Performance analysis of wireless local area networks (WLAN) in a coal-mine tunnel environment

In order to establish an effective wireless communication system in an underground coal-mine environment, the propagation of radio waves through a rectangular-like mine tunnel was investigated by jointly, considering both the dielectric constant and the reflectance of a mine tunnel. By combining free space and modified waveguide propagation models, we propose a new hybrid propagation model based on ray tracing. Simulation results have shown the effectiveness of establishing a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) in this coal-mine environment. The results of this research will be very useful as a guide in the design and development of tunnel wireless LAN systems.