10   − 20 log10  
 λ   λd 
L(dB) ≈ 40 log10 d − 20 log10 ht − 20 log10 hr
• The total path loss (free space loss + excess path loss) is
independent of frequency and shows that height increases the
received signal power (antenna height gain) and that the
received power falls as d-4 not d-2
Propagation over flat earth
Typical ground
1/d4 power law regime (d > dc)
(earth), with
εr = 15
σ= 0.005Sm-1
ht = 20m and
hr = 2m

1/d2 power law regime (d < dc) deep fade

 Propagation over flat earth
 2πht hr 
• When ht = 0 or hr = 0 ⇒ Prx ≈ 4 Prx 0 sin 2  =0
 λd 
• This implies that no communication is possible for ground
based antennas – (not quite true in practice)

• Furthermore, for perfectly conducting ground and vertical

polarisation at grazing incidence, ΓTM (= Γv ) = +1

 2πht hr 
Prx ≈ 4 Prx 0 cos 
2

 λd 
 Propagation over flat earth
• Problem: A boat has an elevated antenna mounted on a mast
at height ht above a highly conducting perfectly flat sea. If the
radiation pattern of the antenna approximates that of a
vertically polarised current element, i.e. êθ cos θ , determine
the in-situ radiation pattern of the antenna and in particular
the radiation pattern nulls as a function of the elevation angle
above the horizon.

 2πht 
• Answer: f (θ ) = eˆ θ cos θ cos tan θ 
 λ 
2n + 1 λ
θ= , ∀n = 0,1,2,K
4 ht
 Path clearance on LOS paths
θ
Tx
r01
r02
r0 Rx
r11 r1 hc
r22
ht
hr
h

P
d1 d2
d
• Assume that in the worst case scenario we get the strongest
possible scattering from the sub-path obstacle: specular
reflection at grazing incidence
 Path clearance on LOS paths
• The electrical path difference between the direct and
scattered rays from the top of the obstacle is,
k∆ = k (r1 − r0 ) = k (r11 + r12 − r01 − r02 )
=k [( r 2
01 ) (r
+ hc2 − r01 + 2
02 + hc2 − r02 )]
• Since typically r01 , r02 >> hc
 hc2   hc2 
k∆ ≈ k  r01 + − r01  +  r02 + − r02 
 2r01   2r02 
khc2  1 1  khc2  1 1 
≈  +  ≈  + 
2  r01 r02  2  d1 d 2 
khc2 d
≈
2d1d 2
 Path clearance on LOS paths
• Additionally, comparing similar parallelograms gives,
 hr d1 + ht d 2 
hc =  − h  cos θ
 d 
• Under the assumptions made, the direct and scattered waves
have similar magnitudes and differ in phase by π due to the
grazing incidence reflection
• If the electrical path difference is ≤ π this corresponds to a
first Fresnel zone path clearance
λd1d 2
hc ≥
d
• Problem: Verify that the breakpoint distance in the two ray
model corresponds to the point at which the first Fresnel
zone touches the ground
 Site shielding
• We consider the two-dimensional problem of site shielding by
an obstacle in the line-of-sight path for simplicity (rigorous
diffraction theory is beyond the scope of these introductory
lectures)
• We invoke the Huygens-Fresnel principle to describe wave
propagation:
– Every point on a primary wavefront serves as the source of spherical
secondary wavelets such that the primary wavefront at some later
time is the envelope of these wavelets. Moreover, the wavelets
advance with a speed andfrequency equal to that of the primary wave
at each point in space. Huygens's principle was slightly modified by
Fresnel to explain why no back wave was formed, and Kirchhoff
demonstrated that the principle could be derived from the wave
equation
Site shielding
 Site shielding
P
du r = d2 + δ
R
d1 u
O d2
α u0 (u0 > 0 ⇒ path obstraction)
T d1
(u0 < 0 ⇒ path clearance)
d1

perfectly
absorbing
knife-edge
observation
P plane
 Site sheilding
• The Kirchhoff integral describing the summing of secondary
wavefronts in the Huygens-Fresnel principle yields the field at
the receiver
1 u
exp ( − jkr )
E ( R ) = k1 ∫ du
0u
f (r )

