Comparison of lossy wedge diffraction coefficients with application to mixed path propagation loss prediction

A heuristic lossy wedge diffraction coefficient is compared to the exact Maliuzhinets diffraction coefficient for a 180 degrees wedge neglecting surface waves. The comparison shows good agreement even for high incidence angles and greatly dissimilar wedge-face materials. This agreement provides justification for using the heuristic coefficient for the calculation of mixed path propagation loss, since wedge angles are typically near 180 degrees for this application. The heuristic coefficient has the advantages of being continuous at the reflection boundary and of being relatively simple to evaluate, especially at angles other than 180 degrees .<
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