A study on unpredictable shallow water channel behavior by various multipath patterns and experimental data analysis

Abstract

In shallow water applications, multipath signal propagation is a major concern for robust communication. Multipath signal propagation is not explicitly seen in the channel, even though it is a main contributor for signal degradation. This fact motivated us to simulate multipath patterns to understand its influence in short-range communication. In this paper, a three-path signal propagation model is presented, where, besides the line of sight (LOS) signal, other two non-line of sight (NLOS) signals contact any point of channel boundary to reach the receiver. In simulation, the combination of eight possible multipath patterns is converged to estimate the received signal. A source fixed in water-tank periodically transmits low frequency acoustic signals 1 kHz and 1.5 kHz to the channel, and the receiver records them. The experiment was repeated for various input signal strengths. It has been observed that the simulation results coincide with the measured values. The good reception is noticed for signal frequency 1 kHz at 2.5m and 1.5 kHz at 1.2m. This study identifies the optimal signal strength for better signal reception in short range, which drives to the establishment of high-quality communication in shallow water.