where k1 describes the transmitter power, polarisation and

radiation pattern, f(r) describes the amplitude spreading
factor for the secondary waves (2D cylindrical wave f(r) = r1/2,
3D spherical wave f(r) = r) and u1 is a large positive value of u
to describe a distant upper bound on the wavefront
 Site shielding
• Stationary phase arguments (since the exponent is oscillatory,
especially for high frequencies) show that only the fields in
the vicinity of the point O contribute significantly to the field
at R
• If point O is obstructed by the knife-edge, then only the fields
in the vicinity of the tip of the knife-edge contribute
significantly to the field at R
• Using the cosine rule on the triangle TPR, gives
r 2 = ( PR ) = (TP ) + (TR ) − 2 (TP )(TR ) cos α
2 2 2

u 
( d2 + δ ) = ( d1 + d 2 ) + ( d1 ) − 2 ( d1 + d 2 )( d1 ) cos  
2 2 2

 d1 
 Site shielding
• If we assume that d1, d2 >> λ, u (stationary phase and far-field
approximations), then u/d1, α << 1 and δ 2 << δ
 
2d1 + d 2 + 2d1d 2 − 2 ( d + d1d 2 ) 1 − 2 
2
u
d 2 + 2d 2δ + δ
2 2 2 2 2

 2d1 
1

d1 + d 2
δ u 2

2d1d 2
• Thus, using stationary phase arguments, we may only keep
the fast varying exponential term inside the Kirchhoff integral
and evaluate the slowly varying f(r) term at the stationary
phase point O, to give,
k1 exp ( − jkd 2 ) u
exp {− jkδ ( u )} du
1

E ( R) ∫
f ( d2 ) 0 u
 Site shielding
π d1 + d 2 2
• Since kδ ( u ) u , we make the substitution
λ d1d 2
2 ( d1 + d 2 ) πν 2 dν
ν =u k 2 u ⇒ kδ = & du =
λ d1d 2 2 k2
which simplifies the integral to the form,
k1 exp ( − jkd 2 ) ∞
E ( R)
k2 f ( d 2 ) ν ∫ exp { − jπν 2
2} dν
0

where we have used the stationary phase argument to make

the upper limit ∞
• Using the definition of the complex Fresnel integral,
x
F ( x ) ∫ exp {− jπν 2 2} dν
0
 Site shielding
k1 exp ( − jkd 2 )
k3
k2 f ( d 2 )
E ( R) k3  F ( ∞ ) − F (ν 0 ) 
1 − j 
E ( R) k3  − F (ν 0 ) 
 2 
• To determine k3 we let ν → –∞ and use F(–∞)= – F(∞) and
the fact that in this case we have free-space propagation (i.e.
E(R) = E0(R)) , to get,
E0 ( R ) k3 (1 − j )
E0 ( R ) E0 ( R )
k3 = = (1 + j )
1− j 2
 Site shielding
E0 ( R ) ∞
• Therefore, E ( R ) (1 + j ) ∫ exp {− jπν 2 2} dν
2 ν0

2 ( d1 + d 2 )
where, ν 0 = u0
λ d1d 2

• The path-gain factor, F, is given by,

E ( R) ∞
F
E0 ( R )
=
1
2ν∫ exp { − jπν 2
2} dν
0

• Useful engineering approximations:

−20 log10 F 13 + 20 log10 ν 0 ν 0 > 2.4
−20 log10 F 6.02 + 9.11ν 0 − 1.27v02 0 ≤ ν 0 ≤ 2.4
−20 log10 F 6.02 + 9.0ν 0 + 1.65v02 − 0.8 ≤ ν 0 < 0
Site shielding
 Multipath propagation
• Mobile radio channels are predominantly in the VHF
and UHF bands
– VHF band (30 MHz ≤ f ≤ 300 MHz, or 1 m ≤ λ ≤ 10 m)
– UHF band (300 MHz ≤ f ≤ 3 GHz, or 10 cm ≤ λ ≤ 1 m)
• In an outdoor environment electromagnetic signals
can travel from the transmitter to the receiver along
many paths
– Reflection
– Diffraction
– Transmission
– Scattering
 Multipath propagation
• Narrowband signal
(continuous wave
– CW) envelope
Area mean or path Fast or multipath
loss (deterministic or fading (statistical)
empirical)

Local mean, or shadowing, or slow

fading (deterministic or statistical)
 Multipath propagation
• The total signal consists of
many components
– Each component
corresponds to a signal
which has a variable
amplitude and phase
– The power received varies
rapidly as the component
phasors add with rapidly
changing phases

Averaging the phase angles results in the local mean
signal over areas of the order of ∼ 10λ2

Averaging the length (i.e. power) over many
locations/obstructions results in the area mean

