The $\kappa-\mu/$ Gamma-Rayleigh Fading Model: A Composite Fading Model for Powerline-Wireless Communication Channels

Statistical distributions are often used to model fading effects imparted by the communication channel on the received signal. Some distributions are derived and related to the physical propagation medium. In contrast, some distributions are borrowed from statistics and used to model fading effects based on their goodness-of-fit to measurements or mathematical simplicity. This paper proposes a novel line-of-sight (LOS) <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\kappa-\mu$</tex> shadowed composite fading model. The resultant dominant signal component is assumed to be varied according to the gammaRayleigh (GR) distribution. The GR distribution is a borrowed statistical distribution because of its mathematical simplicity and semi heavy-tailed behaviour, which makes it suitable for applications relating to modelling of shadowing fading. A PDF expression of the <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\kappa-\mu / \mathbf{G R}$</tex> model is derived and expressed in closed-form representation, making it convenient to handle analytically and numerically. The novelty of the present work is further highlighted by the demonstration of the validity and utility of the derived composite fading model in powerlinewireless communication (PLC-WLC) channels. To this end, extensive comparisons are provided between theoretical results and PLC-WLC measurement results. It is shown that the proposed composite fading model provides accurate fitting to the various PLC-WLC channel measurements which correspond to realistic communication scenarios.