Thermal Impact of 5G Antenna Systems in Sandwich Walls

Tao Lu, Lauri Vähä-Savo, Xiaoshu Lü () and Katsuyuki Haneda
Additional contact information
Tao Lu: Department of Electrical Engineering and Energy Technology, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland
Lauri Vähä-Savo: Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FIN-00076 Espoo, Finland
Xiaoshu Lü: Department of Electrical Engineering and Energy Technology, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland
Katsuyuki Haneda: Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FIN-00076 Espoo, Finland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The 5th generation (5G) cellular networks offer high speeds, low latency, and greater capacity, but they face greater penetration loss through buildings than 4G due to their higher frequency bands. To reduce this loss in energy-efficient buildings, a passive antenna system was developed and integrated into sandwich walls. However, the thermal effects of this system, which includes highly thermally conductive metals, require further study. In this research, three-dimensional heat transfer simulations were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics to determine the thermal transmittances (U-values) of 5G antenna walls. The results revealed that, using stainless steel as the connector material (current design), the U-value rose from 0.1496 (for the wall without antenna) to 0.156 W/m 2 K, leading to an additional heating loss per year of only 0.545 KWh/m 2 in Helsinki. In contrast, with the previous design that used copper as the connector material, the U-value increased dramatically to 0.3 W/m 2 K, exceeding the National Building Code of Finland’s limit of 0.17 W/m 2 K and causing 12.8 KWh/m 2 additional heat loss (23.5 times more than the current design). The current design significantly reduces thermal bridging effects. Additionally, three analytical methods were used to calculate antenna wall U-values: parallel paths, isothermal planes, and ISO 6946 combined. The isothermal planes method was found to be more accurate and reliable. The study also found that a wall unit cell with a single developed 5G antenna and a wall consisting of nine such cells arranged in a 3 × 3 grid pattern had the same U-values. Furthermore, areas affected by thermal bridging were typically smaller than the dimensions of a wall unit cell (150 mm × 150 mm).

Keywords: 5G passive antenna system; 5G antenna walls; sandwich wall; numerical modeling; parallel path method; isothermal planes method; ISO 6946 combined method; thermal transmittance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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