Prediction of Run-Off Time for Water Film Thickness and the Effects on Wet Antenna Attenuation

Abstract

Most of the reported works on wet antenna attenuation (WAA) focused on the estimation of the water-layer thickness without considering the time taken to be drained off from the reflector (that is, the runoff time). Simulated rain experiments was conducted on a parabolic antenna with a diameter of 0.6 m. Based on measurement data, this study examined the parametric effects of rain rate on water film thickness and runoff duration, and then associated those findings to the overall WAA. It was found that WAA increases with the water film thickness, while decreasing with the runoff time. More so, the latter quantity both increase with the antenna dish size. The study is useful in accounting for the WAA component in the overall link budget design for adequate service delivery.