Study on Rainrate Conversion Models for 60 Minutes to 1 Minute Integration Times in Malaysia

The rapid development of wireless communication technologies has led the frequency band reach its saturated level, particularly in developed countries. this has drawn the attention of telecommunication systems engineer to explore the frequency band above the ku band (10 ghz). however, raindrops significantly affect the signal propagating in the frequency bands above 10 ghz. thus, prediction of rain attenuation on the propagation of electromagnetic signals using 1 minute rainfall rate is important. in many countries, 60 minutes rainfall rate distribution are widely available compared to rainfall rate distribution with shorter integration times. therefore, conversion method is essential to predict 1 minute rainfall rate distribution from 60 minutes rainfall rate distribution. this study was conducted using rainfall data from 10 stations of malaysia drainage and irrigation department over 3 years period of 2011 to 2013 to determine the best conversion model for 60 minutes rainfall rate in malaysia. several conversion models is presented in this study such as segal, burgueno et al., chebil and rahman, lee et al., lavergnat and golé and moupfouma and martin. from the results, chebil and rahman’s model is found to be the most suitable model to be used in malaysia with root mean square (rms) error below 20% for all locations. this project is very useful to determine rain attenuation in designing a high availability and accessibility satellite communication system.