On the design of a wireless network in an industrial environment

Recent advances in wireless data networks have opened many new applications including wireless monitoring and control of industrial environment. This paper presents the results of a study on the deployment of wireless network for monitoring and control in SABIC Al-Hadeed Steel Plant. Wireless channel characterization and technology evaluation are the two most critical issues in the design of wireless networks for industrial application. In this paper, we address the first issue of wireless channel characterization in the plant. Channel sounding experiments were conducted at several locations using both vertically and horizontally polarized radio signals at 1.8 GHz. The channel impulse response data was experimentally obtained and analyzed for channel parameters like path loss exponent, average delay, rms delay spread, number of paths and channel bandwidth.