Lumped Paramater Radio Wave Propagation Model for Storm Drain Pipes

The authors conducted a measurement campaign to examine narrowband radio wave propagation characteristics of Storm Drain Pipes (SDPs). The SDPs behave as multimode leaky waveguides for radio wave transmissions at higher frequencies. They derive a model for Radio Frequency (RF) propagation through concrete SDPs. They also observe attenuation in RF transmissions at 2.4 - 2.5 GHz and at 5.2 GHz by conducting experimental measurements on SDPs of various diameters at selected sites in Charlotte, North Carolina. Based on their observations, they find that empirical data is generally in agreement with proposed model. Their work extends knowledge available in literature from previous research studies that focused on RF propagation through mines, tunnels, boreholes and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) ducts.