The signals at the receiver can be expressed in
terms of delay, and depend on polarisation, angle
of arrival, Doppler shift, etc.
 Area mean models
• We will only cover the Hata-Okumura model, which
derives from extensive measurements made by
Okumura in 1968 in and around Tokyo between 200
MHz and 2 GHz
• The measurements were approximated in a set of
simple median path loss formulae by Hata
• The model has been standardised by the ITU as
recommendation ITU-R P.529-2
 Area mean models
• The model applies to three clutter and terrain
categories
– Urban area: built-up city or large town with large buildings
and houses with two or more storeys, or larger villages
with closely built houses and tall, thickly grown trees
– Suburban area: village or highway scattered with trees and
houses, some obstacles being near the mobile, but not
very congested
– Open area: open space, no tall trees or buildings in path,
plot of land cleared for 300 – 400 m ahead, e.g. farmland,
rice fields, open fields
 Area mean models
urban areas : L(dB) ≈ A + B log R − E
suburban areas : L(dB) ≈ A + B log R − C
open areas : L(dB) ≈ A + B log R − D
where
A = 69.55 + 26.16 log f c − 13.82 log hb
B = 44.9 − 6.55 log hb
C = 2(log( f c 28)) + 5.4
2

D = 4.78(log f c ) + 18.33 log f c + 40.94

2

E = 3.2(log(11.75hm )) − 4.97 for large cities, f c ≥ 300MHz

2

E = 8.29(log(1.54hm )) − 1.1 for large cities, f c < 300MHz

2

E = (1.1 log f c − 0.7 )hm − (1.56 log f c − 0.8) for medium to small cities
 Area mean models
• The Hata-Okumura model is only valid for:
– Carrier frequencies: 150 MHz ≤ fc ≤ 1500 MHz
– Base station/transmitter heights: 30 m ≤ hb ≤ 200 m
– Mobile station/receiver heights: 1 m ≤ hm ≤ 10 m
– Communication range: R > 1 km
– A large city is defined as having an average building height
in excess of 15 m
 Local mean model
• The departure of the local mean power from the area mean
prediction, or equivalently the deviation of the area mean
model is described by a log-normal distribution
• In the same manner that the theorem of large numbers states
that the probability density function of the sum of many
random processes obeys a normal distribution, the product of
a large number of random processes obeys a log-normal
distribution
• Here the product characterises the many cascaded
interactions of electromagnetic waves in reaching the
receiver
• The theoretical basis for this model is questionable over
short-ranges, but it is the best available that fits observations
 Local mean model
• Working in logarithmic units (decibels, dB), the total path loss
is given by
PL(d ) = L(d ) + X σ
where Xσ is a random variable obeying a lognormal
distribution with standard deviation σ (again measured in dB)
p( X σ ) =
1
{ }
exp − X σ2 2σ dB2

σ dB 2π
• If x is measured in linear units (e.g. Volts)
 ln x − ln mx 
p(x ) =
1
exp− 
σ dB x 2π  2σ 2
dB 
where mx is the mean value of the signal given by the area
mean model
 Local mean model
• Cumulative probability density function
LT − L ( d )

cdf (PL ≤ LThreshold ) = ∫

1
{ }
exp − X 2 2σ dB
2
dX
−∞ σ dB 2π
1  LT − L(d ) 
= 1 − erfc 
2  2 
• This can be used to calculate the probability that the signal-
to-noise ratio will never be lower than a desired threshold
value. This is called an outage calculation
• Typical values of σdB = 10 dB are encountered in urban
outdoor environments, with a de-correlation distance
between 20 – 80 m with a median value of 40 m
 Fast fading models
Im
• Constructive and destructive
interference
– In spatial domain
– In frequency domain Re
– In time domain (scatterers, tx and rx in P
relative motion)
• Azimuth dependent Doppler shifts
– Each multipath component travels
corresponds to a different path length.
– Plot of power carried by each
τ
component against delay is called the
power delay profile (PDP )of the
channel.
– 2nd central moment of PDP is called the
delay spread δ
 Fast fading models
• The relation of the radio system channel bandwidth Bch to the
delay spread δ is very important
– Narrowband channel (flat fading, negligible inter-symbol interference
(ISI), diversity antennas useful) Bch << δ
−1

– Wideband channel (frequency selective fading, need equalisation

(RAKE receiver) or spread spectrum techniques (W-CDMA, OFDM,
etc.) to avoid/limit ISI)Bch ≥ δ
−1

