An eigenpath underwater acoustic communication channel simulation

One of the less reliable communication channels is the underwater acoustic channel. This is due to its reverberant properties produced by the surface and the bottom or the sea and Doppler spreading caused by the transmitter and the receiver movements. To foresee some characteristics it is important to develop a reliable model. An accurate model allows to evaluate the channel behavior and it brings the possibility to compare the performance of different systems under the same condition. In this work, we present the simulation of a modified Rayleigh fading communication channel model, which takes into account the boundary reflections and Doppler shift effects. The model describes the underwater channel with several distinct paths (eigenpaths) over which a signal can propagate from the transmitter to the receiver (eigenpath signals). Each eigenpath signal contains a dominant and stable component and many smaller and randomly scattered components (sub-eigenpath components). The envelope of the eigenpath signal can therefore be described using a Rice fading model.