Radio Channel Modelling for VHF System Operating in the Offshore Wind Farms Propagation Environment.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Radio Propagation
• Renewable Energy Systems

Background:

• Wind farms are increasingly vital, especially offshore, necessitating understanding their impact on radio systems.
• Existing mathematical models for wind farm effects on Very High Frequency (VHF) systems are lacking.
• VHF spectrum is critical for marine administration and border protection, susceptible to interference from wind turbines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the applicability of the ITU-R BT.1893-1 model for VHF and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands in wind farm environments.
• To develop a novel VHF radio channel model specifically for wind farm propagation.
• To simulate and assess the impact of wind turbines on VHF radio systems.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the ITU-R BT.1893-1 model for VHF/UHF bands.
• Conducting a measurement campaign to gather radio channel data in a wind farm.
• Developing a software implementation of the proposed VHF radio channel model.
• Performing detailed simulation analysis using the developed model.

Main Results:

• The ITU-R BT.1893-1 model demonstrates applicability to VHF and UHF bands in wind farm environments.
• A new VHF radio channel model for wind farm propagation has been successfully developed.
• Simulations quantify the effects of wind turbines, including interference and radio shadowing, on VHF systems.

Conclusions:

• The developed VHF radio channel model provides a valuable tool for analyzing wind farm impacts.
• Understanding these impacts is crucial for ensuring the reliability of essential VHF communication systems.
• This research addresses a critical gap in modeling wind farm effects on VHF radio, particularly relevant for maritime and security applications.