Effect of metal studs on the reflection properties of gyproc walls, and on the statistics of the electric field strength

This paper presents the results of a measurement campaign designed to demonstrate the effect of embedded metal studs on the reflection properties of a gyproc wall at 2.45 GHz. Measurements are made of the field strength near a wall constructed of two gyproc slabs separated by an air layer, and compared with a Geometrical Optics simulation, with good agreement. When metal studs are embedded in the wall, changes are seen in the measured field strength due to scattering from the studs. When the incidence angle on the wall is oblique there is more scattering from the studs than at near-grazing incidence. The paper shows that scattering from the embedded metal studs does not have a significant impact on the statistics of the small-scale spatial variation of the electric field strength near the wall.