Zenneck Waves in Decision Agriculture: An Empirical Verification and Application in EM-Based Underground Wireless Power Transfer

Usman Raza,Abdul Salam

doi:10.3390/smartcities3020017

Abstract

In this article, the results of experiments for the observation of Zenneck surface waves in sub GHz frequency range using dipole antennas are presented. Experiments are conducted over three different soils for communications distances of up to 1 m. This empirical analysis confirms the existence of Zenneck waves over the soil surface. Through the power delay profile (PDP) analysis, it has been shown that other subsurface components exhibit rapid decay as compared to the Zenneck waves. A potential application of the Zenneck waves for energy transmission in the area of decision agriculture is explored. Accordingly, a novel wireless through-the-soil power transfer application using Zenneck surface waves in electromagnetic (EM) based wireless underground communications is developed.

Highlights

Smart cities are the representation of a technological advancement and represent development in economical, social, and environmental aspects of the world
The first multipath component shown in the power delay profile (PDP) is the direct wave component, which is present at 18 to 28 ns delay at 50 cm profile and it is not formed at the 1 m profile
It is observed that the Zenneck wave component is the strongest in all power delay profiles and is formed at 30 to 40 ns delay

Summary

Introduction

Smart cities are the representation of a technological advancement and represent development in economical, social, and environmental aspects of the world. The popularity of smart cities has increased the global trend of urbanization up to 70% in European and Asian countries [1]. The Wireless Underground Communication (WUC) found its application in many areas, e.g., environmental monitoring, infrastructure monitoring and security monitoring. WUCs differ from traditional wireless networks in that they use a completely different medium, i.e., soil, to communicate. Power-efficient communication in an underground environment faces many challenges and, due to these challenges, there is no detailed wireless channel or protocol development for WUC. The experiments showed that soil and antenna properties affect communication. This proves that spatio-temporal environmental factors are related to the communication system. It is important to consider these factor for an underground channel

Methods

Results

Conclusion