• Fast fading refers to very rapid variations in signal strength

(20 to in excess of 50 dB in magnitude) typically in an
analogue narrowband channel
– Dominant LOS component ⇒ Rician fading
– NLOS components of similar magnitude ⇒ Rayleigh fading
 Fast fading models
• Working in logarithmic units (decibels, dB), the total path loss
is given by
PL(d ) = L(d ) + X σ + 20 log10 Y
where Y is random variable which describes the fast fading
and it obeys the distribution
Y  Y2 
 2 exp − 2 , Y ≥ 0
p(Y ) =  ρ  2ρ 
 0, Y <0

for Rayleigh fading, where the mean value of Y is
Y = ρ π 2 ≡ 1 ⇒ ρ ≈ 0.80
 Fast fading models
• For Rician fading
Y  Y 2 + ys2   Yys 
 2 exp −  I 0  2 , Y ≥ 0
p(Y ) =  ρ  2ρ   ρ 
2

 0, Y <0

where ys is the amplitude of the dominant (LOS) component
with power y s2 2. The ratio K Rice = ys2 2 ρ 2 is called the Rician
K-factor. The mean value of Y is
Y = ρ π 2 [(1 + K ) I 0 (K 2) + K I1 (K 2 )]exp(− K 2 )

The Rician K-factor can vary considerably across small areas in

indoor environments
 Fading models
• Similar but much more complicated outage calculations
– E.g. Rayleigh and log-normal distributions combine to give a Suzuki
distribution
• The spatial distribution of fades is such that the “length” of a
fade depends on the number of dB below the local mean
signal we are concerned with
Fade depth (dB) Average fade length (λ)
0 0.479
-10 0.108
-20 0.033
-30 0.010
 Tropospheric propagation
• Over long-distances, more than a few tens of km,
and heights of up to 10 km above the earth’s
surface, clear air effects in the troposphere become
non-negligible
• The dielectric constant of the air at the earth’s
surface of (approx.) 1.0003 falls to 1.0000 at great
heights where the density of the air tends to zero
• A consequence of Snell’s law of refraction is that
radiowaves follow curved, rather than straight-line
trajectories
 Tropospheric propagation
B
• The variation of the ray
A B′ n + dn
curvature with refractive index is
β
derived: dρ dh
A′ n
AA′: wavefront at time t
BB′: wavefront at time t + dt
AB and A′B′: rays normal to the
wavefronts ρ
ρ : radius of curvature of A′B′
c ⋅ dt
A′B′ = ρ ⋅ dθ = v ⋅ dt = dθ
n
c ⋅ dt
AB = ( ρ + d ρ ) ⋅ dθ = ( v + dv ) ⋅ dt =
n + dn O
dθ c c
∴ = =
dt nρ ( n + dn )( ρ + d ρ )
 Tropospheric propagation
nρ = nρ + nd ρ + ρ dn + dnd ρ
Retaining only terms which are correct to first order in small
quantities,
ρ dn = −nd ρ
1 1 dn
=−
ρ n dρ
But this is the curvature, C, of the ray A′B′, by definition.
Furthermore, dh = d ρ cos β
1 1 dn
C =− cos β
ρ n dh
For rays propagating along the earth’s surface β is very small
and we may take cosβ = 1. Moreover, n–1 ≅ 1.
 Tropospheric propagation
dn
C −
dh
• If n = constant, dn/dh = 0 ⇒ C = 0 and the ray has zero
curvature, i.e. the ray path is a straight line
• A ray propagating horizontally above the earth must have a
curvature C′ = (earth’s radius)–1 = a–1 in order to remain
parallel with the earth’s surface. But its actual curvature is
given by C and not C′.
• The difference between the two curvatures gives the
curvature of an equivalent earth for which dn/dh = 0 and
which has an effective radius ae,
1 1 dn 1
= −
ae a dh ka
 Tropospheric propagation
• k is known as the k-factor for the earth
• Typically, dn/dh ≅ –0.039×10–6 m–1 ≅ 1/(25,600 km)
• Therefore, 1 1 1 1
= − =
ae 6, 400 km 25, 600 km k ( 6, 400 km )
• The k-factor of the earth is k = 4/3
• The effective radius of the earth is ae = 4a/3
• These values are used in the standard earth model which
explains why the radio horizon is bigger than the radio
horizon
 Tropospheric propagation
• Problem: Find the radio horizon of an elevated antenna at a
height ht above the earth

• Answer: R = 2ae ht