First, the distance between patches is chosen to be, where is the free-space wavelength, to minimize mutual coupling between two adjacent elements, while allowing beamsteering within an angle of around broadside without grating lobes.
#HUMAN BODY MODEL CST MICROWAVE STUDIO PATCH#
The simulated topologies are tip-truncated Equilateral Triangular Microstrip Patch Antenna (ETMPA), square ring patch antenna, and rhomboidal ring patch antenna. Three different patch topologies are investigated in order to choose the one yielding the lowest mutual coupling between two adjacent elements. To achieve simple low-cost beam steering, we adopt a Uniform Linear Array (ULA) topology, composed of four-patch antennas. The large aperture of the array leads to beam confinement, which in turn results in a smaller number of propagation paths and thereby less fading. This is realized by deploying the array vertically on the human torso, allowing to steer the main beam in elevation within a narrow angular sector around the broadside direction, that is, away from the rescue worker and with the main beam pointing towards the closest base station, as requested by its intended application. The presented textile array is able to provide more reliable wireless off-body links, thanks to its array gain and its steerable narrow main beam. For the first time in the literature, a complete study of the mutual coupling between the adjacent elements of the wearable array is performed when the array is in planar and bent state. In, the mutual coupling between the adjacent elements of the array is not studied, whereas in this paper, we present the design and characterization of a 4-port textile antenna array system, able to operate in a wireless body and personal area network, in the 2.45 GHz ISM band. In, a two-element microstrip parallel array on a 3D orthogonal woven composite is studied, operating at 1.5 GHz with a gain equal to 6.4 dBi. In a four-element microstrip array on a 3D woven composite, operating at 1.54 GHz, is presented, but its gain is really low, and even not indicated.
#HUMAN BODY MODEL CST MICROWAVE STUDIO FREE#
The state of the art of research in wearable antenna arrays shows that a 3 × 3 fabric Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) antenna array with an overall thickness of 4.48 mm and size of 120 × 120 can cover the 2.45 GHz ISM band, with a maximum measured gain of 6.4 dBi at 2.45 GHz in free space. In the literature, much research has been published about textile antennas based on a single radiating element, operating in the 2.45 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band (2.4–2.4835 GHz), achieving good performance in terms of reflection coefficients and gain. For example, one type of application for wearable antenna systems involves monitoring the activity and life signs of rescue workers active in the field, with the electronics being integrated into protective garments, setting up the off-body wireless communication link between the wearer and the closest base station. Being flexible, light weight, and conformable to the wearer, a communication system based on textile antennas can be fully integrated into clothing. Garments present a large platform for deploying smart textile systems combining textiles, electronics, and antennas. Reflection coefficient and gain patterns are simulated and measured for the antenna system in free space and placed on the human body. Moreover, we investigate the stability of return loss and mutual coupling characteristics under different relative humidity conditions, when bending the array, when placing the system on-body, and when covering it by different textile layers. To allow simple low-cost beam steering, we specifically minimize mutual coupling by using a relative large distance between the patches and by selecting the ETMPA element as the most suited topology from three potential patch geometries. The array is vertically positioned on the human torso to produce a narrow beam in elevation, as such reducing fading and allowing to steer the maximum gain in a small angular sector centered around the broadside direction. The system comprises an array consisting of four tip-truncated equilateral triangular microstrip patch antennas (ETMPAs), a power divider, line stretchers, and coaxial cables. A novel high-gain textile antenna array system, fully integrated into a rescue-worker’s vest and operating in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical wireless band (2.4–2.4835 GHz), is presented.