Channel Modeling and Analysis for Wireless Networks in Underground Mines and Road Tunnels

Wireless networks can greatly facilitate the communication in underground mines and road/subway tunnels, where the propagation characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) waves are significantly different from those in terrestrial environments. According to the structure of underground mines and road tunnels, two types of channel models can be utilized, namely, tunnel and room/pillar channel models. However, there exists no theoretical model for room-and-pillar channel in underground mines to date, and current existing tunnel channel models do not provide an analytical solution for both near and far regions of the sources. In this paper, the multimode model is proposed, which provides an analytical expression for the received power and the power delay profile at any position in a tunnel. Moreover, the multimode model is extended to characterize the room-and-pillar channel in the underground mines after combining it with the shadow fading model. The theoretical models are validated by experimental measurements. Based on the proposed channel models, the effects of various factors on the signal propagation are analyzed. The factors include: the operating frequency, the size of the tunnel or underground mine room, the antenna position and polarization, and the electrical parameters.