Investigation of the Performance of Site Diversity through Rain Gauge Measurements in South-South Nigeria

Jane O. Achor, Kufre M. Udofia, Afolayan J. Jimoh

Abstract


Site diversity is an effective technique to mitigate rain attenuation, especially in regions where rainfall rates are high. The South-South region of Nigeria is characterized by the tropical rain forest climate, exhibiting high rainfall rates almost all year round. This paper  investigates the performance of site diversity technique  in the South-South Nigeria at Ka-band frequency of 20 GHz. Rainfall data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) over a period of five years (2010 to 2014) were analysed to derive the one-minute rainfall rate distribution for four selected earth stations (University of Uyo, Uyo; Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo; Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar; and Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt) within the South-South Nigeria. The link parameters of NigComSat-1R were used with the ITU-R model for rain attenuation to estimate the rain attenuation distribution through an annual cumulative distribution and percentage of outage time between 0.01 to 100 %. Site diversity (SD) was implemented, taking University of Uyo as the reference site. The results obtained shows that the SD gain between the University of Uyo and Port Harcourt International Airport is higher than the SD gain recorded between University of Uyo and Margaret Ekpo International Airport. This is consistent with the fact that longer distances between the earth stations yield higher SD gain.

Keywords


Rain Rate; Rain Attenuation; Cumulative Distribution; Site Diversity

Full Text:

PDF

References


Yeo, J. X., Lee, Y. H., and Ong, J. T. (2011). Performance of Site Diversity Investigated Through RADAR Derived Results. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 59(10), 1–9.

Arapoglou, P. D. M., Panagopoulos, A. D., Chatzarakis, G. E., Kanellopoulos, J. D., and Cottis, P. G. (2004). Diversity Techniques for Satellite Communications: An Educational Graphical Tool. IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, 46(3), 109–114.

Semire, F. A., Ismail, W., Mohamad, N., and Mandeep, J. S. (2015). Modeling of Rain Attenuation and Site Diversity Predictions for Tropical Regions. Annales Geophysicae, 33(3), 321–331.

Ippolito, L. J. (1999). Propagation Effects Handbook for Satellite Systems Design, Online Journal of Space Communication, Paper 2.3.

Timothy, K. I., Ong, J. T., Choo, E. B. L., Timothy, K. I., Ong, J. T., and Choo, E. B. L. (2001). Performance of the Site Diversity Technique in Singapore: Preliminary Results. IEEE Communications Letters, 5(2), 49–51.

Otung, I. E., and Nagaraja,C. (2009). Seasonal Variation of Site Diversity Performance. Electronic Letters, 45(14), 9–10.

Nagaraja, C., Otung, I. E. (2011). Statistical Prediction of Site Diversity Gain on Earth- Space Paths based on Radar Measurements in the UK. IEEE Transactions On Antennas And Propagation, 60(1), 247-256.

Semire, F. A., Mohd-mokhtar, R., Ismail, W., Mohamad, N., and Mandeep, J. S. (2013). Categorical Statistical Approach to Satellite Retrieved Rainfall Data Analysis in Nigeria. Scientific Research and Essays, 8(43), 2123–2137.

Moupfouma, F., Martin, S. (1995). Modelling of Rainfall Rate Cumulative Distribution for Design of Satellite and Terrestrial Communication Systems. International Journal of Satellite Communication, 13(2) 105-115.

Chebil, J., Rahman, T. A. (1999). Rain Rate Statistics Conversion for Prediction of Rain Attenuation in Malaysia. Electromagnetic Letters, 35, 1019-1021.

Isikwe, B. C., Ikoyo, A. H., and Utah, E. U. (2013). Analysis of Rainfall Rates and Attenuations for Line – of – Sight EHF / SHF Radio Communication Links Over Makurdi , Nigeria. Research Journal of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 3, 60–74.

Ojo, J. S., Ajewole, M. O., Sarkar, S. K. (2008). Rain Rate and Rain Attenuation Prediction for Satellite Communication in Ku and Ka Bands over Nigeria. Progress in Electromagnetics Research, 5, 207–223.

ITU-R. (2015). Propagation Data and Prediction Methods Required for the Design of Earth-Space Telecommunication Systems. Recommendation ITU-R P.618-12, P Series Radiowave Propagation, 12.

Yussuff, A. I., Khamis, N. H. (2012). Rain Attenuation Modelling and Mitigation in The Tropics: Brief Review. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2(6), 748-757.

Malinga, S. J., Owolawi, P. A., Afullo, T. J. O. (2013). Estimation of Rain Attenuation at C , Ka , Ku and V Bands for Satellite Links in South Africa. PIERS Proceedings, Taipei, 948–958.

Otung, I. E., and Enoch, S. (2011). Mitigation of Rain Attenuation in Fixed WiMAX using Cell Site Diversity. Electronics, 47(5), 49–50.

Hendrantoro, G., Bultitude, R.J.C., Falconer, D.D. (2002). Use of Cell-Site Diversity in Millimeter-Wave Fixed Cellular Systems to Combat the Effects of Rain Attenuation. IEEE Journal Of Selected Areas in Communications 20, 602-614.

Hodge, D. B. (1982). An Improved Model for Diversity Gain on Earth-Space Propagation Paths. Radio Science, 17(6), 1393–1399.

Goldhirsh, J.(1982). Space Diversity Performance for Earth-Satellite Paths using RADAR Modelling Techniques. Radio Science. 17(6) 1400-1410.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
We use cookies.