Measurements and Analysis of Millimeter-Wave Propagation for 500 km/h Ultrahigh-Speed Maglev Train Communications Between Train and Trackside

Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) has emerged as a competitive solution to meet the high-data-rate requirements of future high speed train (HST) communications due to its abundant spectrum resources. However, existing research on actual measurements of mmWave channels for HST is relatively scarce, let alone at speed up to 500 km/h. This paper reports the world’s first mmWave HST channel measurement campaigns with a maglev train at a maximum speed of 500 km/h in the semi-closed station scenario. A large number of large-and small-scale fading characteristics are obtained and analyzed, such as path loss, shadow fading, root-mean-squared delay spread (RMS-DS), K factor, coherence bandwidth, and decorrelation distance. We propose an improved cluster-based Saleh-Valenzuela channel model which is more suitable for mmWave channel measurements. Numerical results and best fitting distribution results are obtained for seven key cluster parameters. The simulated and measured channels are compared to verify the accuracy of this improved model. Finally, the significance of the study is discussed, and the measurement and analysis results are compared with the existing measurement results in the train station scenario. The measurement results fill the gap of the 500 km/h mmWave HST measurements, and help to guide and design the future mmWave HST communication system.