Small-Size Blockage Measurements and Modelling for mmWave Communications Systems

The millimetre-wave (mmWave) band communication system suffers from its susceptibility to blockage. Unlike human blockage, which has been extensively investigated in the literature, the impact of other small objects on signal strength, such as metal road signs, is not completely understood. In this study, we measure and investigate the attenuation of different types of relatively small objects. It is found that the resulting loss is in the range of 15 to 30 dB depending on the blocker size and type. We have investigated the applicability of the existing 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) blockage model for small-size blockers, with and without including the antenna gain. Our results suggest that the 3GPP model underestimates the attenuation caused by small-size blockers, and including the antenna gain into the 3GPP model does not show a significant improvement. The multiple knife-edge (MKE) model shows a better performance in capturing the measured attenuation with a smaller error.