Short-Term Terrain Diffraction Measurements From L- to Q-Band: Results and Analysis

In response to the current need for a reliable interference and frequency coordination analysis, especially within the ground segment of satellite systems, atmospheric refraction and terrain diffraction phenomena play a key role from a radiowave propagation point of view. While it is convenient to use an ITU-R model for the case of the atmospheric refraction, several different types of models for terrain diffraction are identified in the literature. On the other hand, only a limited amount of experimental data is globally available to address their performance. This is why we carried out own short-term terrain diffraction measurements at the frequencies from L- to Q-band. During the trials, truck-mounted access platforms reaching up to 46 m above ground level were used and terrain profiles with path lengths from 7 km up to 50 km for various combinations of transmitter and receiver heights were addressed. Based on the obtained experimental dataset, the performance of the delta-Bullington and Deygout models, currently recommended by the ITU-R for the purposes of interference analysis, and the terrain diffraction models based on the UTD and parabolic equation approach has been addressed in terms of the testing variable defined in this paper.