COM03 – TRANSMISSION MEDIA AND ANTENNA SYSTEM

LESSON 2
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF TRANSMISSION LINES

• Since conductor has length and diameter, thus series R and L are present
• Since, there are two wires closed to each other, thus a shunt C is present.
• To minimize leakage current, a shunt conductance is added

Parameters of a line
• R = Resistance (Ω/unit length)
• L = Inductance (H/unit length)
• C= Capacitance (F/unit length)
• G = Conductance (mho/unit length)

Types of Transmission Lines

1. Lossless transmission lines (α = 0)
2. Infinite long transmission lines (No reflection)
3. Distortion-less transmission line ( α, Z independent of frequency
4. Low resistive transmission lines (R = 0)

1. Lossless Transmissions Lines

• R = 0 and G = 0 lead to α = 0
• Line is made of pure conductor.
• Practically not existing only approximated line exists.
• The field components propagate along lines with speed dictated by L and C.
2. Infinite Long Transmission Lines
• Only forward propagation wave exists.
• Line can be a loss line or lossless line
3. Distortion less Transmission Lines
• This is line whose impact on propagation wave is independent of frequency.
• General lossy line with attenuation constant, phase velocity and characteristic
impedance independent of frequency.
• For distortion less, the line parameters is R/L = G/C
4. Low Resistance Transmission Lines
• R=0
• These lines are made of pure conductors.
• The conducting nature of the line guides the wave but all the propagation
parameters are effected by dielectric alone..

Conditions of a Line
• Lossless lines
• Lossy lines

Nature of a Line
• Purely resistive = if ϕ is 0°, 180°
• Purely capacitive = if ϕ is -90°
• Purely inductive = if ϕ is 90°
• Capacitive = if ϕ is at III and IV
• Inductive = if ϕ is at I and II
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE (ZO)
• Ratio between voltages and current on line.
ZO = VZ/IZ
• Depends only on line geometry and dielectric.
• Not a function of length
• Has units of ohms but not the same as the resistance of the wire in the line

• ZO = √𝒁/𝒀
where: Z = series impedance per section
Y = shunt admittance per section
Z = (R + j𝜔𝐿)
Y = (G + j𝜔𝐶)
ZO =√(𝑹 + 𝒋𝝎𝑳)
(𝑮 + 𝒋𝝎𝑪)

Special Conditions for a Lossless Lines

L/R = C/G eqn. 1

C = (LG)/R eqn. 2

Substituting eqn. 2
ZO =

𝑅
ZO = √𝐺

ZO = √𝑳/𝑪

ZO BASED ON PHYSICAL DIMENSION

OPEN-AIR TXN LINES

ZO = (276)log (2S/√𝒅𝟏𝒅𝟐 )

where: d1 = diameter of the

first conductor
d2 = diameter of the
second conductor
S = separation of the two
conductor center to
center

ZO = 276 log D/r

Where: ZO = Characteristic
impedance
D = distance between
centers
r = radius of the conductor
COAXIAL CABLE

kk

Where: D = inside diameter of the outer conductor

d = inside diameter of the inner conductor

VELOCITY FACTOR
• A radio wave in free space travels with the speed of light. When a wave travels
on a transmission line, it travels through the dielectric/insulation.
• The slower speed of which it travels on a line is known as the “velocity factor”.
• Typical values are: Twin line = 0.82 ;
Coaxial cable = 0.66
• So a wave in a coaxial cable travels at about 66%.
• Velocity cannot be greater than the speed of light and is usually lower.
• Velocity factor is the ratio between the actual propagation velocity and speed of
light.
• Velocity factor depend only on line dielectric.

Propagation Constant (ɤ)

• Propagation constant is a measure of changes in a sinusoidal electromagnetic

wave in terms of amplitude and phase, while propagating through a medium.
• It gives the phase of the signal along a transmission line, at a constant time.
• Its unit is radians/meter, or degrees/meter.
•

ɤ = √𝒁𝒀

ɤ = √(𝑹 + 𝒋𝝎𝑳)(𝑮 + 𝒋𝝎𝑪) Applicable for any condition

ɤ = α + jβ where: α = Attenuation constant

β = Phase shift constant
= ω/vpv
ω = 2Freq
For Lossless lines : ɤ = jβ
 TYPES OF TRANSMISSION LINES LENGTH
 Physical Length (S) – refers to the actual length of the lines.
- also known as the mechanical length
of the lines.
 Electrical Length (°ℓ ) - refers to the length of an electrical conductor in terms of
the phase shift introduced by transmission over that conductor at some
frequency.
°ℓ = βS