Percorrer por autor "Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S."
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- A 2D ray-tracing based model for wave propagation through forests at micro-and millimeter wave frequenciesPublication . Leonor, Nuno R.; Sanchez, Manuel Garcia; Fernandes, Telmo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper proposes the extension of a 2-D ray-tracing-based model for radiowave propagation in the presence of trees and vegetation areas to include real-sized trees and outdoor forest scenarios. The original propagation model proved to be suitable to characterize the electromagnetic behavior in the presence of indoor tree formation scenarios, despite some limitations found when applied to real-sized trees. In addition, the original propagation model requires the prior knowledge of the trees’ re-radiation function to extract the relevant propagation input parameters, which is not always possible to obtain in outdoor scenarios. Therefore, an empirical method to extract the relevant input propagation parameters based on simple measurements is proposed. The performance of the proposed propagation model extension is extensively assessed in both the line-of-trees and tree formation scenarios, including various (and mixed) species, both in- and out-of-leaf foliation states, and at three signal frequencies. Finally, depending on the type of scenario, a benchmark between the proposed propagation model and both the radiative energy transfer (RET) and discrete RET (dRET) models, for line-of-trees and tree formation, respectively, is presented.
- 3-D Mechanically Tunable Square Slot FSSPublication . Ferreira, David; Cuinas, Inigo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Fernandes, TelmoWe introduce an innovative 3-D mechanically tunable frequency selective surface (FSS), which is inspired by the classical flat square slot FSS. The proposal improves the performance of classical 2-D FSS designs, and it also represents a novel method of achieving mechanical frequency tuning, despite other 3-D designs that consist of a collection of stacked 3-D layers exist. In our proposal, the rotation of an inner element provides tuning capability to the squared cell structure, consisting of metallic grids with a movable inner element. An aluminum prototype was built, which can be tuned from 2.4 to 4 GHz, and also compared its measured performance and numerical simulations. Some characteristics of the proposed structure are the rejection level at main polarization, up to 20 dB, and the maximum frequency sweep of approximately 50% of the fundamental frequency. The prototype showed a stable frequency response for angles of incidence up to 45°. Since results are in good agreement with simulations, we provide parametric equations to design 3-D structures at desired frequencies.
- 3D Indoor Radio Coverage for 5G Planning: a Framework of Combining BIM with Ray-tracingPublication . Louro, João; Fernandes, Telmo Rui; Rodrigues, Hugo; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper presents a framework to predict indoor radio wave coverage in buildings. Such method includes the capability to import BIM (Building Information Modelling) files that contain structured physical geometry and dimension data, including the material types that are of uttermost importance in evaluating their dielectric properties. Appropriated extraction of physical and dielectric attributes of the building elements was used as input to a 3D radio wave propagation ray-tracing developed in MatLab that allows the prediction of the received radio signal level at any location within the computational volume. Results are presented for line-of-sight contributions and first and second order reflections. Despite the generic nature of the proposed framework, prediction results are presented at 3.6 GHz, envisaging emerging 5G indoor radio coverage.
- Active reflection coefficients characterization system for multiple input multiple output antennasPublication . Jordão, Marina; Belo, Daniel; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Oliveira, Arnaldo S. R.; Carvalho, Nuno B.The main objective of this study is to present a characterization system that can be used to measure the active reflection coefficient of each port of the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas, when the main beam is steered to an intended direction. Since MIMO systems are composed of antennas with several elements and each antenna element is connected to a power amplifier, an active component, the beamforming will contribute to the mismatch of each branch. To this extent, a calibrated measurement system has been implemented using off-the-shelf software defined radio and designed to effectively extract such coefficients, when all the ports are simultaneously excited. Results for linear and planar MIMO antenna arrays have been experimentally obtained for several beam directions and the impact of beamforming on each element of the antenna is presented and compared to simulated results. Additionally, their behaviour was also assessed when some of the radiation elements are deliberately disconnected, mimicking those not working properly.
- All-digital reconfigurable STDCC radar baseband implementation in FPGAPublication . Duarte, Luís; Ribeiro, Carlos; Alves, Luís N.; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper reports the architecture of an all-digital Swept Time-Delay Cross-Correlator (STDCC) baseband. Until recently, the sliding correlator technique has been mainly em-ployed for sounding the radio propagation channel. However, recent benchmarks have shown promising results in target detection context when compared to commercially available solutions. STDCC takes advantage of the sliding correlation properties of Pseudo-Noise (PN) sequences. Therefore, this paper presents the baseband generation for this new radar technique with on-the-fly sequence tuning using a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The reconfigurable STDCC radar baseband generates both PN sequences digitally and requires a low-cost ADC to acquire the time dilated result. At the end, the proposed architecture is evaluated regarding resource usage efficiency and then the radar performance will be discussed in terms of the all-digital PN sequence spectrum and the real-time slide correlation. Our analysis confirmed a strong correlation between both sequence length and sampling frequency with radar detectable distance.
