面向港口干散货码头的无人机对地非规则几何信道建模

      Irregular-shaped geometry-based channel modeling for UAV-to-ground at port bulk cargo terminal

      • 摘要: 为提升无人机(unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV)通信系统在低空复杂工业环境下的可靠性,支撑低空智能网联技术发展和智慧港口建设,面向港口干散货码头UAV巡检场景开展了UAV智能信道建模研究。首先,针对大型装卸机械作业及不规则堆垛遮挡导致的信道强非平稳性,基于高精度射线追踪技术,构建了涵盖不同堆场利用率、多频段、多飞行高度的港口干散货码头UAV对地(UAV-to-ground,U2G)通信数据集。然后,基于该数据集,分析了40%和70%两种堆场利用率、5.9 GHz和28 GHz双频段以及80 m和120 m两种飞行高度下的信道的统计特性,包括时间自相关函数(time autocorrelation function,TACF)、奇异值扩展(singular value spread,SVS)、多普勒功率谱密度(Doppler power spectral density,DPSD)。结果表明,在80 m低空且70%高堆场利用率的强遮挡工况下,非视距路径急剧增加,多径功率占比攀升至近45%,呈现出显著的多径衰落效应。据此,提出了一种港口场景下U2G非规则几何随机信道模型,通过引入生灭过程与干散货堆垛修正因子,精确刻画大型器械与不规则堆垛导致的遮挡散射及多径时变演进。最后,通过与射线追踪结果拟合对比,验证了所建模型在统计特性上的准确性与一致性,为港口UAV通信系统的设计与性能评估提供了可靠的理论依据和工程参考。

         

        Abstract: To enhance the reliability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication systems in low-altitude complex industrial environments and to support the development of low-altitude intelligent connectivity technologies and smart port construction, an intelligent channel model for UAV inspection scenarios at port bulk cargo terminals is proposed. Owing to complex shadowing from heavy machinery, random blockage from irregular cargo stacking, and altitude-dependent propagation conditions, UAV-to-ground (U2G) channels in this environment exhibit severe multipath effects, rapid time variation, and pronounced non-stationarity. Therefore, accurate characterization of channel properties in such complex port environments is required to ensure reliable communication links and stable cooperative operation of UAV swarms. A high-precision ray-tracing (RT) technique is adopted to construct a U2G communication dataset for a port bulk cargo terminal scenario, covering different yard utilization rates (40% and 70%), multiple frequency bands (5.9 GHz and 28 GHz), and multiple flight altitudes (80 m and 120 m). The constructed dataset captures key propagation mechanisms in port environments, including shadowing, scattering, and multipath effects induced by large metallic structures and irregular cargo piles. Based on the RT data, key statistical characteristics of the U2G channel are systematically analyzed, including the time autocorrelation function (TACF), singular value spread (SVS), and Doppler power spectral density (DPSD). The TACF is computed under different flight altitudes, communication frequency bands, and yard utilization conditions. The analysis indicates that, compared with the 5.9 GHz band, the TACF in the 28 GHz band exhibits a faster decay rate due to shorter wavelength and higher sensitivity to environmental blockage. TACF also decays faster at 120 m compared with 80 m, which is attributed to increased propagation distance and enhanced scattering effects. Furthermore, under high yard utilization conditions, dense cargo stacks generate a large number of scattering clusters, resulting in accelerated TACF decay and stronger channel time variation. In addition, SVS and its cumulative distribution function are derived through singular value decomposition of the channel matrices. The SVS distribution in the 28 GHz band is observed to shift toward larger values, reflecting increased channel sparsity and reduced spatial degrees of freedom. Higher UAV altitudes yield steeper SVS curves dominated by line-of-sight (LoS) component, whereas lower altitudes exhibit broader distributions caused by frequent shadowing. Moreover, high yard utilization significantly increases the SVS magnitude, indicating severe degradation of spatial multiplexing capability in dense port environments. DPSD analysis further reveals stronger Doppler frequency shifts at lower flight altitudes, higher frequencies, and higher yard utilization levels, confirming intensified channel non-stationarity. The results indicate that under severe blockage conditions at an 80 m altitude with a 70% yard utilization rate, non-line-of-sight (NLoS) paths increase sharply, and the multipath power proportion climbs to nearly 45%, exhibiting highly significant multipath fading effects. To accurately describe the observed channel behaviors, a geometric-based stochastic model (GBSM) is proposed for U2G communication channels in port bulk cargo terminal scenarios. This model incorporates a birth-death process and a cargo stacking factor to accurately characterize blockage, scattering, and multipath evolution under time-varying conditions imposed by large metallic machinery and irregular cargo piles. The capability of the proposed GBSM to characterize channel non-stationarity and statistical consistency is validated through comparison with RT data. The validation results demonstrate that the proposed GBSM achieves high accuracy in representing realistic port communication environments, thereby providing a reliable foundation for the design and optimization of UAV communication systems in smart ports and other complex industrial scenarios.

         

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