Wireless Channel Modeling of Multiply Connected Reverberant Spaces: Application to Electromagnetic Compatibility Assessment

Radio-frequency wireless communications and sensor networks are currently being deployed in structures that comprise confined, reflective spaces that are electromagnetically coupled. Such structures are commonly found in aviation, shipping, automotive, and warehousing industries. In this paper, a general time-dependent model is presented whose solutions directly provide key properties of the wireless communications channel in multiply connected reverberant spaces. The model equations can be solved numerically for any number of cavities and for any level (weak or strong) of coupling between the cavities. The wireless channel properties investigated in this paper include power delay profile, rms time delay spread, coherence bandwidth, average received channel power, signal-strength fading statistics, and maximum field environment. Measured and modeled channel properties are presented for two and three coupled, highly multipath spaces. These channel model parameters aid in making electromagnetic compatibility assessments of wireless network emissions in these environments.