- Analysis of Radiowave Propagation in Forest Media Using the Parabolic EquationPublication . Ramos, Glaucio L.; Pereira, Paulo T.; Leonor, Nuno; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.This paper presents preliminary results about path loss prediction in vegetation using the parabolic equation technique. The trees were modelled in a flat and a triangular format and their effect in the path loss was analysed. A real measurement scenario with trees was also modelled and compared with the PE simulation. The use of the parabolic equation method to study the path loss attenuation in forest environments seems to be very promise.
- Characterization of wireless propagation through traditional Iberian brick wallsPublication . Ferreira, David; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Fernandes, Telmo R.; Cuinas, InigoThis paper presents the wireless transmission properties for brick walls with different thicknesses and facade finish coatings. The ceramic hollowed bricks under study are traditionally employed in the Iberian residential construction, where the 11, 15 and 20 cm thicknesses are most common in indoor and outdoor walls. For each brick dimension, three different prototypes were manufactured varying in the type of wall finish, i.e.: naked brick, smooth painted plaster and rough painted plaster. The prototypes were measured in an anechoic chamber at frequencies ranging from 680MHz up to 10GHz. Results demonstrate that the brick wall internal heterogeneity, as well as the type of finish, significantly influence the frequency response of the walls.
- Compact 3D‐printed reflector antenna for radar applications at K‐bandPublication . Reis, João R.; Ribeiro, Carlos; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.A compact parabolic reflector antenna aiming at radar applications in the K-band is presented. It is mainly composed of a thermoplastic material and using classical additive techniques (also known as 3D printing), the proposed high-gain antenna exhibits a novel and unique form factor, particularly of interest for applications with low payload capacity, for example unmanned aerial vehicles. The antenna is composed of four parts: (i) a paraboloid shape embodied in a supporting polylactic acid (PLA) material; (ii) a metallic coating applied to the paraboloid surface of (i), to enable it with electromagnetic reflecting properties; (iii) a PLA spacer that ensures the physical separation (i.e. focal distance) between parts (i) and (iv) and, finally, (iv) a microstrip patch antenna with a reduced ground plane to reduce feed blockage. Subsequently to an overview on the theoretical formulation of parabolic reflector antennas, an antenna targeting 20 dBi and a minimum bandwidth of 500 MHz operating in the 24 GHz ISM radar band have been dimensioned, optimised in CST Microwave Studio and validated against measurements performed on a physical prototype. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement with the prototype yielding 18.3 dBi of gain and 2.2 GHz of useful bandwidth, clearly demonstrating the potential of the proposed antenna design.
- Cross‐polarisation discrimination studies of single trees at 20 and 62.4 GHzPublication . Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Al‐Nuaimi, Miqdad O.This study addresses the characterisation of cross‐polarisation discrimination of re‐radiated signals from natural trees performed in the vicinity around deep signal fades. Results presented in this study will explain the signal behaviour observed in the various regions around the tree. This has been addressed in this study through a combination of analytical and experimental modelling based on thorough examination of the re‐radiation functions of single trees and appropriate measurements performed under controlled environments, at 20 and 62.4 GHz. The identification of three distinct regions of interest in the scatter (re‐radiated) field is discussed in this study, where it is shown that depolarisation, in addition to absorption and scatter, is an important factor formulating accurate models for propagation in vegetation media.
- Electronically Reconfigurable FSS-Inspired Transmitarray for 2-D BeamsteeringPublication . Reis, João R.; Caldeirinha, Rafael F. S.; Hammoudeh, Akram; Copner, NigelA novel electronically reconfigurable transmitarray (TA) with 2-D beamsteering capability is presented in this communication. The proposed structure, inspired on frequency selective surfaces loaded with varactor diodes, allows the phase range of each TA element to be individually controlled enabling an automated steering of the main lobe of an original antenna pattern, in both elevation and azimuth planes (2-D beamsteering). This has been demonstrated on a 5 × 5 unit-cell stacked structure with active feeding, coupled to the aperture of a standard gain horn antenna. A complete electromagnetic study using CST Microwave Studio is presented to evaluate and characterize the TA elements and the effect the proposed feeding network has on the structure's behavior. Following initial simulations, a prototype of the active TA has been characterized. Automated antenna beamsteering with ranges up to Az = 28° and El = 26° and 1° of angular resolution, is achieved by means of electromagnetic simulations and validated against experimental results at 5.2 GHz.