Millimetre-wave propagation through hydrocarbon flame

The propagation of microwave and millimetre-wave signals through flame has been investigated with reference to the reliability of future communications systems on deep-water oil production platforms. The results show that the 0.5 m thick flame investigated produced little attenuation,>0.5 dB at frequencies between 37 and 210 GHz, but that scintillation effects were enhanced by the presence of flame, particularly at the higher frequencies, with ~4 dB peak-to-peak fluctuations at 210 GHz.