Review of Ray Modeling Techniques for Site Specific Propagation Prediction

A review of modeling techniques that employ ray optics and the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD) for site specific propagation prediction in the UHF band will be given. A number of different methods will be described which include: a two dimensional ray trace in the horizontal plane, a method employing two 2D ray traces in orthogonal planes, ray tracing in full three dimensional space and the Vertical Plane Launch (VPL) technique, which approximates a full 3D ray trace. When employed for microcells with ranges that are less than one kilometer, these techniques can provide accurate predictions of the propagation characteristics in a cluttered urban environment. The strengths and weaknesses of each type of ray tracing implementations will be addressed along with direct comparisons between three of the methods and with measurements in typical urban environments.

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