Abstract
A cooperative molecular communication (CMC) system is considered inside a cylindrical-shaped channel where a few cooperative nodes (CNs) are intermediately placed between a transmitter (TX) and a fusion center (FC). The expressions for the maximum achievable rate and probability of error at the FC considering AND and OR rules are derived. Furthermore, the performance of the CMC system in a cylindrical channel is compared with the direct and CN-assisted systems. The CMC system with randomly-placed CNs is also analyzed and compared with the uniformly-placed CNs, and it is found that a lower probability of error is obtained in the case of uniform placement of CNs. Furthermore, the system performance as a function of radial displacement of TX and FC under constant flow is compared with that under laminar flow and a higher probability of error is observed under laminar flow. The increased probability of error under laminar flow occurs due to the fact that the drift velocity decreases towards the walls of the cylindrical channel. The analytical expressions are verified using Monte-Carlo simulations.