Effect of Buildings on the Radiation Characteristics of MF Broadcast Antennas

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of the presence of buildings on the radiation characteristics of MF broadcast antennas. Two different antennas are considered: a monopole operating at 1494 kHz and a two-element linear array radiating at 1008 kHz. The buildings were modeled as wire-grids and the total electric field intensity was calculated as the sum of the scattered field by the wire-grid and the field radiated from the antenna in free space. The radiation pattern of the antennas, when one or two buildings were situated in their vicinity, were the end result of the analysis, and they were compared to the corresponding patterns in free space. The results demonstrate that the radiation characteristics of antennas are mostly affected by the heights of buildings. If these heights are less than a critical value, the buildings do not significantly obstruct the operation of the antenna, despite the value of other parameters, such as the length and the width of the buildings, as well as their distance from the antenna.