Propagation Modes and Temporal Variations Along a Lift Shaft in UHF Band

The guiding of electromagnetic waves along the lift shaft is studied and presented in this paper. Wideband channel sounding in UHF band along a lift shaft located in a complex environment has been conducted. Based on the measured delay in time of arrival, large structures that cause multipath clusters can be identified. The different propagation mechanisms associated with the lift shaft is then studied in detail. Analysis of the measurement results verifies the presence of electromagnetic waves being guided along the lift shaft. This guiding effect of the lift shaft is significant and is an important propagation mechanism. Temporal variation of the guided waves caused by different components of the lift shaft such as the lift door and the lift car has also been studied. Conclusions drawn from measurement results are validated using 3-D ray tracing simulation results. This research is useful for military applications such as urban warfare.