A new path loss model based on the volumetric occupancy rate for the pine forests at 5G frequency band

In this paper, a new empirical path loss model based on frequency, distance, and volumetric occupancy rate is generated at the 3.5 and 4.2 GHz in the scope of 5G frequency bands. This study aims to determine the effect of the volumetric occupancy rate on path loss depending on the foliage density of the trees in the pine forest area. Using 4.2 GHz and the effect of the volumetric occupancy rate contributes to the literature in terms of novelty. Both the reference measurements to generate a model and verification measurements to verify the proposed models are conducted in three different regions of the forest area with double ridged horn antennas. These regions of the artificial forest area consist of regularly sorted and identical pine trees. Root mean square error (RMSE) and R-squared values are calculated to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. For 3.5 and 4.2 GHz, while the RMSEs are 3.983 and 3.883, the values of R-squared are 0.967 and 0.963, respectively. Additionally, the results are compared with four path loss models which are commonly used in the forest area. The proposed one has the best performance among the other models with values 3.98 and 3.88 dB for 3.5 and 4.2 GHz.