A Survey of IEEE 802.11ax WLAN Temporal Duty Cycle for the Assessment of RF Electromagnetic Exposure
The increasing deployment of IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) networks necessitates an accurate assessment of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure under realistic usage scenarios. This study investigates the duty cycle (DC) and corresponding exposure levels of Wi-Fi 6 in controlled laborato...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2858 |
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| Summary: | The increasing deployment of IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) networks necessitates an accurate assessment of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure under realistic usage scenarios. This study investigates the duty cycle (DC) and corresponding exposure levels of Wi-Fi 6 in controlled laboratory conditions, focusing on bandwidth variations, multi-user scenarios, and application types. DC measurements reveal significant variability across internet services, with FTP upload exhibiting the highest mean DC (94.3%) under 20 MHz bandwidth, while YouTube 4K video streaming showed bursts with a maximum DC of 89.2%. Under poor radio conditions, DC increased by up to 5× for certain applications, emphasizing the influence of degraded signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on retransmissions and modulation. Weighted exposure results indicate a reduction in average electric-field strength by up to 10× when incorporating DC, with maximum weighted exposure at 4.2 V/m (6.9% of ICNIRP limits) during multi-user scenarios. These findings highlight the critical role of realistic DC assessments in refining exposure evaluations, ensuring regulatory compliance, and advancing the understanding of Wi-Fi 6’s EMF exposure implications. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-3417 |